D.C. ‘on a glide path toward eminent domain’ over Akridge’s Buzzard Point land
“The D.C. Council is solidly behind a new D.C. United stadium, as evidenced by its unanimous vote Tuesday to put as much as $150 million into the project.
How the District will pay for its share of the $300 million, 20,000-seat stadium at Buzzard Point is a dispute between the council and Mayor Vincent Gray that will likely be settled in the next two weeks, prior to the final legislative meeting of the year. A financing package was approved as part of the stadium legislation. While Gray has declared that scheme “clearly unlawful,” he wants a deal done before leaving office.
But there’s another hurdle to clear before work on the stadium can begin: Akridge and its 2 acres.
“We are on a glide path toward eminent domain,” Councilman David Catania, I-At large, said Tuesday.
Under the deal it struck with the Gray administration, Akridge agreed to accept $28 per buildable square foot — roughly $21 million — for its Southwest parcels located on the future stadium footprint. In return, it would receive the Reeves Center at 14th and U streets NW, appraised at $55.6 million, and it would pay the District $35 million to cover the difference.”
Neibauer, Michael. Washington Business Journal 3 December 2014.