According to The Washington Post, the troubled Barry Farm housing project in Southeast Washington took a step towards being designated as a historic landmark. The designation would throw a wrench into plans to redevelop the site and add additional affordable housing. An official vote by the nine-member Historic Preservation Review Board hasn't happened yet but a majority of the members said part of the site that includes 32 vacant and deteriorating homes is worthy of landmark designation because the property was settled by freed slaves in the 19th century.
Marnique Heath, the review board’s chair, told both sides that if they could not reach an agreement in the coming weeks, “then it’s up to the board to decide how preservation happens.” “We support designation,” Heath said. “That puts more pressure on the Housing Authority to revise the plan.”The board’s support came four months after the District’s Historic Preservation Office, in a June report, found that the remaining buildings did not retain “sufficient integrity” for landmark status.
The developer, Preservation of Affordable Housing, said in a statement that the company and the Housing Authority would work with historians and the community “to create a more comprehensive preservation strategy that celebrates the history and legacy of Barry Farm." During the meeting, Anthony Waddell, a POAH executive, said that preserving the 32 buildings along Stevens Road SE would deprive the developer of land that could be used to build 400 of 1,100 planned units. “That’s a substantial loss,” he said, estimating that the vast majority of those lost units would be affordable housing.
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