Anacostia's Barry Farm Project Delayed Due To Community Concerns
A-R Development's plans to bring nearly 1,900 mixed-income residential units to Anacostia's Barry Farm have been delayed by the DC Housing Authority following some community concerns.
A vote to approve $13M in city financing for the project, part of the District's New Communities Initiative, was pushed back for the third time at the Board of Commissioners meeting Thursday, the Washington City Paper reports.
Without the pre-development financing, design work for the development has been stalled and the project has yet to earn federal approval.
The funds would also go toward temporarily relocating Barry Farm residents during construction. DCHA says it does not intend to permanently displace any residents, but those at the meeting voiced strong concerns nonetheless.
"We're not plants, we're not trees," the paper quoted resident Paulette Matthews as saying. "To think you can just uplift somebody and put them wherever you want to...Don't rush this process through because it's a lot of lives you're affecting physically, mentally." [WCP]
