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Boys Club front.
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A quick resolution is unlikely for the future of the former Eastern Branch Boys & Girls Club building, according to Chuck Burger, the chair of a task force formed by District Councilmember Tommy Wells to research the building and provide recommendations to the District Council.
Burger said the city won’t officially own the building until early next year when the sale is closed. The Council approved emergency legislation in June authorizing the city’s $20 million purchase of the Eastern Branch building and two other Boys and Girls Clubs’ facilities in Columbia Heights and Georgetown.
The task force has toured the facility and is in the early stages of determining the condition of the site and the time and money it will take to make the building suitable for use by community organizations. The Boys and Girls Club has provided an estimate to the task force for the repairs needed, but the group is rechecking those findings.
“The building’s not collapsing, but there are several failure points that need to be addressed,” Burger said. “But it’s like buying a house. The seller will tell you anything.”
The task force is now looking for a structural engineering team to examine the site pro bono, and Burger said the job might be offered to area college students.
The Biggest Hurdle
Closing the sale of the building and determining the condition of the facility is the necessary first step to the reopening of the Eastern Branch. The next step is a much bigger challenge -- figuring out the site’s ideal management structure, one that is financially independent and sustainable over the long-term.
Hill East organization Neighbors United was formed shortly after the Eastern Branch site was vacated, and the group’s ultimate goal is to run the building and provide a range of community services out of the site. Burger said the task force has been approached by many other organizations offering “everything from daycare to senior services.”
“We’ve been getting a lot of different ideas. There are a lot of successful organizations on the Hill that need expanded space,” he said.
Whoever ultimately runs the building, the facility will still be owned by the city, according to Wells’ Chief of Staff Charles Allen. He added that the city is technically responsible for making necessary repairs to the building, but the entity running the site could be made responsible.
Without the financial backing of the city or a large foundation, the future tenants face a steep challenge and a “pretty radical” charge, Burger said. Because the property is city-owned, financing repairs or new construction could prove particularly difficult for the management structure picked.
The Eastern Branch task force has collaborated with a national organization that works with non-profit groups to help them succeed. That organization is working to create a best practices list for the task force by compiling case studies from successful projects that are similar to the Eastern Branch.
The Last Hurdle
Once the task force works through all the questions and provides recommendations to Wells, community meetings will be held and decisions for the site will begin to be made.
Allen and Burger said it’s too early in the process to determine when the building could reopen.
“It all depends on how we’re able to structure it,” Burger said. “We’re going to do it as fast as possible but we’re not going to build something that’s not going to last or not be successful.” |
