St. Martin's Catholic Church

Here is the moment that many of you have been waiting for . . . a discussion of St. Martin's Catholic Church.

I attended services this morning at 9 a.m., and imagine my surprise when I discovered that the building is not a front for low-income housing construction, but a real church with a full mass and everything. Or at least folks are very good at hiding the aluminum siding in the basement. I jest.

First, the church itself. It's beautiful inside and out (I'll probably need to take these photos again, on a sunny day). The sanctuary features blue-tinted stained glass windows with large arches throughout the sanctuary. In the front of the sanctuary there is a large wooden gazebo overlooking the altar.

The congregation is friendly. I spoke with several people after the service over donuts and coffee, including Father Kelley. A few people were amused when I told them who I was running against, because she regularly attends services here. You might call her the odds-on favorite within these walls.

The church has been a center of controversy in the community due to its plans to build a large (184 unit) low-to-moderate income (depending how one defines it) apartment complex at 116 T Street N.E. The development will encompass the city block surrounded by T Street N.E., Todd Place N.E., and Summit Place. I first learned about the project around November 21, 2005, when Father Mike Kelley and the Catholic Community Services made a presentation to the Eckington Civic Association. ANC 5C had already voted on the project the previous month, apparently at the behest of Commissioner Jones.

Organized community opposition to the project began in November with flyers and petitions. Residents were concerned about the size of the project (out of proportion to the community), parking issues, building design, congestion, security, and the concentration of low-income housing rather than a mix-income project. The 50 junior-one-bedrooms set aside for recovering/former substance abusers was of particular concern.

In January 2006, the featured character in this saga was St. Martin's real estate developer Neal Drobenare. It came to light that a D.C. agency had admonished him for a possible conflict of interest in 2002. He also had some interesting e-mail exchanges with residents that created a stir.

Also in January, one Andrea posted to the Eckington listserv: "After my email to [Commissioner] Jones, and the rest of the staff on the letter, I received a call from Ms. Jones. She said basically the 184 unit project is a done deal because they own the property and that all we can do now is to ask them to build it within some confines."

In February, Drobenare disappeared and the church hired public relations specialist Sharon Robinson to assist Catholic Charities with community support and lobbying. In March, Robinson removed several residents opposed to the St. Martin's project from a community listserv that she had a hand in moderating. She had posted several pro-St. Martin's statements at Ward5@yahoogroups.com that residents wished to answer. Rick Lee, owner of Lee's Flower and Card Shop at 1026 U Street NW wrote at the time: "unfortunately people who hide behind computers are cowards and very dangerous. Hopefully your message will touch their spirits and they will repent of their wayward communications. I was thinking about unsubscribing myself because of all the garbage I continue to see."

On Sunday, March 12, St. Martin's (aided by the Bloomingdale and Edgewood Civic Associations) held a procession at St. Martin’s followed by a community meeting at McKinley High School. I wasn't able to attend, but residents who did reported it was more of a rally than a balanced meeting discussion.

On April 6, the Washington Post covered the story:

[N]eighborhoods . . . are awash with charges of hypocrisy, classism and racism -- the result of a continuing rift over gentrification. It's playing out on neighborhood listservs, at civic meetings and at St. Martin's, where the pastor, the Rev. Michael Kelly, has an acerbic tongue and a chastening tone for some of his neighbors.

There would be 134 one- and two-bedroom apartments renting to families earning $30,000 to $54,000, depending on family size. Fifty "junior one-bedroom" apartments, according to St. Martin's, would rent to the formerly homeless with an income of roughly $18,000 a year. Rents would range from $500 to $1,039 a month, amounts aimed at working families and retirees, church officials said.

The latest developments concern certain residents' attempts to achieve historical designation for a convent that the church proposes to demolish in order build the project. Naturally, efforts to designate the convent historical are motivated by a desire to curb the size of the St. Martin's project. On the other hand, two buildings designed by the architect of the convent that are located elsewhere in D.C. have been protected.

Many people argue that a large segment of St. Martin's parishioners do not live within close proximity of the project. I spoke with a 2nd-and-T Street resident and two individuals who live on Rhode Island Avenue, but the vast majority of the 20 or so people I spoke with this morning live closer to Catholic University, in Maryland, or elsewhere.

I've barely begun to cover this issue, but that's what comments are for. If you post anonymously, please be tactful.