WASHINGTON (CN) — Estimating that a redevelopment project will displace nearly 150 low-income families in northeast D.C., residents brought a federal class action to protect their homes.
The controversy stems from the plan to overhaul Brookland Manor Apartments, a 20-acre apartment complex at the intersection of Rhode Island and Montana Avenues that has housed D.C. families for decades.
According to a complaint filed Thursday, Brookland Manor has offered subsidized housing under the federal Section 8 program since 1977, and less than 10 percent of the complex's 535 apartments are rented at full, market-rate without public assistance.
Adriann Borum and Lorretta Holloman, two of the plaintiffs behind this week's lawsuit, say that is set to change under a proposed redevelopment filed with the local zoning board in 2014 by Mid-City Financial Corp.
Along with property manager Brentwood Village, Mid-City is planning to expand Brookland Manor to 1,760 units, of which 1,646 will be apartments.
One critical change, the complaint says, is that "the redeveloped property would have zero four- or five-bedroom apartment units."
Borum and Holloman both rent four-bedroom apartments — just like the 116 households total at Brookland Manor residing in four- and five-bedroom apartment units, as of June 2015, according to the complait.
"They live in their apartments with their minor children or with their minor children and extended family members, and these larger-size apartments are necessary to accommodate their families," the complaint states.
Brookland Manor has 75 three-bedroom units currently, but the redeveloped property will have just 64.
Borum and Holloman say the message is clear: large families are "not consistent with the creation of a vibrant new community."
"Defendants have publicly stated that they will not build four- or five-bedroom apartment units in the redeveloped property because defendants believe that allowing large families to reside in large units at apartment complexes is unsuitable for such families, has an 'adverse' impact on residential quality of life, and is inconsistent with the new community defendants seek to create," the complaint states.
Facing homelessness, the women are accusing the developers of discriminating against them on the basis of familial status.
Catherine Cone, a staff attorney with Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, says the redevelopment of Brookland Manor is indicative of other redevelopment efforts in the city to push out long time residents, and construct properties to bring new, more affluent residents into gentrified areas.
In this instance, the redevelopment project will have a disparate impact on larger families, Cone said in an interview.
"Generally what we think this case shows is that not only can redevelopment that goes unchecked lead to displacement of longtime residents, it can also specifically affect families," Cone said.
According to the complaint, Brookland Manor is among the only affordable residences in the northeastern part of the city that offers larger units for bigger families. D.C. housing codes stipulate that large families cannot reside in smaller units. Many of the families at Brookland Manor require at least a three-bedroom apartment to be in compliance, the complaint states.
Though Mid-City refused to comment on the pending litigation, an article on its website says the redeveloped complex, which will span eight blocks, will be "mixed income." Affordable housing will make up 20 percent of the units, and the new property will include multifamily buildings, the article says.