In October, the DC Housing Authority (DCHA) Board of Commissioners voted 5-4 against the agency commencing negotiations with their preferred co-developer for Greenleaf Gardens. By that following month, however, the Board voted 5-4 in favor, enabling the agency to move forward with the Exclusive Right to Negotiate (ERN) with that co-developer. What made the difference?
Largely, the agency’s efforts in the interim to reengage the community and its stakeholders on the status of the project and the roadmap ahead, which represented a welcome pivot from how engagement has gone up to this point. Here’s how the redevelopment process went from conceptual to doable.