This was originally posted to the Adams Morgan Listserv on November 26, 2018, as message #50039, groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/AdamsMorgan/conversations/messages/50039
How a Celebrity Chef Benefits from DC’s Low Income Housing Program
Celebrity Chef Mike Isabell recently made $385,000 plus profit by flipping his subsidized DC Wharf <www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2018/11/21/mike-isabella-sells-his-wharf-condo-to-a-familiar.html?ana=e_wash_bn_newsalert&u=Z38LH7Xxpg26ANHzU00Ogw069447f2&t=1543156394&j=85179491> condo after only a few months of ownership. His 18% profit, he bought his condo in March for $2.1M and sold recently for $2.575M, was made possible by the way in which the Deputy Mayor for Planning & Economic Development (DMPED) <dmped.dc.gov/node/1105042> implements DC’s low and moderate income affordable housing program. A program of subsidies touted by the Mayor and Council as providing development equity for residents, but is structured to primarily benefit politically connected luxury developer/scam artist such as Monty Hoffman and Chris Donatelli <dc.curbed.com/2018/8/1/17639112/metro-donatelli-development-fort-totten-wmata-cancellation>. The luxury VIO <www.pnhoffman.com/my-product/vio/> condo Hoffman sold Isabell back in March was built using a 30% public subsidy designed and justified to provide affordable housing. Sadly, the saga of Celebrity Chef Mike Isabell show our city’s supporting the development of affordable housing to be a financial con.
Isabell one of the main personalities behind DC’s growing high end dinning scene recently filed for bankruptcy, which offered a rare peek into the city’s affordable housing subsidy game of $1 Three Card Monty (pun intended, Monty Hoffman pays the District $1 a year for the land Isabell’ condo was built upon). It turned out Isabell in the management of his restaurants was bully/thug and class “A” example for why Initiative 77 was needed. Unfortunately for Isabell the word got out on this thuggish behavior <www.foodabletv.com/blog/chef-mike-isabella-files-for-bankruptcy-following-sexual-harassment-scandal>, business suffered, and Isabell needed to quickly sell is condo. Fortunately for us, when Jason Levien lead owner of DC United came to the rescue our affordable housing scam was exposed. Yes, Levien’s just received public subsidies worth over $150M, 50%, to build an affordable residence for his Soccer team. A team which more that doubled in value with the completion of the new stadium. Public subsidies justified in the name of affordable housing.
“.. offer new development opportunities that could promote mixed-use and increase the inventory of affordable housing through inclusionary zoning…”
Soccer Stadium Legislation B21-155 <lims.dccouncil.us/Download/33640/B21-0155-Introduction.pdf>
“The Wharf is one of the most transformative projects in the District creating a new waterfront destination with a full mix of uses and amenities including 205 units of affordable housing in Phase 1 alone,”
Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Brian Kenner <mayor.dc.gov/release/mayor-bowser-highlights-economic-impact-wharf> ..
Combined the Wharf and DC United stadium projects received approximately $450M in public subsidy to produce 205 affordable housing units, 69 of which are set-a-side for people making between $112K and $134K per year. And not ONE family friendly 3-bedroom unit <drive.google.com/file/d/1zW3zWzSW5vBljfmg_xfJAEbX7aeSUZHI/view>. This is what the City really means we say we support affordable housing. It means, the equity generated in lease terms from the city to the developers are so advantageous to the developers that Mr. Levien got Mr. Isabell’s $2.5M condo basically for free all on the city’s dime and Mr. Isabell got $400K in public cash free. All in the name of the Mayor and Council providing affordable housing. This is how our affordable housing system really works.
If we dig a little deeper into his bankruptcy filing <www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2018/09/06/we-pored-through-all-9-isabella-ch-11-filings-this.html>, we find that Mr. Isabell did not only benefit from low and moderate income affordable housing subsidizes for a quick $400K cash payment. Three of his key restaurants deals Kapnos at 14th & W NW ($8M affordable housing tax abatement), Requin at the Wharf and National Parks’ Greek restaurant Kapnos (Section 301), barbecue venture Catchfly (Section 301), and gourmet sub stand G Sandwich (Section 136) were enabled by affordable housing subsidies. National Park received over $800M in public subsidy as a supposed catalyst to create jobs and affordable housing. The bankruptcy provides a trail to follow as to how the District’s network developers feeding off public subsidy investments and legislative initiatives supposedly to support affordable housing development and jobs for the city’s most vulnerable profit. And how this corrupt system steers investments to the likes of Mike Isabell, celebrity and an unaccountable incestuous system political and economic pay-to-play. Many of us in DC are rightly upset by the behavior and value system promoted by President Trump, but strip away the happy talk of affordable housing and we have financing Trumpism through our city’s own low and moderate income housing program. Any why a Celebrity Chef and pocket $400K in a few months from our investment in affordable housing.
$450M in public subsidy in the name of affordable house, but not one housing unit produced suitable for a family with children. But Isbell got $400K in cash and Levien a free condo and an affordable home for his soccer team. Barry Farm and DC General Shelter families don’t get equity like that, they just get displaced.
William