| | | Seven bidders competing for 'Maples' house | | June 09, 2009 |  | | | Voice Correspondent | | Friendship House, a bankrupt social service agency once located on Capitol Hill, has received seven offers for the historic house it once called home.
The potential buyers are a “mix of local developers, nonprofits, and daycare operators,” said Lisa Benjamin, a commercial real estate broker with Newmark, Knight, Frank, who is handling the sale of "The Maples" at 619 D St. SE. Bids were being accepted through last week.
Benjamin said she couldn’t give specific details about the bids or who the bidders are. She did say that “nobody is proposing to make any changes to the exterior of the building.” The house was recently included in a list of the “most endangered” historic structures in the city by the D.C. Preservation League.
The group sought bankruptcy protection last June to forestall foreclosure proceedings by Adams National Bank, the property’s mortgage holder. Friendship House, which has occupied the storied Maples since 1936, stopped providing services last October and owes its creditors millions of dollars.
Benjamin said price would be “only one of the factors,” adding that ability to pay and timing of the proposed purchase are some of the many other factors that will determine who makes the short list and which proposal is ultimately selected. She said the board will “collectively select” the winning proposal and submit it to the bankruptcy court for approval.
At the preservation society’s announcement at "The Maples" last week, Hill resident Sonja Sweek identified herself as one of the bidders and said her plans for the 18th-century house included dividing it into a children’s daycare center, a doctor’s office and private living quarters for herself and her family.
Although the board has not reviewed any of the proposals, Joiner said, “[Sweek] had the strongest bid. They would at least have some of the services that we were providing. I would like to see an offer that would provide some type of social services” to the city’s residents.
He said he expects some of the bids to be from developers who want to turn the building into condominiums or other residential facility.
“I wouldn’t necessarily want that type of development,” he said, “We would like to keep the social service tradition alive. ["The Maples"] has a lot of history and we want things to continue.”
Joiner, who has been on the board for a year and a half, acknowledged that the final decision will likely be driven by financial considerations and the bankruptcy court might not be inclined to consider non-monetary factors.
The “most endangered” designation, “may not necessarily be a bad thing because it might generate more public interest and maybe attract more resources” for the financially troubled organization, said Ron Joiner, chair of Friendship House’s board of directors.
He said the designation was prompted by complaints from some neighbors.
“I was surprised,” Joiner said when he heard that some of the neighbors were complaining that the house was being neglected. “We go by there on a weekly basis” to check on the property.”
After the property is sold, he said, Friendship House plans to reorganize and continue with its social service mission, adding that the group hopes to remain in Ward 6.
“The need is still there,” he said.
The board will do an assessment, he said, to determine the service needs of the community and find a location where the group can continue to provide services.
“With the economy being the way it is right now, there are a lot more people needing social services and I hope we can continue to offer these types of services,” he said. “But we have to take it step by step.”
Joiner said Friendship House is looking for volunteers to help with the reorganization. Until this year, Friendship House sponsored the annual “Market Day” on the first weekend in May — a 45-year-long tradition on the Hill. | | | | | Log in to comment on this article |
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