WASHINGTON D.C., DC — For the first time since homeowners were forced out of their faulty constructed condominiums, the District Council held a hearing to discuss what they call the "debacle" surrounding the River East at Grandview Condos.
In August 2021, dozens of families were forced to evacuate their homes in the development on Talbert Street Southeast due to structural defects including cracks in the walls and plumbing leaks.
"A debacle. A huge disaster. An outright failure," an impacted homeowner said during the joint hearing between the Committee of the Whole and the Committee on Housing.
The 46-unit complex in the heart of Anacostia was completed in 2017 by the developer Stanton View, LLC. who received $6 million in District subsidies to build through the District’s Housing Production Trust Fund.
"I thought this was safe. A year, two years later you start seeing cracks," first-time homeowner Terri Wright told WUSA9. She says her "American dream" came crashing down when she noticed the flaws in her unit.
An engineer report obtained in September by WUSA9 says that the condos on Talbert Street Southeast are at risk of quote "imminent collapse".
The impacted homeowners like Wright have been receiving temporary housing and utility assistance from the District government, but the help is set to end by June of 2024.
During the hearing, a representative from the Department of Housing and Community Development (DCHD) informed the council that the government did not plan on extending the benefits beyond the established cutoff date.
Regina Haire says that in nine months she will be back in limbo telling WUSA9, "I own a home, and I am homeless."
The condominium developer has since filed for bankruptcy, but the River East at Grandview homeowners have been left with uninhabitable units and a mortgage.
"None of our agencies intended for this to happen, but we did and now we have to answer questions of what we do moving forward," Councilmember At-Large Robert White told the crowd.
The Director of the DC Department of Buildings, Brian Hanlon, testified that the self-inspection by the structural engineer contributed to the faulty build. He assured that since then, his agency has issued several changes to strengthen the checks and balances involved in this procedure.
Hanlon disputed the report that says the condos are at risk of "imminent collapse." Homeowners expressed to the council that they still do not feel comfortable entering their homes.
DHCD announced that they will be reinstating the Home Purchase Assistance Program (HPAP) for the impacted homeowners and that they will be forgiving the HPAP loans they obtained amounting to over $6 million. The agency testified that they are working with lenders to explore ways to forgive the pending mortgages.
"I need this mortgage removed from my credit so I can at least qualify for something. Right now I have a preapproval, but it's subject to this loan being paid off," Haire said.
Shannon Thomas echoed a similar sentiment telling WUSA9 all she wants is, "To be made whole again. To be able to purchase. To be able to buy a home but as you know, as we all know, the economy is in a different position now."
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