District officials indefinitely delayed the opening of an unhoused shelter near campus two weeks before residents planned to move in, pushing back their anticipated entry date for the fifth time following a failed building inspection.
Community Advisory Team members announced at a meeting Monday that The Aston, a former GW residence hall located on New Hampshire Ave., did not meet D.C.’s housing code standards during a recent inspection because the unhoused shelter lacks sufficient fire exits and “door closers” at the entrances to each unit. District officials initially slated The Aston’s opening for last November, but the shelter has faced ten months of setbacks due to difficulties securing a provider, lawsuits attempting to block the shelter’s opening and now building code violations.
Interim CAT co-chair Sakina Thompson said building inspectors came to The Aston last week to survey fire, light and safety elements for compliance with District code. Thompson said during the visit the inspectors realized the building lacked door closers and recommended officials adjust access to fire exits on each floor. Thompson said improving access to fire exits may require officials to replace the doors by each floor’s stairwells, but that officials are working “intentionally” to ensure the causes of the delay are addressed.
“While there were a few things that we expected, there were a few things that were unexpected and are going to delay the opening past our early October projection,” she said.
Thompson said the Department of General Services is in the process of obtaining the correct quantity and model of door closers, which are the “bent arm piece” fastened to the top of door frames to ensure the door closes automatically.
“After we get those two items nailed down, we should have a better idea of what the revised timeline will be for opening,” Thompson said
CAT members voiced concerns about the impact further delays to the shelter’s opening will have on the tenants slated to move in during the first week of October.
A member of the public who attended the Monday meeting virtually said they were frustrated that a “small detail” like door closers is preventing The Aston from opening, and asked if tenants could still move into the building during the first week of October.
“I’m dismayed that the government finds all kinds of reasons to delay the opening, and the latest is the self-closing door thing,” the member of the public said. “It might be a good idea, but I have never in my life lived in an apartment with self-closing doors.”
CAT member Courtney Cooperman, a housing advocacy adviser for the National Low Income Housing Coalition, asked how the indefinite delay would affect the tenants who believed they would be able to move into the building in the coming weeks.
Department of Human Services Deputy Administrator Anthony Newman said DHS is contacting case workers and people in the queue to communicate the change in The Aston’s opening date.
“Obviously we’re not bringing folks in until we’re able to,” Newman said. “So we’re working with people that were queued up, letting them know there will be a delay. And we’re just to stay in good touch and good contact with those folks when the building ultimately opens.”
He said it is possible that the 50 tenants originally slated to move into The Aston might not be the same people who move in once the shelter actually opens, depending on if interim housing options are available between now and the underdetermined new opening date.
Thompson said to ready The Aston for tenants to move in, DGS must address code issues and complete work, and the building inspectors must return to the shelter to reinspect and approve the changes. She said DHS must then apply for a Certificate of Occupancy, which allows tenants to legally move in, transfer the certificate to the District and allow Friendship Place, The Aston’s provider, to move in.
During the latter half of the meeting members of the public spoke with CAT members about their feedback on the Good Neighbor Agreement, a tenant-neighbor agreement for The Aston. CAT officials invited in-person public comment on the agreement earlier this month, but the meeting devolved into local residents posing questions about the incoming tenants.
CAT members again invited public comment on the agreement on Sept. 12, but some community members reported struggling to enter the Zoom room and the committee decided to postpone public comments to Sept. 23. This delay forced CAT members to delay voting on the agreement until Oct. 7.
Barbara Kahlow, a local community member, said having program success measures included in the agreement is crucial to ensure there is transparency between neighbors and Aston residents. She said she wants to see specific language included in the agreement that details what information will be provided to the public so they don’t have to rely on “trust” when evaluating the success of the shelter in the neighborhood.
Thompson said CAT members would take this feedback into consideration, but she said she’d advocate to keep the metrics-centric language in the agreement broad, since The Aston is not yet open. She said since the agreement is a living document, officials could amend it to include metrics that make sense following the shelter’s opening.
Jean-Michel Giraud — the president and chief executive officer of Friendship Place — said Friendship Place has two full-time staff members and contractors that focus on delivering metrics. He said he has “no doubt” that The Aston will share metrics with the community.
“Sometimes as you start to run your program, you also discover that some metrics are more meaningful than others, obviously other than the basic ones like retention and exits, of course,” he said. “So I’m sure that that set of metrics will also grow as we work on this as a neighborhood team.”
CAT co-chair Jim Malec said revisions to the GNA would be made by Thompson and himself within the week, accounting for public comment and committee suggestions. He said CAT members will have about 10 days to review the document before voting on it on the Oct. 7 CAT meeting.
