Library Journal has a large feature dedicated to the long-delayed renovation of the West End library, a building which is now 40 years old and outdated, but which can't be built until a three-judge panel decides whether a complaint filed by a group led by Ralph Nader is valid.
The library itself, as well as a coalition of neighbors, supports the remodel. The
D.C. Library Renaissance Project, a group founded by Ralph Nader, opposes it on the grounds that the contracting process was flawed.
"It’s a giveaway by the District government," Nader told the
Post. In response, the developer's attorney told
Library Journal that, actually, the developer was the only one to respond to the public RFP.
The developer is not the only entity supporting the project. Last fall, five groups sent a letter to Nader, asking him to withdraw his appeal of the D.C. Zoning Commission's ruling. Those groups included West End Library Friends, West End Citizens Association, Foggy Bottom Association, West End Friends, and Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2A.
Read more
here. The upshot is that arguments from both sides were heard Feb. 14, and while the matter has been placed on an "expedited schedule," nobody knows when the final decision will be made.