Tenants of the Marbury Plaza complex in Anacostia, now renamed Langston Views, are hoping for improved housing conditions as the building comes under new management. Years of housing code violations eventually led the city to sue the former property owners in 2021, ordering them to repair the property.
The Clear Investment Group purchased the 674-unit complex at the end of December in partnership with the offices of the mayor and D.C.’s attorney general. In a press release from the group, management promised to upgrade security and crumbling facilities, which continue to plague current residents. The purchase is part of a larger settlement agreement negotiated by Legal Aid DC and Arnold & Porter on behalf of tenants against the previous owner. A case involving the property’s former owners is ongoing
in the D.C. Superior Court.
One Marbury Plaza resident, who referred to himself as Mr. Stevens, said over the last several years, tenants have dealt with ongoing mice infestations, widespread asbestos problems, and broken elevators.
“Hopefully the building will be brought up to code,” Stevens said. “They need to speak with the tenants.”
Since 2021, Marbury Plaza tenants have been fighting for compensation as well as protections due to worsening conditions. Health issues, such as asthma, and rampant safety concerns pushed residents to go on a rent strike in 2021. Then-owners MP PPH, who bought the property in 2015, agreed to make repairs by mid-2022, but residents said conditions continued to deteriorate. In 2023, the D.C. Attorney General asked a court to appoint a guardian to oversee the building in light of the owners’ absence. Soon after, MP PPH declared bankruptcy.
The settlement agreement between MP PPH management and Legal Aid DC went into effect on Dec. 31, 2024, the same day the sale of the property to the Clear Investment Group closed. According to a press release from Legal Aid D.C., the agreement also guaranteed MPPPH could not collect back rent from tenants, the owners would not pursue pending evictions against about 80 tenants, and the about 240 tenants in bankruptcy proceedings would receive a combined $810,000.
In addition to the renovation of common spaces and basic facilities, new ownership has promised a new fitness facility with upgraded locker rooms and an in-building convenience store. Stevens said he has not seen any new management personnel, and, so far, the potential building improvements have “only been talk.”
The management team is attempting to forge new relationships with residents in light of the distrust between tenants and Vantage Management, the company MP PPH contracted to run the building, Amy Rubenstein, founder and CEO of Clear Investment Group, said in an interview with Street Sense.
“We are hosting meetings with the tenants over the coming weeks and have a full staff in the office to answer any questions residents may have and to ensure a smooth and successful transition,” Rubenstein said.
The new management of Langston Views did not grant Street Sense’s request for a tour of the property.
“We have a lot of changes coming up and improvements will take time. We hope that the tenants will entrust us with the place they call home, and we look forward to improving the community and seeing the residents flourish,” Rubenstein said.
Because of legal battles with previous management, many residents are wary of any promises of change for the building. Issues like flooding, lack of ventilation, mold, vermin, and three shootings within six months in 2023 pushed tenants to form an ad hoc committee and seek representation from Legal Aid DC and Arnold & Porter to file a lawsuit against Vantage Management in the fall of 2024.
Eleni Christidis, a supervising attorney for Legal Aid who oversaw the case against Marbury Plaza’s former managers, said residents were highly organized before working with Legal Aid. The organization “helped them understand their rights so that they could file claims in the bankruptcy and have a voice in that process,” Christidis said.
Residents at Marbury Plaza are not alone in their fight. Through organizations like Legal Aid and the D.C. Tenants Right Center, tenants across the District are demanding access to adequate and affordable housing. The Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act has allowed some to attain full ownership of their complexes.
Salim Adofo, a Ward 8 advocate who ran for D.C. Council and helped organize drives for food and other living essentials for Marbury Plaza residents, said he wished the settlement could have ended in a handover of the property to the residents to create a cooperative housing complex.
“The residents have the strength and the power and the muscle to force these property owners to do right by them,” Adofo said.
Adofo hopes that, under Clear Investment Group, comprehensive goals and timelines can be set to achieve the adequate housing residents have been demanding for years. For Ward 8, in general, Adofo said it is “frustrating that we continually have these issues, and it seems like none of these things are ever resolved or fixed.”
The Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia has filed multiple lawsuits due to unsafe and “health-threatening” conditions in Ward 8 buildings whose owners have contracts with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, according to the Washington Post.
But residents at Marbury Plaza hope their story ends differently. In the aftermath of the December settlement and Clear Investment’s purchase of the property, Edward Russel, a resident of newly-renamed Langston Views, said he is hopeful new management may bring positive change to the complex in the coming months.
“I’m feeling that there’s been an effort towards improvement; they just might need more help to do it,” Russel said.
