The wall

It's an imposing wall, that which defines the edge of Union Station and 1st Street. Thousands pass through it every day as they trudge to the various office buildings just west of Union Station. There's a portal at the street level that leads Metro riders from the familiar brown hex tiles of the subway to the granite curbs of DC, a passage from darkness to light which is rote to many.

When I go through that opening I am always reminded about why I'm there--most of the time it's to go to DCRA, just a few blocks away, to meet with someone regarding a building permit or resolve a problem or negotiate or beg and plead. The only time I tend to get involved with permit processing is when there is a snafu of some sort. It's a delicate process, as I find myself schmoozing, cajoling, and being humbly deferential to people who have a certain degree of ability to make or break someone's day or week or year. Sometimes the task at hand is as imposing and seemingly impenetrable as the wall. Sometimes the portal yawns wide open and I'm successful in my task for the day.

I was a highly paid permit runner this week. There nothing like the unyielding intransigience of an entrenched bureaucracy to illuminate an otherwise dreary day. And cold, too. The wind was cutting through me as I walked (glad I wasn't on a bike) toward DCRA in my quixotic quest to procure building permits for this project that is about to close on its construction contract. I spent a lot of time in the waiting room, hoping to catch a glimpse of one the reviewers; getting an audience with a supervisor to move the permit along; making just enough small talk to get what I need to done. Acting like a vulture and really speaking my mind with this workforce, however, will only result in achieving little--they can give me the proverbial finger by simply ignoring me, and there is no recourse on my end.

The way these things work is that building permits are just one of the many items that lenders require for this gateway to open--until now everything we have done is on paper, and once these closing docs are signed we can start watching the construction unfold. Which is why this whole process is fraught with irony. These are existing buildings that require major interior alterations and very minor exterior work. Permits have taken over 6 months to go through the various agencies, and this is with the involvement of a third party peer reviewer, a development "ambassador", a permit service, a civil engineer, an Owner's rep, and the cherry on top, me. I got tons done this week--after spending 3 days at DCRA and many other billable hours writing letters and securing deals, we still aren't out of the woods. I've done everything that I can do.

As I passed through the portal to get back on the Metro, I figured that things should come together tomorrow, assuming everyone involved does exactly the right thing. If they don't, the project could tank. And it would be a shame if it does go belly up due to bureaucratic shortcomings, given the fact that I've put over a year of work into this thing. Hopefully we're able to climb over this wall. Tomorrow will tell.