Kids hang out after school in front of the Syphax Gardens public housing Southwest D.C. The housing development's future is in question if plans for the DC United soccer stadium move forward.
Southwest D.C. has seen quite a bit of development in recent years. This neighborhood, near the Buzzard Point area of Southwest D.C., is slated to be developed into a soccer stadium for the D.C. United, high end apartments, and businesses in coming years.
Residents aren't sure where they will go if development plans move forward. Many of these homes are privately owned but in 2005 the city used eminent domain to seize $84 million worth of property in order to build the Nationals baseball stadium.
"You got a lot of great kids. Going to school, doing great things," says Herbie, an active member of the community who grew up here himself. This young girl was dressed up for her first grade graduation.
Veronica (center, white shirt) raised six children in the Northeast area of Washington D.C. "I have an "S" on my chest," she says. But as developers move in, she isn't sure how long she will be able to afford to stay in this neighborhood where she has lived all her life.
"It's Friday, a lot of crazy people are out," said the woman sitting on the stairs who declined to give her name. Like so many others here, they had heard rumors of a soccer stadium to be built in their neighborhood but didn't know what the implications would be for their lives or where they'd live after.
These two men immigrated to the United States from India. Like others in the area they aren't sure where they will go when they have to leave. Development often causes employment strains in areas where residents relocate to as they either have to figure out ways to commute long distance to their old jobs or fight for new jobs with an already established community.
Kermit says his family has lived in this area for 200 years and that his grandfather helped build the Pentagon.