Residents of Northwest D.C.’s Brightwood neighborhood have stomached the vacant, graffiti-ridden, rodent-infested apartment building at 6425 14th St. since the 1980s — their calls for action, until recently, disregarded.

“It’s a recurring situation,” Kamili Anderson, president of the Brightwood Community Association, said of the property just south of Walter Reed Army Medical Center. “Every day it’s been an issue. It’s been an issue for two decades.”

But the bane of Brightwood is nearing a turnaround. Developers must turn in their bids today to resurrect the 26-unit building, which the District purchased in April from its owner — a convicted felon who is the subject of a current slumlord lawsuit filed by the city.

“It’s been annoying, an eyesore for a long time,” said James McNair, who lives across the street. “I’m glad someone’s going to do something.”

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The Brightwood action comes as Mayor Adrian Fenty and the D.C. Council shake off years of indifference to take a more aggressive stand against blighted properties: suing slumlords, raising the vacant property tax and ramping up inspections.

The District bought the four-level complex from Vincent Abell, manager of Modern Management Inc., on April 29 for $3.1 million, roughly $100,000 more than the market rate appraisal. The building’s 2008 taxable assessment was $1.1 million.

“I don’t believe we paid any more than we had to pay,” said Ward 4 D.C. Councilwoman Muriel Bowser. “Obviously this was one of the big issues for Brightwood and has been for 20 years. We promised them that we would push ahead and bring that building back into productive use.”

Neighbors say Abell had no intention of renovating the building.

Abell said Friday he had acquired permits to start work, but D.C. housing inspectors shut him down over a “structural problem.”

“They were just harassing me,” he said. “It was a whole lot of aggravation. I just got tired of fighting with them.”

The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs put a “danger” sign on the building in 2007 after inspectors found several feet of standing water inside, a DCRA official said.

Abell served prison time in the 1980s for his role in a real estate fraud scheme. He’s been sued numerous times for allegedly scamming people out of their homes in the name of foreclosure rescue. Abell described himself as a reputable landlord and property owner.

He’s currently being sued by the District for allegedly operating dozens of rental properties without a basic business license. Abell said he applied for the licenses and the city failed to issue them through incompetence.

mneibauer@dcexaminer.com