EXCLUSIVE: D.C. contractor repairs Council Chair's home

• Article
• Comments ()
• Click-2-Listen

By Jeffrey Anderson THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Finding a reliable company to do home repair and renovation can be a headache for any property owner. But D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray fared better than most when a politically connected megadeveloper that works with city agencies arranged for what he says were minor repairs and prepared plans to renovate his home last summer.

It was an unusual job for William C. Smith & Co., which routinely works with D.C. agencies, community centers and schools to build affordable housing and commercial and recreational space in distressed communities. The company's Web site, www.williamcsmith.com, does not include home repair or renovation in its portfolio.

What the company does have, according to council documents, is about $300 million of real estate development east of the Anacostia River -- an area of the city that Mr. Gray has represented.

In an interview in his city hall office Monday, Mr. Gray at first denied that the company did any work for him, aside from arranging for an architect to design a renovation that he said has yet to commence.

Later in the day, a spokeswoman called back to say that the company repaired a door to the roof of Mr. Gray's 2,800-square-foot home and installed a lock on his iron gate and exterior floodlights.

On Tuesday, Mr. Gray's office said that William C. Smith & Co. supervised and received a payment of $5,051.04 for work at Mr. Gray's home in July and August, including power-washing his driveway, painting his family room and installing wiring for a television. Mr. Gray said he paid the company an additional $5,000 for "architectural services for proposed renovation."

Mr. Gray confirmed that he did not pay for the work until this month -- after The Washington Times began asking employees of William C. Smith & Co. about the work, and a month after the paper filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking permits on the property. He declined to show any invoices or receipts.

Still later Tuesday, Mr. Gray offered to show canceled checks for the work and explained that W. Christopher Smith Jr., the son of the company's founder, is a longtime friend and that he was chosen as the contractor because of the personal relationship.

"I have known Chris Smith a long time, I know the quality of the work," he said. He also challenged the suggestion that ordinary residents would not be able to get minor home repairs handled by William C. Smith & Co. or a subsidiary.

Public records show that no work permits have been issued for Mr. Gray's address since he bought his Southeast Washington house in the 1980s.