Bad Moe, Good Moe

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Mohanna says some of the critics are being unfair. He does want to be part of improving K Street. But he wants to do it his way, and he wants the city to treat him fairly.

"I have been called obstructionist. I've been called a lot of things," Mohanna says. "The city is trying to really hurt me. It is really unfortunate. But honestly, one thing I have to say is that none of us should accept injustice. Rather, we should fight it. I don't want to buy this theory that you can't beat City Hall. You can beat City Hall if you're right and just."

City officials have big hopes and dreams for the entire J, K street and L streets corridor, and that section of K street in particular is seen as one of the last and most difficult remaining pieces of the puzzle. All along the other sections of K, plans are flourishing for new upscale hotels, lofts, restaurants, even a cabaret theater.

But not the 700 and 800 blocks. Walk along the south side of that corridor today and you may think of a war zone. On one corner sits a large hole deep in the ground where several retail stores used to be. The nearby storefronts that remain are mostly boarded up and vacant.

"There really is nothing there," says City Councilman Rob Fong. "It's a real dead zone. For those reasons, we're really looking to redevelop those two blocks especially. The others are already happening. I think the city's vision for K Street is that it would be one of the signature retail shopping and entertainment venues in the city and very much a pedestrian destination."

But that can't happen until the issues surrounding the 700 and 800 blocks are resolved.

The Court Battle

The legal fight centers around a complex deal that Mohanna signed with the city redevelopment agency in April 2006, by which he would swap some of his properties in the 700 block for properties in the 800 block owned by other landlords.

Eventually, Mohanna would control the entire 800 block, while businessman Joseph Zeiden, owner of the Z Gallerie furniture chain, would own the 700 block. Both men would then own whole blocks that could be developed under unified visions.

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