D.C. Code § 16-1311: Condemnation proceedings by District of Columbia.

When real property in the District of Columbia is needed by the Mayor of the District of Columbia for sites of schoolhouses, fire or police stations, rights-of-way for roads, highways, streets and alleys or parts thereof, rights-of-way for water mains or sewers, or any other authorized municipal use, and that property cannot be acquired by purchase from the owners thereof at a price satisfactory to the officers of the District authorized to negotiate for the property, a complaint may be filed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia in the name of the District of Columbia for the condemnation of the property or rights-of-way and the ascertainment of its value.