McLean Gardens is a 43-acre housing development — on the former estate of newspaper publisher John R. McLean — built in 1942 as temporary housing for wartime defense workers. In 1980, after a long battle by the tenants, who were able to secure the largest buy-out in DC history by a residents' association, the original 31 red brick apartment buildings converted to condominiums; nine original dormitory buildings had been destroyed in 1974-75. In the early 1980s, construction of a rental section began under a different limited partnership, eventually including both townhouses (called "The Village at McLean Gardens") and a seven-story luxury apartment building ("The Towers"). These units were registered as condominiums with the city so that they could be sold at a later date. That time came in