Coming in 2015 to this church: A 170-room hotel. (Photo: TBD Staff)

Heads up, Adams Morgan. Looks like you're really getting a hotel.

The D.C. Council on Tuesday voted to approve a 20-year, $46 million property tax abatement for the developers behind a planned Edition hotel, one of Marriott International's new luxury boutique hotel brands (they've partnered with Studio 54 co-founder Ian Schrager on the venture).

The 170-room hotel will be built in such a way that it will preserve the historic First Church of Christ, Scientist at Euclid and Champlain streets. It will also encompass (and theoretically displace) 2390 Champlain St. NW, which houses the Washington City Paper and Pacifica Radio's WPFW.

The tax abatement was not passed without controversy. Neighborhood residents raised concerns at a recent community meeting about such a big giveaway given the city's current budget crisis. Three council members, David Catania (I-At large), Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3), and Phil Mendelson (D-At-large) raised similar objections before Tuesday's vote.

"I don't see how I can in good conscience vote for this," said Cheh. "We have lost track of the fact that this is an attractive place to be. Maybe we shouldn't be so quick to just give away our money."

Still, the bill, introduced by Ward 1's Jim Graham, had more than enough votes to pass. Graham has argued that the existing church property currently generates zero tax revenue for the city, and the hotel project, which developer Brian Friedman has projected will generate $7 million in revenue per year, cannot get off the ground without the abatement.

With the deal now in place, the hotel is slated to open in 2015.