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WASHINGTON - In Sheridan-Kalorama, a section of northwest Washington already known for a proliferation of foreign missions, several foreign governments are planning to expand their holdings.
The Austrians want to add two wings onto their Massachusetts Avenue chancery, or office building, a property they have owned for 60 years. The Turks have applied to the District of Columbia government to demolish a four-story chancery annex to make way for a larger edifice. And the Chinese want to expand their mission to include a swimming pool and small auditorium.
All of which strikes many other residents of the tree-lined neighborhood as a bit too much.
``We love the embassy residences,'' said Harold Washburn, chairman of the Sheridan-Kalorama Advisory Neighborhood Commission. ``They add so much panache to the community. It's the chanceries, the offices, that we deplore.''
The problem is a growing one in Washington, where the foreign presence has increased from 94 diplomatic missions in 1960 to 139 today; the missions occupy more than 320 separate buildings, some of which serve as residences, some as offices and some as both residences and offices. ``There's been an explosion,'' Washburn said.
The Foreign Missions Act of 1982 requires that foreign governments obtain permission from the State Department before buying or selling property, but diplomats quickly discover that ownership is just...