It was all smiles and seemingly smooth sailing ahead in early October, when the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation (AWC) announced the DC-based venture of PN Hoffman and Struever Brothers Eccles & Rouse as the winning team for its $800 million project to develop the 47 acres along the Southwest waterfront into "maritime-themed" housing and retail. But now comes word that this much-watched project might be running aground over questions regarding transfer of the land, now owned by the National Capital Revitalization Corp. (NCRC), to the AWC. The NCRC states it was promised incentives by DC for the land transfer, including $25 million in cash, $25 million in land parcels along Georgia Avenue, and 25 acres at the McMillan Reservoir site, while the DC Council is now only promising the McMillan land – a deal not acceptable to the NCRC. Legislation is expected to be introduced in the DC Council this week to end the stalemate. But even if this succeeds, the AWC is also dealing with demands by JBG Cos., a developer bypassed in the selection process but which controls half of the development site via its venture with two existing businesses on the site. JBG is asking the PN Hoffman team to negotiate with it and be involved with this development project – something the winning team is bristling at doing. The AWC is trying to find a workable solution to this unexpected headache. Stay tuned for the results...Update: On November 7, the DC Council’s Economic Development Committee passed legislation resolving the land swap issue. Under this bill, the NCRC will transfer its waterfront land to the AWC in exchange for the $25 million, the other DC land parcels, and 25 acres of the McMillan site. The full council is not expected to vote on this bill – which may still be altered - until November 14.
5 comments:
How come no one ever posts comments on this blog? You guys do such a good job compliling the up-to-date goings on of development. Thank you!
Thanks, we appreciate the complement. We are still new and getting discovered, but as real estate junkies we're just enjoying the fact that DC has become such a boomtown.
Anyone know who the master planning architect will be for this project?
Ugh. NCRC is a menace. They sit on properties for DECADES and do absolutely nothing with them. They should have a 5-year time limit on development, after which the property goes on sale to the highest bidder.
I guarantee NOTHING will happen at the McMillan site before 2012.
A master planner has not yet been selected, nor has a developer. There are alot of pieces to this puzzle that have not yet been fit together, and one of the main issues will be what portion of this must be saved as historic; the site has 25 underground bunkers and many above-grade features, some of which will be saved.
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