Work Begins on Capitol Riverfront's "Crown Jewel"

Developer Forest City Washington broke ground today on the latest Capitol Riverfront redevelopment initiative: the Park at the Yards. Located between Nationals Park and the Navy Yard, the $42 million, 5.4 acre park, designed by M. Paul Friedberg and Partners, was touted as "the core" and "crown jewel" of the greater Yards development. Once complete, the area will feature 2700 new units of housing, 400,000 square feet of retail and 1.8 million square feet of office space. The park’s first phase, scheduled for completion next summer, is set to include “vast open lawns” and landscaped gardens along a riverfront promenade that will incorporate an extension of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail. Future work will include three retail pavilions, including one in the historically-protected Lumber Shed adjoining the site, with the end result of creating a world class waterfront destination.

“A world class city has to have a world class waterfront…This I think is the biggest piece of that and generations of Washingtonians are going to be thankful that this day occurred,” said DC Mayor Adrian Fenty.

Meanwhile, FCW President Deborah Ratner Salzberg told DCmud that other, more retail-centric pieces of the greater Yards puzzle, such as the Boilermaker Shops at 200 Tingey Street, SE, continue to fall into place. According to Salzberg, roughly 50% of that space is now leased and the FCW development team recently returned from a conference with potential retailers.

Despite rumors of business being slow in the from-scratch neighborhood surrounding the ballpark as construction continues, Claire Schaefer, Deputy Executive Director of the Capitol Riverfront BID, said that approximately 1,600 new residents are now in place in the area’s various rental and condo buildings, with that number expected to climb to 2,000 by year’s end. According to the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, the Yards alone will host some 3,700 Southeast newcomers once work finally wraps sometime in the twenty-teens. Those figures will surely be helped along by the vast number of transit-oriented, “’smart growth” projects coming along as the riverfront coalesces - expanded bus services, water taxis, street cars and even horse-drawn buggies being among the options explored for a site that once hosted a government compound known as the Southeast Federal Center.

“You have to put all these pieces together to get to today…[This is] how a neighborhood gets transformed,” said Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, who facilitated the nation's first public-private partnership on federal land for the Yards project. “It is especially important to the neighborhood and city that there be a way to reach our river from which we have been isolated forever. This is a part of the city that has been opened to the people.”

Anacostia to Get its Own Boathouse Row

With the District-led attempt to bring development to Southeast Washington DC's Poplar Point now stalled for the foreseeable future, both the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (ODMPED) and the Office of Planning (OP) have now turned their collective bureaucratic eye across the Anacostia River and towards a section called Boathouse Row.

In the spring of 2008, the District agencies assembled a team to consider options for the riverfront, which has now gone public with a Planning Study for the stretch of land that runs along M and Water Streets, SE on the Anacostia’s west bank. As is, the site - largely overlooked by development next door at the Capitol Riverfront - is currently home to half-a-dozen maritime operations, including a cadre of "yacht clubs," the former Anacostia Marina, and installations servicing the DC Department of Public Works, the US Army Corps of Engineers and the DC Water and Sewer Authority. Rehoboth Beach it won't be, but for the local government, redevelopment at Boathouse Row represents a shot at making the Anacostia River a recreational destination again for the first time in half a century.

The outcome of the study hinges on the proposed dredging of the polluted and endangered river – a procedure that has yet to be budgeted or approved by the DC government. As such, the team presented two concepts for the site – one contingent on a clean-up, the other not.

Concept I, which assumes dredging will in fact take place, would see the Anacostia Community Boathouse Association expand its location underneath the 11^th Street Bridge, while the other boat clubs along the riverbank will be permitted to build-out “either perpendicular or parallel to the shore.” The team envisions three open “community spaces” at intermittent points along the river with amenities like canteens and bike rental kiosks, in addition to a revitalized and expanded Anacostia Marina for motorized watercraft.

Concept II, “a response to the possibility that dredging the Anacostia River will not take place,” assumes that the river will remain impenetrable to boats of any significant size. The locations of the various yacht clubs would be reconfigured, while the Sewer Authority’s work station would be relocated off-site in order to provide for a “continuous waterfront edge.” This plan too calls for three large community spaces along the river, but improvements to the Anacostia Marina would be significantly downsized and it would be outfitted to service only non-motorized boats.

No matter which route the District takes at Boathouse Row, neither will be realized soon. According to the report, “Several District infrastructure projects will need to be completed before improvements to Boathouse Row can be implemented.” That includes renovations to the 11^th Street Bridge, completion of the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative’s Riverwalk Trail and the possible relocation of the Federal Channel. At present they’re projecting those procedures to run until at least 2014, with implementation of either concept expected to be complete by 2020.

It should also be noted that control of Boathouse Row currently sits with the National Park Service; a formal transfer of the land to District government is planned for later this year. The entire Planning Study can be read in its entirety at the ODMPED homepage. homes are for sale in washington dc.

Yards of New Retail in Southeast

The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) has signed off on Forest City Washington’s (FCW) plans for the second phase of development at their previously announced Waterfront Park - the public space component of their sprawling 42-acre development in Southeast, The Yards.

The centerpiece of the project is the rehabilitation and restoration of the so-called “Lumber Shed” – a 19,000 square foot, pre-war industrial building that will be re-purposed as a new retail pavilion. The Shed, included on the National Register of Historic Places, will be improved with walls of glass so that, according to the naval-gazing NCPC, its “concrete structure [will be] revealed and retained.” Two similarly-styled new retail buildings will be constructed next door and serve a combination of “restaurant, shopping and neighborhood retail uses.” Both of the newly constructed retail pavilions – measuring in at 6,288 and 10,277 square feet - will feature second story terraces intended for outdoor dining. Architecture firm Gensler is handling designs for both the renovation and new construction.

Phase II of development at the Park will also include the beginnings of a future Southeast Waterfront boardwalk. FCW has commissioned a “70-foot polished stainless steel structure” from designer James Carpenter that will serve as an “iconic statement about the rebirth of the Navy Yard Annex and Southeast Federal Center as The Yards, and the rebirth of the Anacostia Riverfront itself.” According to NCPC documentation, this “visual marker” will reflect the sky and water during the day and will be softly lit internally at night.”

Other improvements planned for the Waterfront Park’s 1100 foot span between the north bank of the Anacostia and Water Street, SE include multiple street art installations, newly planted trees, a bicycle network and a connection to the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail. Despite the quantity and quality of FCW’s plans for the Waterfront Park and surrounding retail, they, in fact, have yet to definitively acquire the all of the parcels on site, including the Lumber Shed. According to the developer, it’s a unique kink of their deal with the federal government, who years ago utilized the site as a naval annex.

“The arrangement with the General Services Administration [is that] we acquire individual parcels, whether there’s an existing building on it or its open land where the GSA had formerly demolished a building,” says Gary McManus, FCW’s Marketing Manager. “There’s a takedown schedule for that. So once we start development on it, then we acquire the site. But that hasn’t happened yet, because we have yet to start construction.”

The NCPC previously ok’ed FCW’s initial plans for the Waterfront Park in February of 2008. McManus tells DCmud that their first phase, currently under construction, “will be done by 2010, probably mid-year. [A final date] on the park pavilions will have to do with retail leasing, but there seems to be alot of strong interest in locating down there by river for riverfront dining...we’re anticipating late 2011 or 2012 [for Phase II].” The project’s third and final phase remains unscheduled at this time, but is currently set to include the development’s maritime components, including piers.

DC Lauds SE Development

Mayor Adrian Fenty, Washington Nationals President Stan Kasten and various District officials gathered at today Nationals Stadium for a press conference with a two-fold purpose. First, to pat themselves on the back for the redevelopment initiatives currently underway in Southeast, and second, to ensure the public that those projects are still very much on track, even as the commercial real estate market remains perilously on edge.

"A lot has happened in just over a year since the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation was dissolved into the rest of the government," said Fenty. "I think, from my perch, that there's probably even more decision-making, fast action and decisiveness by having the Council and Executive Branch in charge - with no fault going down on the input of the community and making sure we follow the original plan."

Fenty also gave a brief rundown of the $8 billion worth of development, infrastructure and community projects targeted at reinvigorating the city’s waterfront: Poplar Point ($2.5 billion), the Southwest Waterfront ($198 million in TIF/PILOT funds), Hill East ($1.4 billion), Park at the Yards ($42 million), Marvin Gaye Park ($7.7 million), Canal Park Development Corp.’s as-yet unnamed Ballpark District park ($13.1 million), the South Capitol streetcar line ($30 million), the 11^th Street Bridge project ($260 million), the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail System ($50 million), Diamond Teague Park ($16 million), the St. Elizabeths plan (as-of-yet unbudgeted) and various community initiatives such as the Green Summer Job Corps, an online water quality monitoring system, a new stormwater rate structure and the Anacostia 2032 plan – which seeks to make the polluted river “boatable, swimmable and fishable in 25 years.”

“I’ll tell you what’s going to happen along the Waterfront in the decades and years and months and days to come,” said George Hawkins, Director of the District Department of the Environment. “We will have a cleaner river. We will have a better environment…At the same time, we are going to bring almost unparalleled economic vitality and jobs to this city.”

With regards to the economy, Mayor Fenty presented an optimistic view of the impact the fiscal crisis is having on projects heading down the development pipeline. “The national economy, as everyone is aware, is having an extremely hard time. The District of Columbia is not immune from that, of course, but there is a certain degree of insulation and there’s a large degree of momentum, which is allowing a lot of projects…to continue to go forward,” said Fenty.

Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, Neil Albert, followed up Fenty’s remarks by characterizing developers with stakes in Southeast projects as “still very bullish,” despite a dearth of client interest in the commercial real estate market. “While some of the surrounding areas are having difficulty leasing space, they're still leasing space here in the District,” said Albert.

Interested citizens will have to chance to examine the marketplace for themselves this coming Saturday, November 15^th, as the District hosts a “Community Education Fair” at Nationals Park. Several District agencies, local developers, community groups, and local not-for-profit organizations will lead bus tours to the site of upcoming projects and panels on the Southeast redevelopment. For more information, visit the District’s website.

The Yards Parks Itself on the Anacostia

A new twist in Forest City's development plans for The Yards was revealed today as Mayor Fenty announced the addition of a $42 million dollar riverfront park - that's $42 million for a park - to the sprawling 5.5 million square feet of redevelopment already underway in the surrounding area.

"This is the project that will project the District of Columbia forward from the standpoint of renovating, modernizing, accentuating, bringing to life, and restoring this great neighborhood adjacent to the Anacostia River," said Fenty from inside the vacant warehouse that will soon house the Yards' Boilermaker Shops.

Simply dubbed The Park at the Yards, the 5.5 acre park is being designed by New York-based landscape architects M. Paul Friedberg and Partners and was touted by Ward 6 City Councilman, Tommy Wells, as the new “front porch” for the Southeast Waterfront.  If that is indeed the case, the park seems to be more country club terrace than whittling stoop - the plans currently on-hand call for “well-landscaped ‘outdoor rooms’ with seating areas,” “a riverfront courtyard” that will feature retail and dining on three sides, “a water feature” in tribute to the Washington Canal, “a great lawn” that could potentially host live entertainment and “a scenic esplanade” that will connect foot traffic to the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail. Forest City is also in talks to bring a marina to the site.  The Mayor equated the park to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and Chicago’s Millennium Park, as a draw for local residents and tourists alike “for generations to come.”

“It’s a great amenity for the city.   It’s welcoming to families. It’s welcoming to children.  It will be welcoming not just our residents, but to everyone in Ward 6 and throughout the District who come,” said Deborah Ratner Salzberg, President of Forest City Washington.  "It will be a true world-class location…to eat, play and just to relax and have fun.”

The Park represents a unique facet of development at the Yards, in more than one regard.  First and foremost, it is the product of a public-private partnership between Forest City and the District, which teamed-up to secure the federally-owned parcel from the General Services Administration (the terms of that deal were not disclosed).

Secondly, it was financed through a Payment-in-Lieu-of-Taxes (PILOT) initiative, described by the Mayor’s office as “the District…selling a bond against future taxes…generated by the surrounding development."  Ahh, the 'generations to come' will be the ones paying for it. Thirdly, after Forest City completes construction, all maintenance and programming of the park will be turned over to the Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District (BID). The BID’s Executive Director, Michael Stevens, characterized their involvement as including everything from planting flowers to plowing snow.

Construction is planned to begin this January, the developer hopes to have the park open in time for the Nationals’ 2010 opener.  The Park at the Yards is the second such space planned for the immediate waterfront area (the other being Diamond Teague Park to the west) and the capstone to Forest City’s plans for 2,800 condos/apartments, 1.8 million square feet of office space and 400,000 square feet of retail at the Yards. “This is going to be one of the greatest places in America to live,” said Councilman Wells.

Washington DC retail and commercial real estate news

Akridge's Field of Dreams

With all the talk about waterfront development, you would think the best waterfront property in DC was spoken for. That might just depend on who you ask. Real estate development firm Akridge currently holds the keys to a corporate dream home: nine acres of land on the Anacostia waterfront, which can house 2.7 million s.f. of development and more than 1,600 parking spaces by right, not to mention site lines down the Potomac River. And for baseball fans who dream of finishing up a day at the office with a cold beer behind home plate, the Akridge site is only four blocks away from the new Nationals Stadium. Officially, the site's address is 100 V Street, SW, just within the historic Buzzard Point district. Yet the potential for development is vast; with the possibility of spanning three full city blocks to create a corporate campus that fits nicely within the context of the Fort McNair neighborhood. “We think it’s ideal for a user that has security needs because there are several natural buffers. The site encompasses three full city blocks with water on one side, Fort McNair on the West and a PEPCO sub-station across First Street SW, it is on a point with little thru traffic, and adjacent occupants also have large campus-like properties,” said Mary Margaret Plumridge, Media Contact for Akridge. 

Akridge, which purchased the site in 2005 for $75 million from utility supplier PEPCO, has lovingly maintained its original parking lot appearance, retaining the Field of Dreams look and, Akridge hopes, its promise. The new owners did remove an abandoned oil tank left behind by the previous owners - unfortunately empty. The development team has decided (for now) to avoid setting a firm design plan in stone. It's what Akridge calls the "ideal build-to-suit" opportunity. Basically, if you like the idea of having your office a stone's throw from the Potomac, or the notion that you could catch a home run from your office courtyard (assuming Bonds is still juicing), this might be the opportunity you seek. And in a reverse Field-of- Dreams-scenario, if someone wants it dearly enough, Hellmuth Obata & Kassabaum will design it for the lucky bidder, at which point Akridge will build. Because of Akridge’s by-right zoning, the developer is ready and willing to build and is marketing the site to either a “secure user” or for the traditional mixed-use path. Akridge expects to eventually manage the project that is built, but recognizes that the nature of the user would dictate that possibility.

Washington DC commercial real estate news

Hill East - Another Day, Another Waterfront Initiative

A Request for Expressions of Interest was officially issued today by the District of Columbia to attract a master developer for "Hill East," 50 acres of real estate on the former D.C. General Hospital site and Anacostia River. Hill East is one of three major redevelopment sites that make up the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative, a 20 year plan to turn the Anacostia River into a thriving residential, commercial and retail center, not to mention place of recreation for D.C. residents. At a press conference this morning at the Stadium-Armory Metro Station, Mayor Adrian Fenty said developers are invited to submit proposals through August. A three month review period will follow, and the selected developer will be announced at the end of the year with major District-developer planning starting in early 2009.

Fenty stated that “The RFEI process is underway and we look forward to announcing a developer whose plan complements what is already here on site and takes advantage of the opportunities of the river. We want the development to serve as a gateway between Capitol Hill and the Waterfront so people can walk down to the Anacostia River, which is hard to do now." As if you would want to.

The Hill East site, which is two and a half times bigger than the development at the old convention center, is intended to be a low-impact, LEED certified mixed-use development. The project will include residential, retail, and office components and will extend Massachusetts Avenue and other streets within the site to tie the new neighborhood into the existing community; including, apparently, the correctional facility, which will remain on site. Councilmember Tommy Wells, D-Ward 6, said the District envisions some sort of “health plex”, which could range from doctors’ offices to a specialized treatment facility, but that the decision is a long way off.

According to the RFEI, the development could result in “up to 3,000 new housing units, over 2 million square feet of office and institutional uses, new primary care medical facilities, and over 100,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.”

“It will be a truly mixed-use project,” said Deputy Mayor Neil Albert. “There is a great need for affordable housing in the District. There is a need for a health-plex, and because there are two metro stops [DCmud is still trying to locate the 2nd one], it will be good for office space, maybe some offices that are being forced out of the downtown area because of increasing lease prices,” he said.

“The more we bring to the waterfront, the more time people will want to spend there. We already have a bike path underway. We need to embrace the river as a community asset,” said Wells. Both Wells and Fenty pointed out the need to reduce the pollution in the river and to work with Maryland, the state through which the majority of the river runs. They both said part of the project’s goal is to make the river suitable for canoing and even swimming (cringe).

“It has been a dumping ground for too long. People say ‘who would want to live by the river?’ but what is possible here is a new neighborhood – the Anacostia River as an amenity,” Wells said.

The site is bounded by 19th street, Independence Avenue, the Anacostia River, and the Historic Congressional Cemetery. The entire site is 67 acres, but development will take place on only 50 of those. The land, known as Reservation 13, is technically owned by the General Service Administration, but was given to the District under the 2006 Federal and District of Columbia Government Real Property Act of 2006, a “Transfer Act”. As DCmud reported in April of last year, 12 acres of the property were to be given back to the Federal government for a congressional mail facility. According to Fenty, the District is now looking for an alternative site for this facility and it will not be part of the Hill East development.

For those worried (or happy) about losing their Anacostia River views, maximum building heights for the west portion of the site will be a towering four stories, the central portion, a skyscraping seven stories, and the eastern portion will rise to a stratospheric 10 stories. That's sarcasm, in case you missed it.

Florida Rock Gets Zoning OK

Riverfront on the Anacostia received a long-awaited approval from the Zoning Commission yesterday for its proposed action for the 'Floria Rock' concrete plant lot, a major step forward for the lot that borders both the new National's Stadium and the Anacostia waterfront. The site is currently home to an active concrete production plant, which some planners apparently believe is not the optimal use of riverfront space so close to the ballpark. Florida Rock Properties has to wait until May 22nd before final action can be taken for the second stage of their P.U.D., construction could begin as early as 2009.

The Florida Rock lot, spanning 5.8 acres along the Anacostia River, has been under Zoning review since 1998, when the initial application was filed to revitalize the site and convert it to a mixed-use project. The final product looks far different from when it orginally started a decade ago, and now encompasses four buildings totalling 1.1 million s.f., which will together sit on a single, underground parking platform holding more than 1,000 spaces. There will be a total of 460,000 s.f. of office space, 80,000 s.f. of retail space, and 323,000 s.f. of residential space, apparently enough for over 300 units, with 25 units set aside for affordable housing. The 4th building will be a 325-bed hotel, all to sit behind a 719 ft. waterfront esplanade and riverwalk. FRP promises that the entire complex will be LEED Certified at some level.

According to Michael Stevens, Executive Director of Capitol Riverfront BID, one of FRP's requirements per the PUD is to build the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail, a 20 mile series of boardwalk spanning both sides of the river, and running from the Arboretum to the southwest waterfront on the north side. Only the portion fronting the Navy yard has been completed, but even that is not yet open to the public. Stevens predicts that the first leg could be open as soon as this year. But don't get out your rollerblades yet, the Florida Rock section is at least a few years away, as is Forest City's crucial link, though their site should see construction begin this year.

A brief history of the development: The first plan for the site was preliminarily approved in 1998 for FRP to build a commercial project, and received final approval in 1999 for two buildings with a 55 ft. wide waterfront esplanade, but - perhaps fortuitously - the project never got off the ground. After a series of delays, the case was set to go before Zoning in September, 2004, but before the firm could have their day, the District announced the Nationals' Stadium which would be built right across the street. The Anacostia Waterfront Corporation, the governing body overseeing development over the new stadium-area, requested FRP delay their P.U.D. re-submission so the two entities could coordinate. Finally in August of 2006, a modified P.U.D. was submitted, with a hearing following in September.

The new project reviewed at the September meeting has essentially stayed the same. The modified P.U.D., appropriately dubbed 'Stage 2', was a rethinking of the now extremely valuable waterfront property. It included four buildings: two offices, a hotel and a residential component. But Zoning outlined some problems with the plan. For starters, one Commissioner stated that the project "lacked the right civic character and [a] greater presence of residential uses, preferably apartment units, would be more appropriate." The rest of the commission agreedthat the project lacked a 'sense of place'. Along with these comments came recommendations for some minor tweaks, including complaints about the East Office building inadequately 'recognizing the location and nature of the grand stair of the stadium'.

FRP went back to the drawing board, and came back in July of 2007 with some modifications; by September some project changes and the new name had been agreed upon, which developers described as a "holistic rethinking of the P.U.D. proposal previously considered, especially regarding the civic spaces." Three public spaces were added to the project, all having retail borders: the Pitch to the east, an enclosed galleria called Potomac Quay, and an outdoor water-animated plaza called Cascade Plaza. Along with this new civic character, FRP engaged in a 'physical tightening of the buildings', increasing the residential uses by more than 100,000 s.f., and shifting the footprints of the East Office building to link the site to the stadium and Anacostia river. Zoning's comments were less biting after September's hearing.

Since September's meeting, FRP and architect Davis Buckley Architects and Planners, made minor changes to the P.U.D. for their February 28th re-submission, and which Zoning approved yesterday. The changes included significant details regarding the outdoor public spaces. The old 'Pitch' will now be called Anacostia Place, and adorned with a Raymond Kaskey sculpture called "Anacostia," it will now be considered the central focus of the east end of the project. Zoning Commissioners want it to be a "high energy and visually-active space." Cascade Plaza will, alternatively be the central focus of the west end, serving as a front door and circular driveway for the residential, West Office and hotel buildings.

Clark Wins Poplar Point

Mayor Fenty announced this morning that Clark Realty Capital was chosen as the developer for Poplar Point - 110 acres of undeveloped land with a full mile of Anacostia waterfront, sitting just across from the new baseball stadium. Development of Poplar Point is the key to the District's $10 billion, with a "b", Anacostia Waterfront Initiative.


The District began the process with a solicitation last August, bids were due by last November. According to the District, it sought development teams based "on their vision, qualifications, financial capacity, and commitment to community engagement." The District and Clark still have an uphill battle to get the land secured; it is still owned by the federal government and transfer depends on a suitable environmental impact study. The final plan will include a 70-acre park, a "hub for businesses" and an assortment of mixed used development in an area the District has called "underused and isolated." Clark's plan included a bridge over I-295 to make the park accessible to pedestrians from Anacostia.

Clark Realty is based in Arlington, Virginia, and offers a broad range of real estate development, management and financing services. Mayor Fenty called the project "the largest economic development project the District has ever embarked on and we are making investment where it is needed most - East of the River."

DC Bureaucrat Seeks Rich, Ambitious, Type-A Developer for LTR

Hard working DC bureaucrat, ISO experienced, rich masochistic-type for long term relationship.
The Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development has issued a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) for Poplar Point, the mostly vacant site along the eastern banks of the Anacostia River in Ward 8. DC's purpose in issuing the RFEI is to "identify highly qualified developers who have the creative vision, demonstrated experience and organizational and financial capability and capacity to plan, construct and potentially operate a world-class mixed-use development and waterfront park."

Developers whose only experience includes conversions of 4-unit apartment buildings into condos need not apply - Poplar Point is expected to become a residential, commercial, cultural, and recreational development - 130 acres in all - with one mile of Waterfront, one of the key sites in the District’s $10 billion Anacostia Waterfront Initiative, with the potential for a soccer stadium, and sitting directly across from the new baseball stadium to boot.

Despite its location just across the river from the new stadium and a short drive to the Capitol Building, with views of the downtown skyline and monuments, Poplar Point is "an underutilized and isolated" collection of federal facilities, according to the District. The District’s vision for the redevelopment is embodied in the Anacostia Waterfront Framework Plan and includes "high-quality development, an emphasis on urban waterfront life, a commitment to environmental stewardship and the preservation of community character that fully engages local residents, community groups and other stakeholders..." Interested suitors should have thick skin too, as if working with the aforementioned groups won't get contentious enough, neighbors have already protested the "upscale" nature of the project, contending that hotels, conference centers and stadiums will not provide services they need, or will be able to afford.

The Anacostia Waterfront Initiative eventually proposes new parks, trails, housing, retail, office space and cultural amenities over the next 20 years, connecting residents of nearby Barry Farm, Hillsdale, Fairlawn and Historic Anacostia to the river.

Responses to this RFEI are due by October 19, 2007 at 12 pm. The District expects to select a development partner before the end of the year.

DC Waterfront Redevelopment Sails Forward – Five Developers Contend for Project

The Washington Business Journal is reporting that on June 13, the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation (AWC) trimmed its initial list of 17 developers vying for the right to redevelop the 47-acre Southwest waterfront to just five teams. Four of the teams are led by Washington-area developers, with the last team hailing from Chicago. The teams are: EastBanc-LNR Waterfront Partners; Madison Marquette and KSI Services and Waterfront Partners; SW Waterfront LLC (headed by JBG); PN Hoffman and Struever Brothers Eccles & Rouse; and the John Buck Co. of Chicago. The five teams were selected for their experience with public/private large-scale, mixed-use projects. The AWC expects to select a final team by the end of this summer to fulfill its dream of a gleaming new $500 million waterfront full of "maritime-themed" housing and retail. Considering how the Southwest waterfront is now blocked by rows of big-boxed restaurants of middling quality, the AWC plan is a welcome development that will embrace DC’s impressive waterfront.