DC General Meets the Wrecking Ball

  Its been a long time coming, but demolition is finally underway for the beleaguered DC General Hospital.  Several of the 6 buildings that make up the hospital complex are meeting the wrecking ball this week as DC prepares for redevelopment of the entire site.  The complex, which operated as a hospital since 1846, was closed in 2001, and operated as a homeless shelter for families from 2002 until 2018, giving way to Mayor Bowser's plan to operate homeless shelters in all 8 wards.  Demolition of the structure took place in phases, beginning in the autumn of 2018, the final building is scheduled to be demolished later this year.

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In its place, the city has planned for a large, mixed-use complex dubbed Hill East, a 67-acre section of real estate bordering the Anacostia River.  While redevelopment plans go back much further, the city issued an RFEI in May of 2008 and announced finalists that November.  Donatelli Development and Blue Skye Development, which won the bidding process, broke ground on Reservation 13, the first phase of the project, in April of 2018.  The land at Reservation 13 will ultimately add nearly 400,000 s.f. of residential and retail space.  GTM Architects will design the buildings, Bradley Site Design is the landscape architect.

happy buildings

Washington DC retail and real estate news

Barney Circle: Preserving Hill East

For some residents of Hill "proper," Hill East is the ugly duckling of Capitol Hill.  Its numbered streets have double-digits, its architecture is eclectic. And isn't it near...the river? While many Hill East residents are eager to prove the neighborhood has charm and historic character, others, including long-time residents, are happy to keep the long arm of the preservationists away. Last week, the Historic Preservation Review Board decided to wait a little longer before officially creating the Barney Circle Historic District that would bring the same level of historic protection to real estate that Capitol Hill now enjoys. The Capitol Hill Historic District's eastern boundary is 13th Street SE, with parts of 14th Street included. 

As you venture beyond the confines of the historic area, the boundaries do much to explain the odd mix of new 4-story condos next to the townhouses. The Barney Circle area is bounded by "the houses fronting on Barney Circle on the south, by those on the north side of Potomac Avenue on the north, by those on the west side of Kentucky Avenue on the west and by the Congressional cemetery on the east," according to the HPRB. Once the terminus of the Pennsylvania Avenue Streetcar, the neighborhood was built largely between 1905 and 1929, inhabited mostly by employees at the nearby Navy Yard. The homes were contrived from Henry Wardman's "daylighter" model, which offered a suburban feel with a front yard, front porch and copious daylight inside. The HPRB staff report recommended an approval, noting the neighborhood as a "prime example of an extremely cohesive and intact early twentieth century, working-class, rowhouse neighborhood." The "period of significance" for the ares was determined to be between 1905 and 1941; of the 192 homes in the new district, all but 3 will come under the auspices of the HPRB. The Historic recognition would mean more headaches for the owners of the 189 homes. The Capitol Hill Restoration Society (CHRS) quickly points out on its website that being in an historic district means that "if you want to install a fence, make any changes to the porch, garage, or exterior of your building, or even install sculpture in your front yard, you must get a building permit." Though the ANC voted unanimously to approve the nomination, neighbors will take their time to debate the merits of the recognition; HPRB was prepared to approve it last week but has left the door open for a larger area to be included, should the community request it.

Washington, DC real estate development news

Demolition on East Capitol

Hill East has fewer abandoned buildings and more rubble after the recent demolition of the vacant, 80-unit apartment building (pictured) on East Capitol Street, SE, between 17th and 18th Streets. The 42,629-s.f. site is near RFK Stadium just across from Eastern Senior High School, which itself has gotten a bit of a makeover lately. The demolition makes way for Kennedy Place, a 141-unit condo building developed by The Merion Group and designed by PGN Architects.

General contractor, Moseley Construction Group, is responsible for the demolition and construction. According to Johnny Moseley, President of Moseley Construction Group, the demolition is 50 percent complete. Moseley said he was "not sure" about the status of the second phase, actual construction.

The project, originally planned as 131 units by then-owner Comstock East Capitol LLC, received a zoning extension in 2009. The approved zoning changes and plan modifications give the developers until December of 2010 to file a building permit, and December of 2011 to begin construction.

In December 2007 Comstock received approval for a consolidated PUD allowing construction of a 133-unit building. In that same month, Merion acquired the property for $6.2 million from Comstock, which paid $9 million in 2006. Merion Chairman Bill Bensten was formerly a senior executive at Comstock.


Washington, DC real estate development news

Capitol Hill Condo Opens Saturday

Capitol Hill's newest condo opens for sales on Saturday. 15 East is expected to be ready for occupancy by mid April. The 4-story building, by Macy Development, will offer 4 one-bedroom and 4 two-bedroom condos for sale on the corner of 15th and C Streets, SE. Prices will start at $289,900 for the one-bedroom units and $389,900 for each of the two-bedroom condos.

Located 3.5 blocks north of the Potomac Avenue Metro station, near the new Harris Teeter, construction on the new building began in late 2007 but halted during the financing drought. The project was revived earlier this year, with completion scheduled within the next 4 weeks. Two-bedroom condos will come with the option to purchase parking, and all will have some private outdoor space. Two bedroom condos feature a corner living room with a wall of glass facing south and west. Sales and marketing by DC Real Estate.

15 East

285 15th Street, SE

Washington DC, 20003

Washington DC real estate development news

Jenkins Row Condominiums

Jenkins Row, 1391 Pennsylvania Ave., SE, Washington DC
Jenkins Row was originally designed as an apartment building, converting after the start of construction, and both finishes and amenities reflect the original intent (more amenities, less expensive finishes). Contracting problems forced the delay of construction, and many of the original buyers to back out. The 247-unit wood-framed building finally delivered in September of 2007, with prices starting from $250,000 for a studio and from $378,000 for one bedroom, prices that ultimately went down considerably.

Located adjacent to the Potomac Avenue Metro, two metro stops from the Capitol Hill Office Buildings, Jenkins Row features a fitness center, front desk receptionist, underground parking, and encircled central courtyard with water fountains. In 2008 a Harris Teeter opened on the first floor. The project was built by JPI of Texas, which later disbanded its DC operations, and designed by SK&I Architectural Design Group. The building was designed to look less massive than it is, with varying architectural styles on the facade.

Post your comments on this condo below:

The Dirt on... Capitol Hill (East)

Neighborhood Vibe:

I live in a 1-bedroom condo with my husband. Let's call it cozy. Our condo building is home to law students, Hill staffers and long-time residents. My downstairs neighbor is a retired woman who has lived at our intersection for so long, she remembers when the new condo around the corner was a crack house (no joke). My condo could be a microcosm for the area: an odd mix of young professionals, young families, long-time residents, and active older people.

There are slight tensions in the neighborhood as Hill East continues to grow and change. When I was writing freelance from home I used to joke that as the underemployed political wonk next door, I was personally killing the street cred of the kids around the corner. Joking aside, my husband and I have had a couple unfortunate incidents with people in the neighborhood: first, he was mugged last September, then he and a friend were both shot with a pellet gun one night, and recently we had fruit catapulted at us as we walked home. The upside is that the police are incredibly responsive and very good about following up on reported incidents. (Both the mugger and the shooter were later caught, we decided not to report the fruit pummeling.) And since the perpetrators are at least creative; their entrepreneurial spirit gives us great stories for cocktail parties.

Retail and Restaurants
The occasional un-neighborly conduct does not overshadow the positive parts of living in Hill East. I love living in a neighborhood within a large city and having almost anything I want within walking distance. I have a new grocery store with the Jenkins Row Harris Teeter. I can walk to Eastern Market for not only fresh local produce, meats and fantastic cheeses but how convenient is it to be able to buy handmade jewelry, Indian pottery and a gently used couch all within 20 feet of each other? I even bought my "room-defining" painting from an artist at the Market.

The area is home to tons of thriving small businesses. Hills Kitchen is among my favorite shops in DC, not just my neighborhood. The independent gourmet kitchenware store is a great place for unique gifts or for an aspiring chef to stock up on the newest Staub dutch oven - and, they even offer cooking lessons. Owner Leah Daniels cares about her neighborhood and clearly loves her job; she spent several hours (after the shop had closed) working on my wedding registry and walking through the store, debating the pros and cons of various items. Who does that anymore? Nearby, Remix is one of the best vintage clothing shops around - with new items coming in all the time and reasonable prices, I love to stop in to browse, and rarely leave empty-handed. On the more practical side of retail is Frager’s Hardware. No matter what you need for home repair, Fragers will have it - along with other surprises like camping gear, bocce balls and bubble machine rentals. They also have a great garden section, where I have bought my Festivus (for the rest of us) Fern the past several years.

Hill East proper doesn't really offer much in the way of restaurants or bars. There are a few, such as Trusty's and Wisdom, but for the most part I need to go elsewhere for dinner or drinks. Luckily I don’t have to go too far. Barracks row/8th street is becoming a thriving restaurant and bar corridor. One of my favorite locations is Belga Cafe for their amazing Belgian beer list. A more recent arrival and family-friendly food establishment is Matchbox. Down the street two new bars, Molly Malone’s and Lola’s, offer comfortable locations to hang out, watch the game and get late night bar food (Lola’s serves food until 1 AM on the weekend). If I am looking for a more intimate and upscale setting, Sonoma Restaurant and Wine Bar has a fantastic wine list as well as good food, cheeses and charcuterie (though you might want save this for special occasions and pass on the $16 cheeseburger).

One exception to the walking distance rule is the National's Stadium, but no fear! The Circulator bus picks up on 8th street and takes me right to the Navy Yard Station--the bus is probably one of my favorite parts of going to the Nat's games.

Coming Soon
There are also some new additions planned for Pennsylvania Ave near Potomac Ave metro. Annie and Teddy's Po Boys, a New Orleans style cafe with inside and outside seating, is Joe Englert's newest project; Englert is the man behind DC9, The Big Hunt, The Pug, Rock and Roll Hotel, etc. The new cafe would feature live jazz music 4 days a week (Thurs-Sat night and Sat-Sun brunch). I wouldn't quite call Hill East "on the verge," but I would definitely say it's getting there.

TransportationThe closest metro stations to Hill East are Potomac Avenue and Stadium Armory and Eastern Market. The 34 and 36 buses, which can take you to downtown, Georgetown and all the way to Friendship heights, stop at the Potomac Avenue Metro station, as does the B2 bus, which is your round trip ticket to H St. NE. There are lots of other buses, but honestly, I don't take them that much. There are also tons of ZipCars nearby several right across from the metro and lots stashed in residential areas.

Is it for you?
For some people my age (20-something), the Hill doesn't offer enough of the urban bustle they want. No, it doesn't have the edginess of U Street (we've got the crime, just not the trendy bars) or the nightlife of Dupont or Adams Morgan (we have a jumbo slice, but it's never crowded). Most lights are out by 10 PM - both bars and houses. And the tree-lined streets of Eastern Market are frequented by families with strollers. Call me old beyond my years, but I'd rather have to cab, bus or metro somewhere to go out for a rowdy evening, than have that kind of noise and crowd near my home. So I'll continue to love the bar crawl scene on H Street with a cab ride back to my generally quiet neighborhood (barring any fruit attacks).

I moved to Washington for a school, for a job, and for a lifestyle no other city can provide. I choose to call Hill East home because when I walk to the metro, crossing Pennsylvania Avenue, the Capitol Dome view gets me every time. Washington is my city and Hill East is my neighborhood.

Washington DC real estate news

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.

District Announces 4 Hill East Bids

The government of the District of Columbia announced today that four real estate developers have submitted bids to develop the Hill East Waterfront, a 50-acre, District-owned property that surrounds the former DC General Hospital.

Mayor Fenty issued an RFEI for the land on May 14th, announcing it was seeking a developer to create 2,100 market-rate and 900 affordable units with 2,000,000 s.f office space and 67,000 s.f. of retail space - a total of 5 million square feet of development. At the time, the District anticipated a price tag of $1.1 billion for the development, and required bids in by October 31st.

The four teams announced today are:
New Hill East Joint Venture, led by Urban Atlantic. The team includes Vornado/Charles E. Smith; Trammell Crow; Elm Street Development; Blue Skye Development; Brickstone Development; Eagle Vision Ventures; Dynamis Advisors; Sun Edison and Ellis Denning Development.

Hill East Development, led by the Franklin L. Haney Co. The team includes Donatelli Hill East, LLC; Chapman Development; Combined Properties; Banneker Ventures; and Tudor Holdings.

HDG Waterfront Partners, led by Hunt Development and Mosaic Urban Partners. The team includes Abdo Development, the William C. Smith Cos.; EYA Development; and Jair Lynch Development Partners.
East Banc

Hill East is one of three major redevelopment sites that make up the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative, an ambitious 20 year plan to turn the Anacostia River banks into a more developed mixed-use neighborhood. At the time of the RFEI, the Mayor predicted that major District-developer planning would start in early 2009, although today's announcement was more cautious, stating only that a developer "could be selected" by early next year. Issuing the RFEI in May, Fenty stated that the District sought a developer that “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."

The Hill East site 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. The District government has vowed to better integrate the Hill East project into the surrounding neighborhoods and the District at large, citing its measures to connect the parcel by bike path to the Capitol Riverfront, and by cleaning up the Anacostia River to finally make it a place for (legal) recreation.

The site is bounded by 19th street, Independence Avenue, the Anacostia River, and the Historic Congressional Cemetery. The entire site consists of 67 acres, but development will take place on only 50 of those. The land, also known as Reservation 13, is 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.

As the only developer going solo on the project, Eastbanc's strategy seems like a chancy way to approach the DC government's selection process, but Joe Sternlieb, Eastbanc's Vice President for Acquisitions, thinks it gives the company an edge. "We put in an unconventional proposal for a development approach...We're not proposing specific development, but rather an approach for the city to work in partnership with us to redevelop the site. Because of that, it doesn't preclude the city from selecting additional developers." Eastbanc developed the Ritz Carlton residences in the West End and Georgetown, 3303 Water Street in Georgetown, and large scale commercial spaces throughout Georgetown, and is now building 22 West, in DC's West End.

Washington D.C. retail and real estate development news

From AWC to NCRC to DMPED, Fenty Lauds Change

Mayor Adrian Fenty, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Neil Albert, and Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) held a public ceremony this morning to celebrate the one year anniversary of the District's decision to disband and take control over the portfolios of the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation (AWC) and National Capital Revitalization Corporation (NCRC). In a tribute to their combined foresight, the Mayor lauded the District's "significant progress" on over two dozen key from the portfolios since the merge, and offered up morsels of imminent announcements. "There were a lot of properties in these two quasi-public entities and it was the decision of the Council of the District of Columbia to make sure that those properties moved a lot faster, that they got developed quicker, and most importantly, that people saw results and I can say that a year later there has been a flurry of consistent activity," Fenty said. With $60 billion in the citywide pipeline since 2001 and $13 billion in current economic development projects, the Office of the Deputy Mayor's portfolio now includes over 12,000 residential units - including 4,500 "affordable" units - 1,800 hotel rooms, 2 million s.f. of retail space, and 8 million s.f. of office space.

Looking back on their recent successes, the Mayor noted that on May 14th, the District issued a RFEI for a master developer for Hill East Waterfront, 50 acres around the former DC General Hospital site. On June 4th, the District issued a solicitation for a development partner for Parcel 69, a potential $130 million office/hotel project by the Southwest Freeway. Master land planning began at Boathouse Row in SE on July 11th. On Tuesday, the Council approved a $198 million TIF/PILOT package to fund park and infrastructure improvements for the $1.5 billion Southwest Waterfront redevelopment. Yesterday the District selected Argos Group to develop two properties on Capitol Hill, including the Old Engine House 10 into eight condominiums. And looking forward, Albert told DCMud the Strand Theatre project (5131 Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue, NE), developed by Washington Metropolitan Community Development Corporation and Banneker Ventures, will break ground in the next two weeks. He added that his office will also announce a developer for 6425 14th Street, NW in the coming weeks, a 12,100-s.f. parcel of land in Brightwood. Sean Madigan, Director of Communications in the Office of the Deputy Mayor, predicts an announcement for 5th and I, as well as Minnesota-Benning Road, NE, in the next few weeks, and that the Park Morton development group will be announced "imminently." Evans, who had a hand in the creation of both the NCRC and the AWC, said the decision to create the organizations was correct at the time, as was the decision to consolidate them. "I was there for the creation of NCRC and AWC and at the time when we were looking at putting those semi-private entities in place, the District government wasn't functioning, and so the idea of having an NCRC was something like the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation model to get economic development projects done in the city," Evans said. "Then we learned that the semi-private entities were not doing what they were supposed to and we rolled them back into the government and put them under the Deputy Mayor and as we said today, it seems the decision was absolutely the correct one, because now we have a unified government and we can now focus on these projects and get them done. What we did in the past made sense and what we did last year made sense and we are now celebrating the results of those actions," 

Evans concluded, as the development troika lauded each other's vision and accomplishments. Albert added that a major goal of the consolidation was to establish one point of accountability for economic development in DC, but also to save taxpayers money. "One of the reasons the Council and Mayor worked so hard to consolidate the agencies, was to make sure that there was a single point of accountability on all economic development projects here in the District. Citizens had been asking for it, and they got it with this merger. Also, this merger resulted in significant savings for the taxpayers - over $5 million in savings because of the consolidating," Albert said. Like a gloating parent, Fenty added, "I just love efficient government, we have too much waste - a lot of these quasi-public commissions and entities and boards, they just spend money wastefully and we're gonna put a stop to that too." 

Washington DC retail and commercial property news

Hill East: Douglas Takes Down the Colonel

Fresh on the heels of the Mayor's announcement that the Hill East redevelopment will soon get underway, Douglas Development is hatching its own project on Pennsylvania Avenue. Douglas, owner of the old Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) site on the corner of 15th and Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, has plans for a two-story office and retail project. But while the Mayor seems willing to take on neighborhood anti-development forces around the corner, Douglas plans only two stories in a low-density nod to local tastes. Zoning of the site allows the company to build up to four stories, but the developer’s feasibility study suggests a two-story structure that blends into the neighborhood in a curb to curb structure that eliminates the parking lot. Douglas will demolish the fast food restaurant and parking lot. The catch? The maximum g.s.f. for the site is 10,915 s.f., and the developer is required to provide 28 parking spaces. The proposed building, designed by Bethesda-based GTM Architects, is, according to the developer's study, 13,499 s.f., with no parking. 

So it seems that Douglas needs the neighbors on its side in order to get past the ANC and the Board of Zoning. According to Bert Randolph of ANC 6B, Douglas may not need to go through the Planned Unit Development (PUD) process; when the developer goes before the ANC, the Commission will review the proposal and make recommendations to oppose or approve the project. It will then go to the zoning board, at which time Randolph said neighborhood support becomes very important if the project is to grow wings. As of now, the proposal outlines 6,413 s.f. retail space on the ground floor and 7,085 s.f. office space on the second floor; rising to only about 28 feet in height - not ruffling the feathers of the community. The developer will have to write a Memorandum of Understanding with the neighbors in order to dodge the parking and s.f. zoning requirements. Although the Penn Corridorians are in a position to bargain, the neighbors can’t become too bossy as the developer could easily increase the height or return the site to another KFC or other venue for fried fare. Douglas' game of chicken seems to be working, so far the neighborhood clucking has been mostly positive about the developer's intentions. The next step is for the developer to go before the ANC on June 3rd. The KFC, part of the Yum! brand of restaurants, is one of 32,500 locations in the world. Soon to be 32,499, it seems.

Washington DC commercial property 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.