Committee on Economic Development Roundtable on Major Economic Development Projects
Tuesday, September 24th, 2013
11:00 AM - Room 500
On September 24, 2013, Councilmember Muriel Bowser, Chairperson of the Committee on Economic Development will reconvene a public oversight roundtable to review major economic development projects within the portfolio of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. The purpose of this public oversight roundtable is to hear from the Deputy Mayor about the status of these projects and to identify next steps. Below is a brief summary of each of the projects to be discussed. The Committee considered projects 1-4 on July 12th, 2013 before recessing the hearing. Only projects 5-8 will be considered on September 24, 2013.
1. WASA Facility: In March, the Mayor proposed to spend $18,000,000 during FY 2014 and FY 2015 to relocate a DC Water fleet and maintenance facility currently located at 5000 Overlook Avenue, SW. The relocation would make way for the eventual transfer of the site to Forest City Washington, developers of The Yards, located nearby. Once transferred, these three parcels will be redeveloped with mixed uses. The funds will be used for hard and soft costs of constructing a new facility to accommodate DC Water's activities currently located at the Overlook Avenue site. In addition to parking for more than 350 vehicles, the relocation cost includes the construction of a 35,000 square foot building to support DC Water's emergency sewer maintenance program, six indoor Jet-Vacs, and six salt hoppers. The approved Capital Improvements Project allots $6,000,000 in FY 2014 and $9,000,000 in FY 2015.
2. Poplar Point: Poplar Point is one of the last great urban waterfront redevelopment opportunities on the East Coast. It has been proposed that the 110-acre site will be transferred to the District of Columbia from the federal government. Bounded by South Capitol Street, I-295 and the 11th Street Bridges, the site is largely unused, but contains some National Park Service and the U.S. Park Police facilities. Currently, the project is undergoing a federal environmental impact analysis and Small Area Planning phase. Poplar Point is envisioned to be the home of a variety of different uses including residential, retail, office, entertainment, cultural, and park/open space uses. Currently, there are no specific figures for the actual allotment of space for the different uses. The Districts Capital Improvement Plan requests $13 million between FY2014 and FY2016.
3. McMillan Site Redevelopment: The 25-acre former McMillan Reservoir Sand Filtration Plant site, bound on the north by Michigan Avenue, on the east by North Capitol Street, on the south by Channing Street and on the west by First Street, is expected to be redeveloped into a mixed-use project that will include historic preservation, open space, residential, retail, office, and hotel uses. The goal is to create an architecturally distinct, vibrant, mixed-use development that provides housing, employment, retail, cultural, and recreational opportunities for District residents. The project will include affordable and workforce housing, and 35 percent of the local contracting opportunities must go to Certified Business Enterprises (CBEs). The capital improvements plan requests $48 million between FY2014 and FY2017 to build site infrastructure.
4. Skyland Shopping Center: The Skyland project is geared to promote neighborhood revitalization and economic growth on an 18-acre site located in Ward 7 at the intersections of Good Hope Road, Naylor Road, and Alabama Ave SE. While the Skyland Shopping Center is still active, a considerable portion of the shopping center is vacant and will start to be demolished in the upcoming months. The potential of this site is significant, due to its prominent location, the considerable land area available for redevelopment, and the resources and public benefits the project would provide to the neighborhood. Plans for Skyland call for more than 315,000 square feet of retail space-- a combination of high-quality, large format national-brand retailers and neighborhood serving shops and restaurants. The project will also include 468 units of housing. The full-funding cost reported for the Skyland project has increased from $10.5 million in the FY 2013 budget to $50.5 million in the proposed FY 2014 budget. A $40 million allotment has been proposed for FY 2014, which will be used for infrastructure improvements.
5. Walter Reed Redevelopment: As part of the Department of Defense's Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, the District formed the Local Redevelopment Authority (LRA) to prepare the Reuse Plan for the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), the functions of which were being relocated to a new facility in Bethesda, MD. The plan to redevelop more than 60 acres provides a strategic framework to integrate the site within the existing fabric of the neighborhoods surrounding WRAMC by recommending approximately 3.1 million square feet of a mix of uses and quality open space. This mix of uses will support a significant number of new jobs for the District and will provide an estimated $30 million of new stabilized tax revenues. The Reuse Plan was unanimously approved by Council on July 20, 2012. Since that time, the process to choose a master developer for the site has commenced. The Capital Improvement Plan requests $2.3 million between FY2014 and FY 2019.
6. Southwest Waterfront: The Wharf, as the development is termed, is located along the Washington Channel, just south of the National Mall and west of the newly developed Capitol Riverfront. The development plan for the Wharf includes building new restaurants, shops, condominiums, a hotel, marinas, a waterfront park, and an expanded riverfront promenade with public access to the water. The waterfront area will be bike and pedestrian-friendly and is expected to become a commercial anchor for those who visit Washington DC's monuments and museums.
The first phase of this $2 billion development is projected to open in 2016.
7. Hill East: The 67 acres located between the eastern edge of the Capitol Hill neighborhood and the western shore of the Anacostia River hosted the former National Capital Medical Center campus, (formerly known as DC General Hospital) now closed, the Central Detention Facility/DC Jail, and other buildings and parking lots, none of which uses invited or made accessible the waterfront to the adjoining neighborhood. The District of Columbia plans to redevelop 50 acres of Hill East District to be transformed into a vibrant, mixed-use urban waterfront community in accordance with the Hill East Master Plan approved by the DC Council in October 2002.
8. Hine Junior High School: In 2010, the Council approved the surplus and disposition of the vacant Hine Junior High School located at 335 8th St, SE to developer Stanton-Eastbanc LLC ("Developer"). The property will be conveyed to the Developer via a 99-year ground lease. The Developer secured a Planned Unit Development approval from the Zoning Commission on October 15, 2012, which allows for the construction of 158 residential units comprising 254,077 square feet. Forty-six of the residential units will be affordable. The project will also provide 197,051 square feet of commercial use. To accommodate these uses, the existing school building will be razed and a longstanding flea market will be displaced. The PUD is currently the subject of a proceeding before the Court of Appeals. The final terms of the proposed lease from the District to the Developer continue to be negotiated.
Individuals and representatives of organizations wishing to testify should contact Rob Hawkins, Legislative Director for the Committee on Economic Development, at (202) 724-8052, or rhawkins@dccouncil.us and furnish his or her name, address, telephone number, and organizational affiliation, if any, by the close of business Monday, September 23, 2013. Due to room availability and time constraints, witness testimony may be limited.
Written statements are encouraged and will be made a part of the official record. Copies of written statements should be submitted to the Committee on Economic Development, Council of the District of Columbia, Suite 112 of the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004.
Eric J. Jones, MSF
ejjones.threed@gmail.com
"I for one believe that if you give people a thorough understanding of what confronts them and the basic causes that produce it, they'll create their own program, and when the people create a program, you get action."
El Haj Malik El Shabazz
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