A look at the past, present, and future of Washington, DC’s

most undervalued asset

The Promise of Anacostia

Anacostia is the next big thing—or at least that has been

the rumor for the last twenty-fi ve years, as developers and

the government have passed it by to focus their efforts

elsewhere. Long the stepchild of a region that prides itself

on its historic and cultural attractions, the once-thriving

Anacostia neighborhood has suffered in recent decades

under bad press—being categorically lumped together with

every other neighborhood east of the Anacostia River—as

well as by its physical separation from the downtown core,

courtesy of its riparian namesake as well as the system of

highways along the river built in the mid-20th century. But

although it may have been easy to casually forget about

that part of the city until now, the veil over Anacostia is fi nally

lifting. Millions of square feet of offi ce and retail development,

thousands of new residential units, and major infrastructure

changes and improvements are either under construction or

planned in Anacostia. With every development parcel in the

Ballpark District now claimed, the region is beginning to look

toward this high-potential neighborhood. Its easy highway

access, close proximity to Capitol Hill and Downtown,

and excesses of developable land are fi nally being given

a second look, and now is the time to re-learn what the

neighborhood was, is, and promises to become.

Long history

Anacostia has had two major phases of development. The

fi rst, which began in 1854, was the Union Land Company’s

development of the Uniontown neighborhood just across

the Anacostia River from Washington’s Navy Yard. The

area was advertised for its easy access to downtown

Washington, as well as for its affordability to blue collar

workers at the Navy Yard. Often called Washington’s fi rst

suburb, Uniontown developed at a lower density than

other areas in the city and still boasts most of its original

Italianate, Queen Anne, and cottage-style homes.

By the outbreak of the Civil War, however, Uniontown

had experienced little growth due to reduced hiring by

the Navy Yard and other nearby employers, as well as

the sale of low cost properties in Washington City. By the

late 1870s, the Union Land Company had failed and John

Van Hook, one of the company’s founders, was forced

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Anacostia GatewayLooking north toward the Navy Yard, the photographer stood at the current location of Anacostia Gateway. In the forefront is the Navy Yard Bridge, since realigned as the 11th Street Bridges.

to sell his grand home, Cedar Hill, due to foreclosure.

Frederick Douglass, Anacostia’s most well-known resident,

purchased Cedar Hill in 1877.

Development soon came to either side of Uniontown, in

the neighborhoods of Barry

Farm—the fi rst residential

community developed

specifi cally for African

Americans, Fairlawn,

Randle Highlands, and

Congress Heights—home

to the St. Elizabeth’s

Hospital campus.

However, despite the

proximity of Anacostia to

downtown Washington,

it was the areas’ natural

and man-made boundaries

that excluded it from ever

receiving the same kind of

development attention as

neighborhoods to its north and west.

The area’s second major era of development came

at the end of World War II, during which time the

population of Far Southeast doubled. With its

abundance of cheap land, the Anacostia area was

targeted for most of the city’s low-income apartment

projects. By the 1950s, what was once a mostly

homeowner population fast became one dominated

by the city’s poor. The 1950s saw the construction

of the Suitland Parkway through Barry Farm and the

Anacostia Freeway along the river, which to this day

represent signifi cant physical and psychological barriers

to Anacostia’s integration with the rest of the city. The

combination of 1960s FHA loans that covered up to 90

percent of the development cost of apartment projects

and the early 1970s rezoning of roughly 75 percent of

the land in the area for apartments also considerably

changed the character and quality of Anacostia.

Inside AnacostiaGood Hope Road

Good Hope Road, the oldest road east from the Anacostia

River, travels from the river’s edge uphill where it

ends at its intersection with Naylor Road and Alabama

Avenue. The corridor is bookended by the Gateway area

and Poplar Point at its

westernmost end, and by

the Skyland Town Center

redevelopment in the

east. Where Good Hope

runs through Anacostia,

it is characterized by one

to two-story commercial

buildings, and gradually

transitions to both single

and multi-family residential

outside of Anacostia.

Recent developments along

Good Hope Road include

the Homes at Woodmont,

an enclave of 35 high

end single-family houses,

and the new Anacostia

Neighborhood Library, which is expected to deliver in 2010.

Gateway

The Gateway is located just across the 11th Street

Bridges from the Navy Yard and Barrack’s Row area

of Capitol Hill. Although two projects have already

branded themselves with the Gateway moniker, the

area is defi ned as the redevelopment zone within one

block of the intersection of Martin Luther King Avenue

and Good Hope Road just at the foot of the bridge. The

Gateway area benefi ts from its direct access to I-395 via

the adjacent 11th Street Bridges, as well as its location

within one block of the Anacostia waterfront and Poplar

Point development.

Martin Luther King Avenue

Long the primary commercial main street of Far Southeast,

the east side Martin Luther King Ave is still characterized

by mostly low-rise buildings, most of which are protected

under the Anacostia Historic District. However, the west

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Anacostia today

At present, Anacostia is a study in contrasts. Known

for its beautifully-restored homes as much as for its

empty storefronts, the neighborhood is on the verge of

a magnitude of changes that will bring new residents,

more daytime employees, as well as millions of square

feet of new development. In the meantime, however, it

bears more resemblance to small-town America than it

does to the metropolis it sits in the middle of, and is often

negatively associated with neighborhoods further towards

the city’s Southeastern and Northeastern boundaries.

Although much of the Anacostia neighborhood is part of

a historic district, the area as a whole is developing as an

eclectic mix of old and new, traditional and avant-garde, all

with the subtle understanding that what it looks like now is

far removed from how it will appear with each coming year.

side of the street is home to acres of surface parking, as

well as the Anacostia Professional Building, a two-building

complex set back from the street between V and W Streets

SE. Most of the developable land along Martin Luther King

Avenue in Anacostia is owned by the Curtis Companies,

once a prominent furniture company. It was announced

in spring 2008 that Four Points LLC will be redeveloping

the Curtis Companies’ holdings along Martin Luther

King, which will total 1.6 million square feet of mixed-use

development over nine acres.

Anacostia Metro Station

The Anacostia Metro station is just one stop away from

the Ballpark district in the Near Southeast submarket

across the river. The station has two entrances: the

fi rst, adjacent to a 1,133-space Metro parking garage,

opens directly into the future Poplar Point neighborhood,

while the second is located at the intersection of Martin

Luther King Avenue and Howard Road, an area also

planned for major new development as well as the

possible relocation site for the Washington Metro Area

Transit Authority (WMATA) headquarters. The Metro site

boasts easy access to the Southeast Freeway / I-295,

the Suitland Parkway, as well direct access to the future

light rail line originating at the station.

Anacostia by property typeResidential

As is the case in many areas of the country, residential

sales in the 20020 zip code, which encompasses Anacostia,

have dropped dramatically in the last year. Sales of both

condominiums and houses in the fi rst quarter of 2008 fell

63 percent over last year, from 111 units to 40 units. More

dramatic has been the decline of condo sales, which dropped

from 78 units in the fi rst quarter of last year to only 15 units

this year, a drop of nearly 81 percent. Largely ignoring the

slowdown in sales, developers continue to deliver more

condos, most of which are in the form of conversions from

existing multi-unit rental properties. Selling points often

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Highlighted on the left, Anacostia is the oldest neighborhood east of the Anacostia River, and benefi ts from a convenient Metro station and easy access to local and regional highways..

Poplar Point

Anacostia Historic DistrictAnacostia

Metro Station Area

Gateway

DowntownAnacostia

FA I R L AW N

H I L L C R E S T

B A R R Y FA R M

St. Elizabeth’s

SkylandTown Center

Nationals Park

Fort McNair

Washington Navy Yard

AnacostiaPark

Anacostia River

295

295

295

Anacostia NavalStation

Suitland Pkwy SE

MLK

Jr A

ve S

E

Good Hope Rd SE

Minnesota Ave SE

25th St SE

Pennsylvania Ave SE

S Capitol St SW

B U E N AV I S TA

C O N G R E S S H E I G H T S

A N A C O S T I A

The view toward downtown Anacostia from V Street shows the street’s terminus at the Anacostia Professional Building. Slated for demolition as part of the Four Points LLC’s mixed-use redevelopment and complete reconfi guration of the site, the class C offi ce building currently houses a collection of non-profi ts, medical and local government offi ces.

.

include views across downtown Washington, as well as

“affordable luxury”, where buyers are taking a hit, temporarily

at least, on neighborhood amenities while capitalizing on

large and fi nely detailed spaces while prices east of the

Anacostia River are still low.

But although prices east of the river are still lower

than in many other developing areas of the city, and

despite the slowdown in volume, home prices in and

around Anacostia continue to rise. In only a year, the

median sold-for price rose 33 percent, from $202,116 to

$269,333. Also on the rise are new home listings, which,

mostly in the form of condo-conversions, have continued

to hit the market. While only 40 homes sold in the fi rst

quarter of 2008, 147 came to market.

Buyers in Anacostia are a mix of owner-occupiers and

investors. Drawn by its low prices and upside potential, the

neighborhood has seen an infl ux of young professionals

over the last fi ve years. With major developments seemingly

sprouting up overnight in the Ballpark District across

the river, many see Anacostia as the natural next big

opportunity. Unfortunately, it is the investors that are doing

more to slow development than to support it. Anacostia

investors have trended more towards buying cheap, then

waiting for the next boom to happen before making any true

effort to make their properties presentable. In the last year,

however, the city has begun to tax vacant properties at a

much higher rate than others, fi nally giving “wait-and-see”

investors the incentive to either sell or develop.

Offi ce

The Anacostia Commercial district is composed of

approximately 420,000 square feet of offi ce space in 36

buildings. Defi ned mostly by small-scale older buildings,

the neighborhood’s only Class A building is the recently-

completed Anacostia Gateway Building, which accounts

for 15 percent of the existing stock. Of the remainder of the

space, 38 percent is Class C and 47 percent is Class B.

Although the median rental rate is $26.50 per square foot

gross, the most recent transactions have been at Anacostia

Gateway, which is asking $34.00 per square foot, triple net,

the equivalent of a high $40s full-service rent.

Retail

Once known locally as the “Southeast Shopping District”,

the main streets of Good Hope Road and Martin Luther

King Avenue in Anacostia have suffered in recent decades

from an almost complete lack of investment by the retail

community. Home to only one chain store, a Subway

restaurant, the corridors are characterized mostly by service

retail, banks, and not-for-profi t institutions. Most recently,

Industrial Bank has signed a lease for ground-level space

along Good Hope Road at the Anacostia Gateway Building.

The continued redevelopment and interest in Anacostia will

likely bring in a more diverse set of retailers. Four Points

LLC and Curtis Companies’ redevelopment of downtown

Anacostia is expected to bring 165,000 square feet of new

retail, which will include a grocery store and a movie theater.

In addition to their redevelopment plans for the north side of

the street, the partner companies hold a majority of the one

and two-story assets along Martin Luther King Avenue, and

are currently marketing the spaces in the hopes of bringing

in desirable retail before their fl agship project delivers.

Infrastructure

The approaches into Anacostia have never been

anything to celebrate. Long hidden behind aging

infrastructure in the form of unimpressive bridges, an

elevated freeway, and a maze of access ramps most

of which were built in the height of the “highways fi rst”

1960s, Anacostia is ripe for some signifi cant pedestrian-

oriented and eye-catching changes.

The general land use plan for Anacostia’s new downtown, as proposed by Four Points LLC. While still in the approval process, the development will transform this stretch of Martin Luther King Avenue and surrounding streets with:

• 855,000 square feet of offi ce• 500 residential units• 165,000 square feet of retail• 8-10 screen movie theater• Full-service grocery store

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Frederick Douglas Bridge

Although its ultimate transformation won’t be the fi rst to deliver

this side of the river, the South Capitol Street / Frederick

Douglas Bridge is planned for a complete replacement. Given

the status of one of DC’s “signature bridges”, the span will

provide a new identity and sense of arrival for this part of the

city. Although interim repairs and pedestrian improvements

were completed in 2007, the replacement is not planned to

happen for at least another ten years.

11th Street bridges project

The 11th Street Bridges serve as the northern gateway

into Anacostia. The current confi guration connects 395 and

points west with Anacostia, but also includes ramps on to

295 / Southeast freeway. Because of capacity constraints

as a result of commuters traveling towards Maryland, the

bridges do more to serve those outside the city than they

do the adjacent Anacostia and Capitol Hill neighborhoods.

With construction imminent, the new spans will be divided

in a commuter bridge and a local bridge, and will more

effi ciently serve those coming into and out of Anacostia. At

present, designers and engineers are working to decrease

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Pictured below is a perfect example of the contrast that still exists in Anacostia between old and new, worn and restored.

Many of the homes in the historic district have benefi ted from the city’s Historic Homeowners Grant Program which provided up to $35,000 for historically accurate exterior renovations and repairs.

Anacostia Historic DistrictOne of Anacostia’s selling points is its historic district,

the neighborhood closest to the waterfront between the

South Capitol Street and 11th Street Bridges. One of

the District’s thirty-three designated historic districts, the

Anacostia neighborhood is an eclectic mix of brightly-

colored townhouses, elaborately-detailed Queen Anne’s,

and Folk Victorian cottages, and has in recent years been

given a greater set of resources for the preservation of

its historic assets. Last year’s completion of the National

Park Service’s $2.7 million restoration of Frederick

Douglas’ Cedar Hill estate, which sits atop a hill in the

center of Anacostia and averages over 42,000 visitors

annually, serves as an inspiration for homeowners in the

surrounding blocks, many of which have a view of the

now-glowing manse. Additionally, the DC Offi ce of Historic

Preservation set up a program last summer that provides

grant money for historically-accurate exterior renovations

within the district. The fi rst phase of the program awarded

53 homeowners in the Anacostia Historic District a total

of $900,000. The fi rst restoration projects began in the

summer of 2008.

the visual effects of the new bridges on Anacostia, and

are looking into burying its “fl yover” overpass ramps

underground, thus giving the bridges a more urban and

pedestrian-friendly look and feel. The 11th Street Bridges

project is anticipated to begin in late 2009, although offi cial

start and fi nish dates have not yet been set.

Streetcar demonstration project

On track to begin work this year is the Anacostia Streetcar

Demonstration Line, part of DC’s drive to create transit

alternatives throughout otherwise underserved sections

of the city. First in line for the new above-ground light rail

system is the stretch between the Anacostia Metro Station,

the Navy Annex, and Bolling Air Force Base, with a later

phase planned to travel up Martin Luther King Avenue

through the center of Anacostia.

Great Streets

Although it is the heavy infrastructure that will do most to

improve the commutes and driving times in and around

Anacostia, planned infrastructure improvements along

Anacostia’s main streets will do more to spruce up the

neighborhood and attract offi ce and retail tenants, as well

as new residents to the area.

The District of Columbia’s Great Streets initiative was created

as a tool for stimulating economic development along some

of the city’s struggling commercial corridors. The fi rst street

transformed by the program was Barrack’s Row along 8th

Street SE on Capitol Hill, just across the 11th Street Bridges

from Anacostia, where new sidewalks, streetlamps, and

trees revived an area than had long been home to vacant

storefronts and crumbling street infrastructure. Now a

destination in its own right, the success of the Barrack’s Row

renovations have given steam to similar projects throughout

the city, including in and around Anacostia.

As part of the city’s Great Streets program, Martin Luther

King Avenue, Good Hope Road, and Minnesota Avenue

will see major streetscape and pedestrian-friendly urban

design improvements in the coming years. The program

seeks to redesign neighborhood commercial corridors to

include wider brick sidewalks, new street furniture, and

a general renewal of streetscapes that often defi ne the

neighborhoods they are in.

Parks

Anacostia is hemmed in to the north and east by parkland.

Located directly between the Southeast Freeway and

the Anacostia River is the massive 1,200-acre Anacostia

Park, home to sports fi elds, tennis courts, playgrounds,

picnic areas, and hundreds of acres dedicated to habitat

restoration and passive recreation. Anacostia Park is also

adjacent to the Poplar Point development, which is to

include a 70-acre urban waterfront park.

To Anacostia’s east is Fort Stanton Park. Built in 1861

as the fi rst of approximately 64 forts surrounding the

city charged with defending the city from Confederate

attacks, the 367-acre park is part of a string of fort-

turned-parks lining the eastern edge of the city.

On a much smaller scale is Logan Park (also called

Old Market House Square), which is located along 14th

Street between U and V Streets in the heart of the historic

district. Long the home of the Anacostia farmers market, a

neighboring church has raised over $1.5 million for the linear

park’s complete restoration, which will include an expanded

public plaza, as well as new lighting, seating and landscaping.

A rendering of the proposed streetscape improvements along Martin Luther King Avenue as part of the Great Streets initiative. Intended as a way to boost business intrest and new investment in the District’s commercial corridors, the improvements will include new and restored brick sidwalks, new street trees and lighting, and a more effi cient parking system.

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Where will development thrive? Short term

Over the next fi ve years, growth will be most concentrated

at sites already slated for redevelopment. Because of

the tremendous effect that the Poplar Point development

is anticipated to have, the future of Anacostia will come

in two distinct stages: before Poplar Point delivers and

after Poplar Point delivers. The Gateway intersection of

Martin Luther King and Good Hope is likely to see the

most development in the next few years, as both the

Government Center and the planned Anacostia Square

mixed-use development get underway. It is expected that

the retail spaces on Good Hope and Martin Luther King

will fi ll in as more offi ce workers and residents fi ll the site.

Additionally, development will concentrate around the

intersections of V and W Streets with Martin Luther King

Avenue with the Four Points and Curtis Companies

projects there. Known locally as downtown Anacostia,

these blocks are planned to become the most densely

built of any of the pre-Poplar Point neighborhood

redevelopment zones.

Long term

Over the next several years areas surrounding the

Anacostia Metro entrances will see the greatest

development. Because the blocks surrounding the station

are currently underutilized or vacant, it is likely that this will

become a hub of high-density development. Considered

a squeeze play based on its central location between

the redevelopment of Barry Farm, Poplar Point, Martin

Luther King Avenue, and Sheridan Terrace, as well as the

introduction of DC’s fi rst light rail system at the station and

the planned replacement of the Frederick Douglas / South

Capitol Street Bridge, the Anacostia Metro Station area

will become a natural center for communities east of the

Anacostia River.

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Despite giving it a much-needed facelift in advance of the opening of Nationals Park, the city is planning to completely reorient and replace the Frederick Douglas Bridge in the next decade.

Designed to become one of Washington’s signature bridges, it will provide a grand entrance to Poplar point and the Anacostia neighborhood.

New DevelopmentAnacostia landowners have until recently taken a very

piecemeal, “wait and see” approach to development. While

the area has yet to see any distinct boom in construction

and development, the development boom just across the

river in the Ballpark District over the past three years has

proven a worthwhile incentive for property owners east of

the Anacostia River to either sell or develop their mostly

vacant and underutilized assets. At present, absentee

landlords present one of the largest threats to the further

redevelopment of the Anacostia business district.

The most striking new development to deliver was the

Anacostia Economic Development Corporation’s (AEDC)

63,000 square foot Anacostia Gateway Building. AEDC’s

building is leased to the DC Department of Housing and

Community Development, with move-in expected in early

2009. Adjacent to AEDC’s site will be the DC Government’s

350,000 square foot Anacostia Gateway Government

Center, which is currently out for construction bids.

On the residential side, Four Points LLC was recently

approved to build a 40-unit townhouse and condominium

project on W Street between Martin Luther King and 13th

Street. The fi rst new-construction residential development of

any magnitude in the Anacostia Historic District in over half

a century, the project will do much to transform the block,

which is now used as overfl ow parking for a nearby church.

Although most of the readily-developable land in Anacostia

has been spoken for, not all of it has a timeline for completion.

At Anacostia’s gateway at Good Hope and Martin Luther

King, Douglas Development / AEDC’s “Anacostia Square”

development is a prominent example of the wait and see

approach. Situated on a full city block diagonally across from

AEDC’s Anacostia Gateway building, Anacostia Square is

preliminarily advertised as a four-story 222,384 square foot

mixed-use development, comprising 20,000 square feet of

offi ce, 40,000 square feet of retail and 80 condominiums. At

present, the project is going through the approvals process,

but no defi nitive timeline has been set.

The project that will most dramatically alter the landscape

in Anacostia is Four Points LLC / Curtis Companies’

redevelopment of nine acres of land along Martin Luther

King. The Curtis Companies has been holding and

acquiring the land since the 1920s, when they set up shop

in downtown Anacostia as a furniture dealer. Located along

this stretch is the landmark Big Chair, a 20-foot tall dining

chair that was once used to advertise the company’s wares.

Situated across from the historic Anacostia neighborhood,

the site will play an important role in the revitalization of

the area through the development and rehabilitation of

1.5 million square feet of mixed-use buildings, including

new retail, housing, and offi ce uses. Planned for

development in two phases, the project is currently in the

Planned Unit Development (PUD) process with the city’s

Situated on the hill directly below St. Elizabeth’s west campus, Barry Farm is one of the city’s planned New Communities. Heavily developed after World War II as temporary housing for returning veterans, the historic community fell into disrepair during years of neglect as subsidized housing.

Total demolition and redevelopment of the site will yield 1,110 residential units, as well as a new elementary school and community recreation center.

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zoning commission. Included in the site is the Anacostia

Professional Building, a two-building 84,000 square foot

complex of Class C offi ces that will be replaced in phase two.

Poplar Point

In January 2008 Clark Realty Capital was awarded

master development rights to Poplar Point, the 110-acre

triangle of land just between downtown Anacostia and the

river. Currently home to a variety of National Park Service

and police headquarter buildings, as well as access

ramps for the South Capitol Street / Frederick Douglas

Bridge that will eventually be realigned into a traffi c circle,

the parcel represents the largest development opportunity

in the city’s history. Tasked with bringing Anacostia back

to its waterfront, the Clark team became the favorite of

a handful of competing development groups when they

unveiled their plan to build a deck over the Southeast

freeway, essentially erasing the barrier that has for half a

century serves as a wall between the heart of Anacostia

and its greatest asset.

Although still very much in the planning stages, Clark

intends to build approximately six million square feet

at the site, with a mix of offi ce, residential, retail, and

recreation. “The Preserve”, a 70-acre park at the

development’s center, will restore now-contaminated

wetlands, as well as serve as the hub of what many

expect to become one of Washington’s landmark

waterfront destinations.

Urban-City Ventures LLC owns an additional ten acres

on Poplar Point along Howard Road, and is working with

both Clark and the city to plan their three million square

feet of allowable development on the site.

St. Elizabeth’s

Encompassing 336 acres on both sides of Martin Luther King

Avenue, the St. Elizabeth’s campus is just up the hill from

Anacostia in Congress Heights, and represents a remarkable

opportunity to bring thousands of new employees and residents

east of the Anacostia River. Plans are underway for the West

Campus of the historic hospital grounds overlooking the federal

city to be restored and redeveloped into the consolidated

headquarters for both the Department of Homeland Security and

the Coast Guard, and for the East Campus to be redeveloped

into a mixed-use residential, retail, and commercial center.

Because of the campus’ status as a national historic landmark

and its very visible location atop a hill overlooking the federal city,

a variety of planning agencies have criticized the GSA’s intent to

develop up to 6.3 million on the 176-acre West Campus. In an

effort to reduce negative impact of new construction on the site

and to disperse the economic benefi ts of the 14,000 employees

expected to work at the federal complex, the National Capital

Planning Commission and the DC Offi ce of Planning have

teamed up to offer sections of the East Campus as a secondary

location for DHS’s necessary offi ce space. Construction and

renovation of the site is expected to be completed in three

phases over 12 years, beginning with a new Coast Guard

headquarters, and is projected to cost $4.1 billion.

What’s nearbyClose-in or comparable areas to Anacostia

The grand plans and considerable transformation of Anacostia

is similar to the redevelopment of other DC neighborhoods.

Although notable for its location across the Anacostia River, its

revival is comparable to that of the

Capitol Riverfront and the Southwest Waterfront in both regional

perception and pure magnitude of new construction.

10 Advance

The fi rst all-new multifamily residential project to hit Anacostia will be Four Points LLC’s development of 40 condominiums at the corner of W and 13th Streets.

Designed to compliment the historic housing stock in the neighborhood, the project will be built as a mix of 3 and 4-story townhomes. Groundbreaking is scheduled for the fi rst half of 2009.

Capitol Riverfront

The Capitol Riverfront (also called the Ballpark District,

Navy Yard, and Near Southeast) is located directly across

the river from Anacostia, and is home to the Washington

Nationals’ new baseball stadium, which opened in April

2008. Long known only for its blocks of public housing and

industrial waterfront, the neighborhood has seen a massive

transformation over the last fi ve years. When fully built out,

Capitol Riverfront is expected to include 12 to 15 million

square feet of offi ce space, 9,000 residential units, over

1,200 hotel rooms, 800,000 square feet of retail, and four

public parks. Most likely to defi ne the neighborhood in the

next few years is Forest City’s “The Yards” project, which

is the redevelopment of the western half of the Navy Yard,

and will be characterized by its mix of 19th century industrial

buildings and modern structures, all nestled against the

Anacostia River and a new destination waterfront park.

Southwest Waterfront

The Southwest waterfront neighborhood, the area

surrounding the Washington Channel across from Hains

Point was one of the city’s fi rst major redevelopment

areas. Bordered by the imposing L’Enfant Plaza area

to its north, the neighborhood is known for its mid-

century modern architecture and largely underutilized

and unimpressive waterfront. Dominated by federal

government tenants, this Southwest enclave lacks the kind

of retail and entertainment to attract workers to stay in the

neighborhood past fi ve o’clock, as well as attract others

currently put off by the neighborhood’s empty sidewalks

and uninviting landscape. The city is currently making

plans with private developers to remake the waterfront

area into a vibrant mixed-use destination that takes

much better advantage of its channel-side location and

views over the river. Designed after the highly-successful

National Harbor development in Prince George’s County,

the current plans call for 767 residential units, 400,000

square feet of offi ce space, 280,000 square feet of retail,

The site that changes everythingPoplar Point will create an entirely new destination on the Anacostia waterfront. The 120-acre site is expected to be developed with upwards of nine million square feet of offi ces, retail, residential, and cultural uses, and is required to include 70 acres of parkland for both active and passive recreation.

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and 675 hotel rooms. Also under construction is the

redevelopment of the old Waterside Mall into “Waterfront”,

a 2.5 million square feet offi ce, residential and retail project

surrounding the green line’s Waterfront Metro station.

NoMa

NoMa, the 35-block neighborhood in Northeast Washington

between Union Station and New York Avenue, was until

the last few years home only to industrial warehouses

and distribution lots that once served Union Station. The

construction of the New York Avenue metro station along

NoMa’s eastern edge in 2004 proved a major incentive for

the neighborhoods resurgence.

At present, NoMa’s development pipeline includes over

20 million square feet of new offi ce, residential, retail, and

hotel space. NoMa is home to the headquarters of both XM

Satelite Radio and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and

Firearms, as well as the future headquarters for National

Public Radio and a branch of the U.S. Department of Justice.

A Business Improvement District (BID) was approved for the

neighborhood in March of 2007.

Skyland Town Center

Located at the southern crest of Good Hope Road

overlooking the city, Skyland is currently home to a

jumble of parking lots, stand-alone retail stores, and

aging strip malls. However, plans are underway for the

18.5-acre site to be completely redeveloped into a mixed-

use residential and retail destination. Lead developer

The Rappaport Companies has teamed up with local

design fi rm Torti Gallas and Partners, whose portfolio

includes Bethesda Row, the Village at Shirlington,

CityVista, and the upcoming Poplar Point development.

The development, re-branded as “Skyland Town Center”,

will be situated along a new main street, and will feature

280,000 square feet of retail with structured parking, 475

residential units, and a town square.

Barry Farm

Located directly west of the Anacostia Metro Station

and directly east of the St. Elizabeth’s campus, the 37-

acre Barry Farm neighborhood is part of the District’s

“New Communities” initiative, which exists to redevelop

troubled public housing projects into healthier mixed-

use, mixed-income communities. The plan seeks to

improve the community’s public facilities, access to

commercial and retail opportunities, urban design,

parks and open space and transportation system, and

will include a total of 1,110 housing units.

Specifi c elements in the plan include the creation

of a vibrant mixed-use main street at Firth Sterling

Avenue, rebuilding and enlarging Birney Elementary

school, rebuilding the community’s recreation center,

and the addition of a new linear park with sweeping

views of the city’s skyline.

Hill East

Situated along the Anacostia River between RFK

Stadium and the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge,

Hill East is the city’s latest major private sector

redevelopment effort. In May of 2008, the Offi ce

of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic

Development announced a solicitation for a Master

Developer to transform the area, the 50-acre former

site of DC General Hospital. The RFEI states that

the development could include up to 3,000 new

housing units, over two million square feet of offi ce

and institutional uses, and over 100,000 square feet of

retail space.

12 Advance

Located just east of Anacostia at the intersection of Good Hope Road and Alabama Avenue SE, the Rappaport Companies’ Skyland Town Center will bring much-needed mixed-use destination in the tradition of Shirlington and Bethesda Row.

Advance 13

Key Players:

Company

Four Points LLC

Description

Four Points LLC, which began as a spin-off of The

West Group out of Tyson’s Corner, is currently

in the pre-development stage of its fi rst major

project: the 327,000 SF mixed-use Broadcast

Center One, a residential/retail/offi ce development

located directly above the Shaw/Howard

University Metro Station in Northwest D.C

Local Projects

• Broadcast Center One, Shaw

• W Street Townhomes, Anacostia

• Curtis Properties development, Anacostia

Company

Anacostia Economic Development Corporation

Description

The AEDC has been involved in the Anacostia/

Far Southeast area for over 35 years, focusing

primarily on increasing the retail base of the

area as well as developing projects that seek to

further economic development on this side of the

Anacostia River.

Local Projects

• Good Hope Marketplace, a 97,100 SF retail strip

that includes a Safeway

• Homes at Woodmont, a high end 26-home

development along Good Hope Road just uphill

from Anacostia

• Anacostia Gateway

13 Advance

Advance 1414 Advance Advance 14

Company

Salvation Army

Description

Founded in 1878, the Salvation Army is one of

the world’s largest providers of social aid, helping

more than 32 million people in the US alone. In

addition to community centers and disaster relief,

the organization does work in refugee camps,

especially among displaced people in Africa.

Local Projects

• Solomon G. Brown Corps Community Center

Company

Douglas Development Corporation

Description

Douglas Development is known for its

redevelopment projects throughout the city that

have transformed forlorn areas into magnets of

activity. Most notable is their work in the Penn

Quarter area of downtown, where the company’s

restoration and redevelopment of many or the

neighborhood’s historic buildings is credited with

turning the crumbling area into a tourism and

entertainment destination.

Local Projects• The Historic Row

(home of the International Spy Museum)

• The Woodies Building

• The Georgetown Car Barn

• 700 block of 7th Street NW

(across from the Verizon center)

• The Ventana condos

• The Atlantic Building

Key Players:

Advance 1515 Advance

Company

William C. Smith & Co.

Description

A multidisciplinary real estate fi rm with 35 years

of experience, William C. Smith & Co.’s has

developed more than 5,000 units of housing,

worth $250 million, in the District of Columbia.

Local Projects• Asheford Court, a suburban-style community of

75 single family homes in Congress Heights

• Park Vista Condominiums, an 81-unit

development in Congress Heights

• Archer Park, a 240-unit condominium

development in Congress Heights

Company

DC Government

Local Projects• Anacostia Gateway Government Center

• 11th Street Bridges

• South Capitol Street Bridge

• Anacostia Streetcar

• Great Streets Initiative

• Barry Farm redevelopment

16 Advance Advance 16

Company

The Rappaport Companies

Description

With a portfolio of over 13 million SF of retail

space, the McLean, VA based company is one

of the leading retail real estate companies in the

Mid-Atlantic.

Local Projects• More than 13 million square feet in roughly 150

suburban-style shopping centers

Company

Clark Realty Capital

Description

Established in 1992, Clark Realty Capital is a

multidisciplinary real estate fi rm with expertise

development, capital markets, real estate

strategies, investment management.

Local Projects• Ft. Belvoir Family Housing

• Ft. Totten Park Apartments

• MetroWest

• The Clarendon apartments

Key Players:

17 Advance Advance 1717 Advance

With the old Anacostia Neighborhood Library already demolished, the new Freelon Group-designed modern library building is expected to be completed in Fall 2010.

Developer Project Completion Date SizeFour Points LLC W Street Residential 2009 40 Units

AEDC Anacostia Gateway 2008 63,000 SF

Salvation Army Community Center 2008 45,000 SF

Douglas Development Anacostia Square N/A 222,384 SF

WCSmith Sheridan Terrace N/A 342 Units

DC Government Anacostia Gateway

Government CenterN/A 350,000 SF

11th Street Bridge N/A

South Capitol Street

BridgeN/A

Streetcar 2010

The Rappaport

CompaniesSkyland Town Center N/A

8000,000 SF

475 Units

Clark Realty Capital Poplar Point N/A

Conclusion

For an area known mostly over the past half-

century for its disinvestment, poor management,

and poverty, Anacostia is fi nally on the verge of

becoming a remarkable story of success. New

city leadership has given increased focus to the

redevelopment areas around the Anacostia River,

all of the city and regional infrastructure leading into

the neighborhood is being upgraded or replaced,

and the development community has snatched up

most of the downtown’s best real estate. Long the

subject of vague promises and grand restoration

plans, Anacostia’s new offi ces, new residents, and

growing civic pride are transforming it from a “maybe

someday” neighborhood into one that has been

dubbed “the next hot spot.” Although it hasn’t arrived

yet, now is defi nitely the time to give Anacostia

another look.

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