Southwest Waterfront, A Look Back...

Good morning Southwest! It’s been more than a decade in the making, but the first phase of District Wharf finally opens today. After countless meetings, rendering revisions, and years of construction, we’ll finally be able to take a long stroll once again along the waterfront promenade (now called Wharf Street) from 7th Street to near the fish market. The media has covered The Wharf very well in the days and weeks leading to the opening, so what I thought I’d do is look back and see what used to be here along the sleepy Southwest Waterfront. Below are some before pictures:

Fish market crowds.

Fish market crowds.

View of Washington Channel from
9th and Water streets.

View of area roughly where District Pier is today.

Zanzibar on the Waterfront.

Phillips Flagship. 

View of Hogates/H2O from promenade.

Demolition of Hogates/H20.

View of Kastles Stadium from
the Washington Channel.

Kastles Stadium was built temporarily
where Hogates/H2O once stood.

Southwest sunset from Cantina Marina.

Cantina Marina, which will close
later this month.

Groundbreaking ceremony
for District Wharf.

Predecessor to the new water
taxi system serving SW.

District Wharf Photo Update

The countdown is on for the grand opening of the first phase of development at District Wharf (formerly known as The Wharf). A new clock was installed along Maine Avenue, counting down the days until October 12, 2017. While 525 Water and St. Augustine’s church are both complete, the bulk of construction for phase one won’t be complete until next fall. The massive parking garage which will span most of the development will open in the middle of 2017. Many of the buildings have already “topped-off”, but progress seems to be furthest along on the apartments at 750 Maine Avenue and VIO condos. Meanwhile, 1000 Maine Avenue is finally starting to come out of the ground. A law firm may be one of the office tenants in either 1000 Maine or 800 Maine, which would be a significant milestone for the project and the Southwest Waterfront neighborhood since the majority of office tenants that have traditionally called Southwest home are government agencies or contractors. Following are a few progress photos taken from East Potomac Park.

Parcel 2 apartments & Wharf Hall

Parcel 1, District Pier & Parcel 2

District Pier & Intercontinental Hotel

Intercontinental Hotel, VIO &
Capitol Yacht Club (center) 

Docks under construction near Pier 4

Hyatt House & Canopy by Hilton 

View looking north

View looking south

Case Bridge Illumination Ceremony

Last night at a lighting ceremony held on District Pier at The Wharf, Mayor Bowser had the honor of pressing a big button to illuminate the Case Bridge over the Washington Channel. The bridge now has a blue light strip along the south-facing side of the bridge and soft white lights highlighting the stonework on the pillars. The reflection of the blue light strip gives the waters of the Washington Channel near the bridge a blue hue. Citelum designed the LED lighting scheme for the bridge. Accompanying the unveiling was a fireworks show - below is a video clip.

The new lighting scheme on the Case Bridge is permanent (minus the fireworks) and is part of the two billion dollar transformation of the Southwest waterfront to The Wharf. Blue lighting will also be located along the Wharf promenade. Over the next year or so, other components of The Wharf will be coming online, including Waterfront Park, a revamped Municipal Fish Market, Wharf Hall concert venue, three apartment buildings, two condominium buildings (525 Water delivered last month), two office buildings, three hotels, several restaurants and other retail, a new St. Augustine's Church, as well as a water taxi service, public piers and marina.

525 Water Begins Settlements

The first units have settled at 525 Water, one of the condo buildings at The Wharf. According to the Washington Business Journal, four units have settled so far, and all of them belong to leadership at PN Hoffman, the master developer of the mega project on the Southwest waterfront. More than 50 percent of the units at 525 Water have sold so far, which means that settlements can begin. The article states that the building received its certificate of occupancy within the past week. 525 Water is part of Parcel 11 at The Wharf, which will be the first buildings to deliver in phase one. The new St. Augustine’s will open its doors next month with a convocation service on September 24. The remaining buildings in phase one from 7th Street to the Municipal Fish Market will deliver in the fall of 2017.

Going...Going...Gone

Over the past few weeks, demolition has moved along the Southwest Waterfront to make way for The Wharf development, claiming Zanzibar and 7th Street Landing in the process. This area of Water Street looks a lot different now than it did a few months ago. In addition, a raze permit was recently issued for the former Phillips Flagship restaurant over at 900 Water Street. 

View of dock construction from East Potomac Park.

Construction of the docks for the Capitol Yacht Club is underway now that pilings have been installed in the Washington Channel with completion scheduled for sometime in October. Once the Capitol Yacht Club docks are completed, work will begin on District Pier, which will extend from 9th Street out into the channel. 

St. Augustine's Church closed in June.

Meanwhile, demolition is scheduled to begin at St. Augustine’s Church in September. According to the Washington Business Journal, PN Hoffman has awarded the construction contract for the condos planned there to Balfour Beatty. The address of the condo building was first reported as 600 Water Street, but now, it appears that the address has changed to 625 Water Street. Completion of the 108-unit building is anticipated for the beginning of 2016 with sales to begin in 2015.

Update: The WBJ now reports that prices for the condos will "start out at around $400,000 and move on up to $1 million or more."

Kastles Won't be Playing at Waterfront Station

According to Gordon Fraley at Vornado, the Washington Kastles stadium will not be built on the empty lot at the northwest corner of 4th and M streets in Waterfront Station. It was reported last month that the team was considering the site for their temporary stadium, which had to be removed from the Southwest Waterfront last year to make way for Phase I of The Wharf.  From Fraley's email update:

After extensive due diligence, we were not able to make the site work for this use...We are in the process of working with other organizations to provide other exciting interim activation experiences at Waterfront Station.

It's unclear where the Kastles will be playing their home matches this season, which is set to get underway on July 9 against the Boston Lobsters.

Meanwhile, another planned interim use at Waterfront Station that will be moving forward is an art installation on the District-owned NE parcel next to CVS. The Southwester reports that the lot will become a mini-exhibit garden with works of art from five internationally-known artists as a part of the 5x5 Project from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Curator Lance Fung selected the following artists to work on the SW exhibit, which will be called Nonuments: Jonathan Fung, Cameron Hockenson, Peter Hutchinson, Jennifer Wen Ma, and Nora Naranjo Morse. From the article:

“For my curatorial contribution to 5×5, I envision Nonuments — a temporary sculpture park featuring ‘monuments’ devoted not to the great, but to ordinary people, to the ideals of democracy, and to the common struggles of humanity,” says Curator Lance Fung. 

The exhibit will be on display for 16 weeks from September to December.

A Few Quick Saturday Morning Items: GSA Open House, Circulator Pop-Up Meetings, Running of the Chihuahuas, New Amidon-Bowen Windows

The GSA will host an open house on April 30 at the SW Library to solicit input on their RFQ involving the transfer of the Cotton Annex and GSA regional headquarters in exchange for construction services at GSA HQ and up to three historic properties at St. Elizabeths. As a part of the RFQ process, GSA needs to perform an Environmental Assessment, which involves community engagement, hence the planned open house. In addition, the GSA will be accepting comments on the "scope" of the Environmental Assessment through May 14. Comments can be sent by email to cottonannexrob@gsa.gov to via snail mail to:

Suzanne Hill, Regional Environmental Planning Officer

U.S. General Services Administration, NCR

301 7th Street, SW, Room 4004

Washington, DC 20407

 Image courtesy of GSA

DDOT will be hosting a series of "pop-up" meetings next week to solicit feedback on the Circulator system. One will be held at the Waterfront Metro station on Thursday, April 24 from 3:30-6:30pm. A survey to gather feedback will open April 22 on the DC Circulator website. Each participant will be entered to win a $50 SmarTrip card with a winner randomly selected after the survey closes on May 9.  As a part of the Mayor's FY 2015 budget proposal, the Union Station - Navy Yard Metro Circulator line will be extended to Southwest.

The third annual Running of the Chihuahuas will take place on May 3 at Gangplank Park at The Wharf (between 6th and 7th streets) from 12-3pm.  The entry fee is $20 and there will be cash prizes totaling $500. Entry fees will benefit animal charities. In previous years, PAWS of Southwest was the beneficiary, but the dog park is now fully funded and should open within the next couple of months at Lansburgh Park. Be on the look out for a leash-cutting ceremony soon. 



Renovations continue at Amidon-Bowen Elementary. The latest improvements include new windows, which have been installed over the past couple of weeks. Other improvements that have been made over the past couple of years include a substantial interior renovation that happened two summers ago, as well as a new playground and soccer field.

A Couple Quick Thursday Afternoon Items: Kastles Stadium to Waterfront Station?, Media Attention on The Wharf

There is the possibility that the Washington Kastles will return to Southwest for a fourth season, but the stadium would be located at Waterfront Station instead of The Wharf. The empty lot owned by Vornado and Forest City Washington on the northwest corner of 4th and M streets is being eyed by the team for their stadium, with seven home matches scheduled from July 9-22. The last use on that site was for trailers used by CVS and Bank of America while phase one of Waterfront Station was being built (CVS moved to their new home on 4th Street in 2010 while Bank of America decided to move to Near SE/Capitol Riverfront/Navy Yard). Eventually, the empty lot will become an office building with ground floor retail. Prior to their three-year stint on the Southwest Waterfront, the Kastles played at the old convention center site downtown which eventually became CityCenter DC. The Kastles stadium plan will be discussed at next Monday’s May's ANC 6D meeting. (h/t ANC Commissioner Marrero) 

The redevelopment of the Southwest Waterfront was featured today on The Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU. A feature on The Wharf was also done on WMAU’s Metro Connection late last month. Kojo’s guests were PN Hoffman’s Monty Hoffman and Washington Post architecture critic Roger Lewis. Speaking of critics, the Commission of Fine Arts mentioned in a review of The Wharf that the public spaces planned at the project threaten to become “carnivalesque,” according to an article in the Washington Business Journal. From the article: 

“They cautioned that the design continues to present unnecessary emphasis on specific moments or events within this linear urban space — using too many materials, too many elements, and too many unrelated forms — which may result in a carnivalesque character, and they suggested editing the vocabulary of design elements to create a calmer, more dignified effect,” [CFA Secretary Thomas] Luebke wrote [to DC Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Victor Hoskins].

Wharf Groundbreaking Set for March 19

Following yesterday's front page coverage in the WBJ about The Wharf, this week's Capital Business reveals additional details about the project, including the date that most Southwesters have been waiting to hear - groundbreaking is set for March 19. Here are some new details from the article about what is coming to The Wharf:

• In addition to Wharf Hall, a movie house may be coming, although Hoffman-Madison Waterfront states that at this point it is still a concept.
• Other retailers include a jazz club, along with a piano bar, country-western bar, and an Irish pub. Local restaurant groups are coming to the development, although no specific ones have been announced yet.
• The Francis Case Memorial Bridge will be adorned with LED lighting (pending approval). I suggested something like that in a post back in 2008.
• Private financing is coming from French Canadian firm PSP Investments.

The Capital Business article is accompanied by a photo tour of the area and Q & A with PN Hoffman's Monty Hoffman.

Update: The groundbreaking will start at 11am on March 19 and is open to the public. The event will last approximately an hour, followed by a luncheon.

A Few Monday Morning Quick Items: Stadium Supporter Website, L'Enfant Plaza Atrium, SW Waterfront is #1

DC United has created a website called Unite DC that explains the parameters of the deal between the city and the team to build a new stadium in Buzzard Point. The website also allows those who support the deal to send a form email to the DC Council.

Update: 49% support stadium deal per WCP.

Rendering courtesy of Gensler

The atrium at L'Enfant Plaza continues to take shape. Most of the glass has been installed on the atrium, which will serve as the new entrance to the revamped retail center. The area is a big construction zone, with the second phase of the retail center, northern office building, and the L'Enfant Plaza hotel closed for renovations. The second phase of the retail center is scheduled to open later this year.

The Southwest Waterfront neighborhood makes it to number one on PoPville's random list of Top 13 Revitalizing DC neighborhoods that he'd buy a house or invest in if he had extra cash.

NCPC Recommendations for 10th Street Corridor Improvements

The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) held a public meeting on December 4th to discuss its preliminary long-term and interim recommendations for the 10th Street corridor as a part of the SW Ecodistrict. There are several initiatives simultaneously underway in the general vicinity of the project area. Within the larger SW Ecodistrict area is Federal Triangle South, where GSA will soon issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) to redevelop five parcels it owns from 12th Street to the west, to 6th Street to the east, to Independence Avenue to the north, to Maryland Avenue and a portion of D Street to the south. The northern portion of 10th Street is included within Federal Triangle South. The Office of Planning recently conducted a Small Area Plan for Maryland Avenue, which will intersect with 10th Street when the historic L’Enfant roadway is reconstructed. DDOT is currently undertaking a year-long transportation study of Maryland Avenue. A new SW Business Improvement District, which includes the SW Ecodistrict boundaries, is in the process of being formed and if approved, will begin services next spring. Just to the north of the SW Ecodistrict, the Smithsonian is working on a master plan to improve the southern section of the National Mall in the vicinity of the Smithsonian Castle. Slides from the December 4 NCPC presentation are available here.

Current view up 10th Street from Banneker Park.

10th Street is envisioned as an urban garden promenade that extends the civic character of the National Mall to Banneker Park. The Forrestal complex would be demolished which would allow new streets to be introduced to the area, including Virginia Avenue and Maryland Avenue. This will reduce the blockiness of the building design that’s currently in place. The width of the right-of-way along 10th Street is recommended to be the same as it is today (150 feet), but the sidewalks are narrowed from 29 feet to 24 feet; a five-foot bike lane is added on either side of the street; the roadway on each side is reduced from 26.5 feet to 20 feet; and the median is expanded from 39 feet to 52 feet. 

On the northern section of the street where it is at-grade, a large tree canopy is recommended with trees growing as high as 50 feet in a linear garden. A “Magnet” Plaza to draw people to 10th Street from the Smithsonian Castle is recommended with a water feature near its northern terminus with Independence Avenue. 

Where the street meets L’Enfant Plaza, an Urban Plaza is recommended. The design of the urban plaza can take shape in a variety of forms, including a framed water feature in the median, an architectural feature in the median, a design that encompasses the right-of-way, and stretching out the plaza from the edge of a building to the east to the building on the west. 

Further south, garden rooms are envisioned with shorter trees cascading down to Banneker Park. Pedestrian access through the tree canopy in the northern section and in the southern section would be limited, but the greatest amount of pedestrian crossings would be at the Urban Plaza near L’Enfant Plaza. Programming space could be accommodated at the “Magnet” Plaza, at the intersection with reconstructed Maryland Avenue, and at the Urban Plaza. 

Vision for a new Banneker Park connection to The Wharf.

Short-term improvements include changes to the street where it meets Independence Avenue, programming, wayfinding signage, and connections. 

• Entry – Where the street intersects with Independence Avenue, it is recommended to improve the area with defined crosswalks and Tactical Urbanism, defined by Atlantic Cities’ Nate Berg as “quick, often temporary, cheap projects that aim to make a small part of the city more lively or enjoyable.” Examples of Tactical Urbanism include guerrilla gardening, pavement-to-parks, and open streets.
• Programming – On certain stretches of 10th Street, festival programming can occur, from Independence Avenue to Maryland Avenue, as well as from L’Enfant Plaza to Banneker Park. 
• Wayfinding – Improvements are recommended for the entire length of 10th Street. 
• Connections – Bike lanes, enhanced crosswalks, and lane modifications are recommended. In addition, a stair connection to the Maine Avenue Fish Market is proposed and a path connection to 9th Street. At Banneker Park, a terraced stairway is proposed on the west side with enhanced landscaping that leads down to Maine Avenue where a new signalized intersection is planned along with green walls to help soften the appearance of the existing structure. 

Public comments will be accepted until December 31.

Renderings courtesy of NCPC

Buzzard Point Streetcar Line Study

DDOT is preparing to undertake a year-long study of a new streetcar line that will run from Buzzard Point to Takoma according to WAMU. The nine-mile line will run through the Southwest Waterfront, the National Mall, downtown, Shaw, Columbia Heights, and Petworth. With the exception of the end points, the streetcar route is similar to Metro's Green line. Presumably, the study of this line is related to the planned DC United stadium in Buzzard Point. From the article:

Once this initial study is completed and the environmental approval process is underway, DDOT will be looking for a contractor to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the streetcar, Metro buses whose routes are entirely within the District’s border, and D.C. Circulator – as part of a public-private partnership. Project spokeswoman Dara Ward said finding a contractor to handle all aspects of the transportation network’s construction and operations would speed up its completion.

Over the next several weeks, the public outreach campaign will begin and DDOT will meet with neighborhood stakeholders. This initial planning comes at the same time WMATA is looking to eliminate the 74 bus whose route is pretty similar to a portion of the streetcar route. Another bus route that may be eliminated is the 5A bus that goes from L'Enfant Plaza to Dulles Airport since the Silver line to Wiehle Avenue in Reston is set to open early next year.

The New Southwest

Too much to fit on one map.

A Few Quick Items: Basketball Star Coming to Amidon-Bowen, History of SW, Opposing Views on DC United Land Swap, SW Ecodistrict Meeting

 

- It was reported in PoPville that basketball legend and children's author Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will be reading to students at Amidon-Bowen Elementary on Friday, May 10 at a "Where the Wild Things Are" celebration.  Each student will receive a free copy of the book. Also in attendance will be Tracy Hutson from "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and DC Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson.

- An article in Atlantic Cities describes the history of Southwest and how the construction of the Southwest freeway cut off the waterfront from the rest of the city. The authors also have a proposal on how to reconnect the quadrant with the rest of the city - which includes removing the freeway, adding a Metro and ferry terminal at East Potomac Park, and creating a "New Mall" on the site of Fort McNair, the second oldest military installation in the US.  Like most of that will ever happen...

- The folks over at Greater Greater Washington make an argument for the city doing a land swap with Akridge in order to allow DC United to build a new soccer stadium in Buzzard Point.  Meanwhile over at Slate, Matthew Yglesias argues that the city should encourage affordable housing instead at Buzzard Point.

- The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) will hold a meeting on May 21 to discuss how to improve the 10th Street corridor from Independence Avenue to Banneker Overlook as a part of the SW Ecodistrict Initiative. The meeting will take place at 401 9th Street, NW, Suite 500 North from 6:30 - 8:30pm.

Image courtesy of the NCPC