Soccer Stadium's Parcel B Marketed for Development

While D.C. United deals with ANC opposition and Zoning Commission concerns over the design of its proposed stadium on Buzzard Point, a second parcel across 1st Street from the project is now being marketed by MAC Realty Advisors. Parcel B, as it’s being called for now, is a 1.6-acre piece of land bordered on the west by 1st Street, on the east by Half Street, on the north by the proposed public park, and on the south by S Street. Potential uses for the site run the gamut from a hotel, to office, to residential – either option potentially containing ground floor retail. D.C. United is expected to reach an agreement with a developer partner by March 2017. This parcel will have to go through its own design review with the Zoning Commission before construction can begin, but the site will likely remain vacant for only a short time after the stadium opens in 2018. 

Rendering courtesy of D.C. United

Additional Changes to D.C. United Stadium Design

D.C. United recently submitted supplemental materials to the Zoning Commission ahead of its rescheduled hearing on November 28. The hearing was originally scheduled for November 2, but it was delayed after the team got pushback from neighboring developers and ANC 6D about the previous design of the stadium. In a letter dated yesterday to the Zoning Commission, the applicant made changes to the alignment of 1st Street to allow for 14,000 SF of retail along the east side of the stadium as well as parking on both sides of the street. The street now has a curve, which reduces the size of Parcel B, and it will still be closed to vehicular traffic on game days from Potomac Avenue to T Street. Future retail will be added on the east side of 1st Street south of S Street. Along the south side of the stadium, an additional 3,000 SF of retail will be included on the southeast corner of the building which also houses the team offices. The lack of retail and the alignment of 1st Street were some of the concerns neighboring developers had with the previous design, which they thought hampered access to their proposed projects and took away from the potential activation of Buzzard Point. We’ll see if the retail space at the soccer stadium gets filled any faster than the space at Nationals Park, where the 1st Street, SE side of the stadium remains empty eight years after the stadium opened. 

New retail along 1st Street

Besides adding more retail, the revised plan also includes changes to the public plaza, reducing the amount of hard surface and adding landscaping and terraces. The terraced green space will allow for a variety of events on non-game days, such as movie screenings and live performances. Adding green space was one of the requests of the ANC, since the grassy lot (Parcel B) to the east of the stadium is only temporary and will be replaced with a building once a developer is selected for that parcel. The large D.C. United sign in the plaza that was in the previous design was moved closer to the ticket window and the water feature was removed. Also, the entry point at the corner of 2nd and T streets was removed and replaced with a new entrance at 1st and S streets. This entrance was moved to align one of the stadium entrances with S Street, one of the major corridors envisioned in the Buzzard Point Framework Plan. Below are additional renderings of the revised plans.

View north along 1st Street

New S Street stadium entrance

Bike valet at 2nd and T streets

Main entrance to stadium

New terraced green space 

View SW from Half St & Potomac Ave

Aerial view of stadium looking NE

Aerial view of stadium looking SW

Renderings courtesy of D.C. United

Revised Stadium PUD Application

Last week, D.C. United submitted a revised PUD application for their planned 19,000-seat, LEED-Gold stadium on Buzzard Point and released new renderings via social media. Compare to the original filing from January.  The application was revised based on comments from the Zoning Commission back in the spring. In their letter to the Zoning Commission, submitted with the application, the team identifies two major changes to the stadium design, including: 

• A two-way private street will run along the east side of the stadium site. This street is an extension of 1st Street and will be open to the public on non-game days, but closed on days when D.C. United has a match. The street will allow a pedestrian and vehicular connection north-south through the site. It will be 23 feet wide with sidewalks on both sides of the street, ranging from 13 feet to 30 feet. South of S Street, there will only be a sidewalk on the west side of the street. On the south side of the stadium site, there will be a coffee shop and the team offices. 

1st Street extension (stadium is at left)

Main entry gate (1st Street extension & Potomac Avenue)

• The PUD boundary now includes the large plaza located on the northeast portion of the stadium site near the main entrance. The southern edge of the plaza will have a canopy park with trees, seating area and structural canopies for vendors to use or for farmers’ markets. In the middle of the plaza, there will be a sculpture with the letters “D.C. United”. On non-game days, the D.C. United sculpture letters will be surrounded by a splash fountain. The plaza will be activated on match day with a variety of activities, including food trucks and other food vendors, merchandise sales, sponsor booths, kids zone, games like soccer tennis, beer garden, tailgating, live music, and a broadcast set, a la College Gameday. Other yard games will be held on an adjacent parcel (Parcel B) where future development is planned. 

Plaza area on match day

In addition to these major changes, D.C. United addressed some other issues, such as: 

• 3,950 parking spaces in the vicinity of the stadium have been identified for use by D.C. United on game days. These include many of the same surface lots and garages used for Nationals games, as well as street parking. There will be zero parking spaces in the stadium. 
• Pedestrian routes to the stadium have been identified – most fans will use Potomac Avenue via South Capitol Street and 1st Street SE. 
• Development on the adjacent Parcel B will likely start in 1-2 years and may include multiple uses, including a hotel, office, ground floor retail, and/or event space. 

Concept rendering of Parcel B, south of large plaza

• The revised drawings are more clear, refined and have more color. 
• Along 2nd Street on the west side of the stadium, parklets will be installed which will include seating areas and bike parking. 
• There will be 83 bicycle parking spaces and a bike valet at the corner of 2nd and T streets holding up to 150 bikes. 

Below are a few more renderings.

Team store on R Street

Staff entry and ticket office on 1st Street extension

NW entry gate at 2nd and R streets

If approved by the Zoning Commission, construction of the stadium could start before the end of the year and be ready in time for the 2018 MLS season. Demolition was completed earlier this summer.

Renderings courtesy of D.C. United and Populous

Update: The WBJ (subscribers only) reports that the team will issue a RFP for the 2-acre Parcel B within the coming weeks to a select pool of developers, but construction will not start at least until the end of the inaugural season at the new stadium in 2018. However, that timetable could be pushed up based on market forces. 

D.C. United Stadium Demolition Ceremony

An official demolition ceremony was held this morning at the site of the future D.C. United Stadium in Buzzard Point. Speakers at the event included Mayor Muriel Bowser, DC Council Chair Phil Mendelson, Ward 6 Council Member Charles Allen, D.C. United owner Jason Levien and others. Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Brian Kenner stated during his remarks that the stadium project will provide 1,000 construction and permanent jobs, as well as help generate $1 billion in economic activity once Buzzard Point reaches buildout. It’s anticipated that approximately 1 million visitors will come to the stadium per year once it is built – construction will get underway this fall with completion by the start of the 2018 MLS season. This summer, a Community Workforce Coordinator will be hired to help connect Ward 6 residents to construction jobs at this project. Later, a Hospitality and Pre-Apprenticeship Coordinators will also be hired.

Ward 6 CM Allen gives remarks.

Mayor Bowser gives remarks.

A large crowd gathers for demo event.

The 96'ers were in attendance.

I couldn't get to the front row fast enough for the obligatory photo-op.

The District is responsible for horizontal development of the site, including razing existing buildings, utility work, and environmental remediation while D.C. United will build the stadium. There were a few protesters outside of the demolition event, many in face masks, with signs – one sign said “Protect out health, our children, our lives from contamination.” The Buzzard Point area is heavily polluted due to its primarily industrial past. The stadium, along with construction from the new Waterfront Pepco substation directly north of the stadium site, the new Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, and other sites in Buzzard Point which may be developed in the near future, will require extensive remediation and may cause a lot of dust to form in the neighborhood. In fact, there was what appeared to be an air quality control machine at the event.

Protesters citing environmental issues.

Air quality control machine.

After the speeches, the Mayor donned a hard hat and started demolishing a metal-clad building at 2nd and S streets. Below is a video of Mayor Bowser doing some demo work. Levien and Allen also got their turn at the helm.

Demolition Ceremony for D.C. United Stadium on Monday

A demolition ceremony to make way for the new (tentatively named) D.C. United Stadium will be held on Monday, starting at 11am. Mayor Muriel Bowser, D.C. United representatives, and other dignitaries will be on hand for the demolition ceremony, to be held at 2nd and S streets in the stadium footprint. The District took ownership of the land for the stadium last year and is still dealing with eminent domain proceedings for a two-acre portion that was owned by Akridge. A PUD for the 20,000-seat stadium designed by Populous was filed in January and is making its way through the approvals process with the Zoning Commission. 

 At a Zoning Commission pubic meeting last month, the stadium design was described as “boring”, “austere” and “prison-like” by the Commissioners, so expect some revised drawings in the coming weeks. Once approvals have been secured and environmental remediation is complete, construction is expected to start around September with the stadium opening in time for the start of the 2018 MLS season in March. 

Rendering courtesy of D.C. United

A Few Quick Items: On the Ground Floor in SW, Buzzard Point, Circulator Changes, DC CAS Tests, SW Duck Pond

- UrbanTurf writes about the Southwest Waterfront neighborhood's potential to become "the next hot neighborhood" in DC. The article includes a couple quotes from me, so go check it out!

- JDLand reports that the Florida Rock concrete plant across from Nationals Park on Potomac Avenue, SE will be razed, but it will be moved a few blocks away to another Florida Rock Properties-owned site in...you guessed it, Buzzard Point, located at S Street and the Anacostia River.

- DDOT announced that there will be some changes made to DC Circulator routes starting on April 1.  The National Mall loop will be discontinued.  Also, the SW Waterfront-Convention Center route will be changed slightly in Southwest.  The route will run along Maine Avenue instead of Water Street to accommodate construction of the new Kastles Stadium at The Wharf, which should be complete by early July.  However, it is recommended in a new Transit Development Plan for the Circulator to suspend the SW Waterfront-Convention Center route until development at The Wharf and O Street Market in Shaw are further along.  This route is one of the most subsidized out of the six Circulator routes because of low ridership. Another recommendation is to create a new route, from Dupont Circle down to the Mall area, running along Maine Avenue to the Navy Yard.  This new route would most likely be introduced within the next couple of years.  DDOT will host a meeting tomorrow at the Capital Hilton, located at 16th & K Street, NW from 6-9pm where the public can comment about the proposed changes to Circulator routes.  Comments can also be made online.

- Volunteers are needed next week to help monitor students at Jefferson Middle School as they take their DC CAS tests.  Monitors will sit in the classrooms with teachers.  The tests will take place from 9am - 11am Tuesday - Friday.  If anyone is interested to volunteer for any of those days, contact Ms. Nedra Jones at Jefferson Middle School at 729-3270, or nedra.jones@dc.gov.

- Ward 6 Council member Tommy Wells introduced legislation yesterday to change the name of the park at the corner of 6th & I Street to the "Southwest Duck Pond."  Monthly clean-ups have been done by the Neighbors of Southwest Duck Pond group at the park since last year and they have made great progress towards rehabbing the neglected park.  There will be a press event on Saturday at 12:30pm to activate the fountains for the season at the park, announce the Volunteer of the Year for 2010, as well as an announcement about the future of the park.  Council member Wells is expected to attend.