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.

Waterfront Park is Open!

A little more than a week after Waterfront Park opened to the public at District Wharf, I was able to get a tour with the landscape architect for the project. The park was designed by LAB, with the assistance of a group of 35 Southwest residents (myself included) who were selected by ANC 6D to serve on a committee to design the park through a series of charrette planning sessions. Elinor Bacon from Hoffman-Madison Waterfront convened the charrette planning sessions at the request of ANC 6D, which stipulated in its approval of the stage one PUD application that the park be built in the first phase of development and a public process was needed to help design the park. 

During the charrette process, the design elements most important to the participants were the following: 

• More Green than Paved 
• Quiet Areas - Garden Rooms 
• Gardens 
• Tree Preservation 
• Innovative Children's Play Area 
• Bocce 
• Views Towards Hains Point and the Washington Channel 
• Trees - Flowering, Shade, Fall Color 
• Walking/Strolling Paths 
• Interactive Water Features 

All of these elements are present in the park in some form or another. It was desired by the community for the park to be more tranquil than other area of District Wharf, since it borders existing residential complexes such as Tiber Island and Harbor Square. While some of the plantings have yet to take root, the fences are down and the park is open for everyone to enjoy. I took plenty of photos while on the tour:

Movable furniture will be added soon.

Dogwoods in bloom.

Tiber Island borders Waterfront Park.

Pergola and 525 Water in background.

Water feature near pergola.

Play mounds on upper portion of park.

Bocce court is still under construction.

Winding paths exists throughout.

Grassy area in upper area of park.

Winding path and river in the distance.

Road made of crushed oyster shells.

Storage shed.

Walls made of MD carderock stone.

Wetlands in lower area of park.

Waterfront Park Preview

On this first day of spring, I thought I’d share a few photos of Waterfront Park, the new park expected to open soon at District Wharf. The park is located south of 525 Water condos along the Washington Channel. Fencing is still up around the park, but you can get a good idea of what it will look like when it is complete. There will be more photos to come once the park is open and trees/flowers are in bloom.

Stairs leading to large pergola

Pergola

Grassy area leads to 525 Water condos

Stonework

Promenade

New Z Dock at Gangplank Marina

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

King-Greenleaf Playground Progress Photos

The new King-Greenleaf playground is coming along nicely compared to how it looked back in March. The play surface has now been installed, as well as new landscaping and sidewalks. It now looks almost ready to open! With rising temperatures, it would be nice if the splash park opened soon. Below are some progress photos of the playground and splash park that were taken last week.

Condition of playground in March.

Condition of playground last week.

Splash park back in March.

Splash park last week.