Bisnow: D.C. Moves Forward With Efforts To Develop 110-Acre Waterfront Site

Image: Bisnow

From Bisnow:

The D.C. government is taking its first major step forward in years in the long-planned effort to turn a 110-acre site on Poplar Point in Anacostia into a mixed-use waterfront destination.

Mayor Muriel Bowser's administration is releasing a new request for proposals for an owner's representative to guide the waterfront site through a series of complex approval, relocation and development processes that are set to take place in the coming years, Bisnow has learned.

Though construction on the site is still years away, interim Deputy Mayor Keith Anderson told Bisnow he expects the Poplar Point project to be “a very large-scale development,” akin to the Navy Yard or The Wharf.

“Poplar Point is one of the largest potential waterfront development sites on the East Coast, quite frankly,” Anderson said. “What we have here is a 110-acre site that we envision will connect the Anacostia neighborhood to the Anacostia River and provide a much-needed resource for the community going forward.” 

The agency is launching the RFP with a three-week solicitation period and expects to make a selection soon after that. It is seeking an owner's representative, likely a firm with architectural and engineering expertise, because of the complexity of the site. 

In planning out the area, Anderson said DMPED and the chosen owner’s representative will initiate conversations with Ward 8 residents about what they would like to see out of the development. 

“This is a place where we want to ensure that we celebrate community, we celebrate our culture and our history,” he said.