The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts this week will review concept plans for two parking garages that are expected to make up a critical component of D.C.’s planned new Washington Commanders stadium and surrounding campus redevelopment.
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The designs, submitted by the RFK Stadium Project Management Office and the Commanders, show the two garages will be on either side of the stadium and total 6,000 parking spaces. The garages, G1 and G2, will add to the roughly 2,000 existing surface parking spaces.
The CFA will evaluate the RFK campus master plan and concept plans for the garages at its Thursday meeting. CFA commentary and any action on the review will happen at the meeting and be documented the following week, an agency spokesperson said. The National Capital Planning Commission will review the parking garage concept plans on Oct. 1.
Members of the NCPC and the CFA have previously expressed concerns about the garages, including over whether they would obstruct views, according to the Washington Business Journal, which first reported the concept plans. A community group near the proposed G2 has opposed any multilevel garage near its Kingman Park neighborhood, instead calling for a new metro station.
“Nothing we have asked for has been addressed,” Friends of Kingman Park Civic Association President Alexis Pazmino said in an email Monday.
She said the design of G2 prioritizes cars over the environment and that the garage will become a “giant eye sore facing a historic neighborhood.”
The Commanders and the NCPC didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
G1 will sit directly south of the stadium and is intended to “maintain waterfront access, preserve views, and avoid the concentration of parking and traffic in a single area of the RFK Campus,” according to submission materials. It is slated to have nine levels, and two architectural design concepts are under assessment to “create a visually pleasing structure.” Both designs include pedestrian connectivity to the stadium, a green roof and solar panels.
G2 will be north and northeast of the stadium and is intended to facilitate access to the campus from major roadways while minimizing traffic impacts on Kingman Park and other nearby residential streets, according to the materials. It will include eight parking levels and connectivity to the stadium.
Public space around the garages is imagined to support arts and craft festivals, farmers markets, outdoor concerts and other community uses.
“The garages are integral components of the RFK Campus and are envisioned as much more than parking infrastructure,” the submission document says. “They are an opportunity to create architecture and public spaces that contribute to the identity, character, and everyday life of the campus and surrounding neighborhood.”
The NCPC in April granted preliminary approval of the Commanders’ stadium. Final review is expected in early 2027. The CFA preliminarily approved the stadium in July. But earlier this year, CFA members criticized the proposed southeast location of G1 and suggested relocating it to another site near the D.C. Armory, WUSA9 reported.
The garages will be part of the planned 180-acre mixed-use RFK campus, which is slated to include between 5,000 and 6,500 homes and be anchored by a 70,000-seat Commanders stadium. The District released its draft master plan for the campus in June and accepted comments until mid-August. The size of planned parking garage structures was one of residents’ key concerns.
The D.C. Office of Planning expects to submit a revised master plan to the D.C. Council this fall.
UPDATE, SEPT. 14, 12:50 P.M. ET: This story was updated with a comment from the Friends of Kingman Park Civic Association.
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