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Construction is officially underway at the 66-acre The Parks at Walter Reed project, after city officials joined the developers to celebrate the groundbreaking Monday morning.
Hines, Urban Atlantic and Triden are developing the 3.1M SF mixed-use project, which will be built over 10 to 15 years. The first phase of construction launched Monday will demolish a 1970s-era hospital to make way for a town center, develop infrastructure, make landscape improvements and preserve historic buildings for later renovation. EagleBank provided the acquisition and development loan for the project.
“In Washington, DC, we value inclusive prosperity, and through transformative development projects like this one, we can bring jobs, affordable housing and economic opportunity to thousands of District residents,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a release. “This effort has been years in the making, and now the future is bright for Walter Reed, Ward 4 and the entire community.”
The Parks at Walter Reed is ultimately planned to include more than 2,100 residential units, 432 of them affordable, 150K SF to 250K SF of retail, anchored by a grocery store, 185K SF of office, a 200-room hotel, two charter schools, 116K SF of medical space for Howard University Hospital, 30K SF of arts and cultural uses and 20 acres of open space.
"We will reconnect this amazing, 66-acre Walter Reed site to its community, celebrate the extensive parks and green areas, create place for art, and work together to create a wonderful place to live, work, shop and play," Urban Atlantic managing partner Vicki Davis said in prepared remarks.
The District last summer bought the 66-acre former Walter Reed Army Medical Center Campus from the U.S. Army for $22.5M. In November, it signed a ground lease with the development team to allow for construction to begin on the mixed-use project. The District is expediting construction of one of the two language immersion charter schools on the campus, the District of Columbia International School, to allow for its 775 students to begin school in September 2017.
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