Now less than six months from opening, The Wharf has just brought on a top DC police official to lead its security program.

Diane Groomes has been with the Metropolitan Police Department for 27 years and spent her last 10 as assistant chief of the Patrol Services and School Safety Bureau. She will retire from MPD at the end of April to become director of security and public safety at the major Southwest Waterfront development.

“There is nothing we take more seriously than the safety of our waterfront community, and we feel incredibly fortunate to welcome someone so trusted and experienced in security and community policing to lead what is, without a doubt, one of the most important roles at The Wharf,” PN Hoffman CEO Monty Hoffman said in a release.

The Wharf's 1.4M SF Phase 1 will deliver on Oct. 12. Kicking off a six-month-long series of events, the 9:30 Club's Seth Hurwitz plans to bring a major artist on opening night to headline a show at his new 6,000-person concert venue, The Anthem.

“When The Wharf opens this fall, not only will it be one of the largest waterfront developments under construction in the country, but it will be one of the most technologically advanced neighborhoods from a safety and security standpoint,” Groomes said in a release. “What The Wharf team is building here is unprecedented, and it will be my job to ensure the well-being of residents, businesses and visitors that come to our neighborhood."