D.C. Offers St. Elizabeths, Brightwood Parcels For Redevelopment
As NCAA basketball teams tipped off for March Madness on Thursday, so, too, did the Bowser administration — holding its 12th annual economic development event of the same name.
At the event, hosted by the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development at Nationals Park, officials released the latest opportunities for real estate developers, construction firms and others to do business with the city.
“When most people hear March Madness, they think brackets, buzzer-beaters and fierce competition,” DMPED Director of Real Estate Latrena Owens said at the event. “But here at DMPED, March Madness means something a little different. It means bold ideas, big opportunities and a room full of people like you ready to help shape the future of Washington, D.C.”
Two requests for proposals to develop certain sites owned by the District went live Thursday: one for a 6.6-acre site at the St. Elizabeths East campus in Ward 8 and another for an assemblage of parcels near Brightwood in northwest.
The larger of the two, Parcel 1 at St. Elizabeths East, is one of the last remaining development sites on the 183-acre campus that has been planned for over two decades. The section is on the northern edge of the campus, directly across from a gate to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security campus at St. Elizabeths West, the solicitation says.
The RFP requires that proposals include “a combination of residential, retail, office, or community spaces that enhance the area's vibrancy,” and it says the site can support uses like education, workforce training, small business incubation, neighborhood-serving retail and community gathering spaces.
Parcel 1 currently houses a barn and two staff cottages, which the RFP says are “the oldest remaining structures on the campus and the last physical reminders of its agricultural origins and historic hospital operations.”
The RFP tells respondents that their visions for the development should serve as a central connection point for the mixed-use development on the east campus and the DHS headquarters on the west side. It says the project should be “intentionally designed to bring together hospital workers, residents, visitors, and employees of U.S. Department of Homeland Security.”
The other request for proposals was for properties on Georgia Avenue near D.C.'s Brightwood neighborhood.
The parcels are zoned MU-7, which allows medium-density, mixed-use development.
“Redevelopment of this site may include a mix of uses including retail and housing,” the RFP says.
The site now houses vacant retail storefronts, a historic firehouse, parking, an outbuilding and the lot of a former car wash.
The RFP lists 10 requirements for the proposed development, which include maximizing affordable workforce housing, economic value to the District and job creation for D.C. residents, among others.
D.C. officials also announced eight other business solicitations set to come out later this year — three from DMPED and five from the Department of General Services.
They include the opportunity to develop another St. Elizabeths East site, Parcel 16, which weighs in at around 60K SF, and a $68M contract to design and construct a 400-bed homeless shelter on New York Avenue in Ward 5.
DGS also plans to bid out a $77M contract to build a sportsplex next to the RFK stadium site. This is one of many RFK-related opportunities coming from the city as leaders seek to help local businesses benefit from the $3.8B stadium development.
March Madness started in 2015 during Mayor Muriel Bowser’s first year as D.C. mayor and has been held every year since.
It is possible that this year’s event could be the last. Bowser has decided not to run for a fourth term, ensuring the city will see a new mayor elected in November.
The event has been used to release opportunities like fire station and community center redevelopments and announce city funding awards for new and growing businesses in the District.
Last year, the mayor revealed that the city had selected a wellness water-centric spa, Therme, to anchor the planned mixed-use waterfront development at Poplar Point.
