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Shakespeare Theatre Company Presents New Proposal For The Bard Development In Southwest D.C.

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A rendering of the initial plan for The Bard, which Shakespeare Theatre Company withdrew last summer

After its initial plans for a Southwest D.C. mixed-use development were met with opposition, Shakespeare Theatre Company has returned with a new proposal for The Bard.

At a recent community meeting, STC presented a revised proposal that would reduce the density by one-third, and it plans to submit a Planned Unit Development application in the coming weeks, Hillrag reports

STC's original plan for the site at 501 I St. SW, submitted in February 2016 and withdrawn five months later, called for 131 apartments and 43K SF of studio, office and educational space for the theater company. The new plan reduces the total units to 112, with ground-floor space still set aside for STC's administrative functions. 

The project will have to go through the PUD process, making it easier for community members to appeal the proposal. A group of neighbors has collected more than $20K to hire a lawyer to appeal the project and created a website to voice its opposition. The residents have said they would prefer the zoning remain unchanged and townhouses instead be built on the site.