A key recreational component of The Wharf that was originally scheduled to be completed as part of the project’s third phase may be opening much sooner than expected.

A recent filing with the DC Zoning Commission suggests that developer Hoffman-Madison Waterfront may accelerate construction of the 7th Street Recreation Pier to coincide with the completion and public opening of Phase 1 of the Wharf, the Washington Business Journal reports. The 42-foot-wide pier is now envisioned as an anchor for the initial Southwest waterfront redevelopment.

The pier will extend 432 feet into the Washington Channel and is described in zoning documents as a "flexible open space that can accommodate a wide range of activities and types of programming." Plans for the pier include a small retail kiosk within a large shade structure, oversized swings and a gathering area at its southern end. Architects Perkins Eastman DC and Michael Vergason Landscape Architects drew inspiration for the pier from existing public spaces across the world, including spaces in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Yokohama, Japan.

Phase 1 of the Wharf is scheduled to deliver in 2017 and will include office buildings, apartments, condominiums, hotels and a 6,000-seat concert venue. Just last month, Permits were issued for the first office building at the Wharf, an 11-story, 227k SF building at 800 Maine Ave SW. 

Executives from PN Hoffman and Madison Marquette, the two firms that make up Hoffman Madison Waterfront, are giving a Wharf case study at BMAC on Thursday. [WBJ]