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This alternative would leave the wetlands where they
are and clean them up, and would place many
of the area’s buildings away from the river.
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Proposals currently under District and National Park Service review to clean up and develop the land and park space along the Anacostia River share similar goals, but the specifics of how those goals are reached varies widely between the three proposals.
The DC government has drafted three proposals to clean contaminated wetlands and build a mixed-use development to complement a 70-acre public park space at Poplar Point, the area bordered by the 11th Street Bridge on the east, the Anacostia River on the north, South Capitol Street on the west and Interstate 295 on the south.
The neighboring Anacostia Park would also be improved under each proposal, with remodeled athletic fields, more picnic shelters and many more trees than currently are at the site. Anacostia Drive would also be rerouted to run farther away from the river, opening up the riverfront for park-goers.
Each proposal would include space at Poplar Point for two “commemorative works,” which is one of the conditions of the federal government’s deal to transfer the land to the city, and new bridges would be built to better connect downtown Anacostia and Poplar Point.
All of the proposals also call for the existing National Park Service facilities at Poplar Point and Anacostia Park to be relocated elsewhere within the land. Peter May, associate regional director for lands, resources and planning at the National Park Service, said that his agency and the city have a “tentative agreement” on where to relocate the facilities, but those plans could change as the proposals move forward.
A draft environmental impact statement (EIS) on the proposals should be released later this year or early next year and would then be subject to a public comment period. If the project moves forward as planned, a preferred development alternative for Poplar Point would be chosen next spring, and the final EIS and development plan would be released late next year.
Three Alternatives, No Preference
The city has narrowed down the Poplar Point development plans to three alternatives.
The first alternative would leave the wetlands where they are, concentrating the buildings near the highway. Several buildings would also be placed near the river at the point, but that section of development is contingent on the construction of a new Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge that would be across the river farther west than the current bridge. That project is not a certainty and would not be finished for years even if it did happen.
This alternative would also require a Washington Metro Area Transit Authority garage to be relocated, another proposal not finalized yet.
The second alternative would preserve the wetlands currently in the best shape and create new ones elsewhere. The development would be a “regional shopping destination” clustered around the Anacostia Metro station, with the park space running along the river.
The final alternative would preserve much of the existing wetlands and place the buildings on the east half of Poplar Point. This alternative, which would offer the most near-term development, features a waterfront marina and promenade.
Public concerns at the July meeting focused on the buildings proposed for Poplar Point, specifically their height. Some nearby residents said the buildings would block current views of the river and landmarks across the river.
Michael Durso, project manager at the DC Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, said the feedback gathered at the meeting showed that the public didn’t have a preference for any one alternative.
“People liked a lot of elements of each,” he said, adding that none of the community concerns were “cyanide” to the development plans for the site.
He also dismissed concerns about building height at Poplar Point, saying that the best views are really down the river toward the Washington Monument because the Capitol and downtown DC are already blocked by the development surrounding Nationals Park. He said the deputy mayor’s office is working on new material to better show how varying building heights on the site would affect views.
Kalem Umrani, an Anacostia resident and local historian who leads walking tours of downtown Anacostia and historic Barry Farm, said it’s important to retain the region’s history in any development.
The region was initially a settlement of the Anacostan Indians. Shortly after the Revolutionary War ended, the Freedman’s Bureau purchased the land that makes up Barry Farm and gave this land out to freed slaves moving to the area.
“The rest of the world should be invited to Poplar Point to learn how that was established,” he said. “I want the architects to take that story and construct their designs to embody that story.”
Many Moving Parts
Even if the planning moves forward without significant troubles, it could be years before the changes at Poplar Point and Anacostia Park begin to take shape. For starters, the Secretary of the Interior would have to approve the final plan, and the new National Park Service facilities would have to be completed before any other new construction could start.
Durso said the city wouldn’t request proposals for building construction at Poplar Point from private developers until the planning process nears its end, in late 2010 at the earliest.
One company that won’t be submitting a proposal is Forest City Enterprises, the real estate company that is developing The Yards across the river from Poplar Point. Forest City was hired by DC in late July to provide “fee-based development-advisory services” for Poplar Point, such as master planning, financial considerations and phasing strategies. Because Forest City is a consultant on the project, it will not be able to develop the property later.
Once a developer is selected, the financial structure of the deal would have to be finalized, including who will pay for the Park Service project and the contamination cleanup.
Durso said the city is ultimately responsible for the wetlands, but it could require the chosen developer to pay for some or all of the cost of cleanup as part of the deal with them.
The two commemorative works at Poplar Point appear to be even further down the road.
Congress would need to provide authorization for a memorial, and an organization in charge of that memorial would have to secure the funding needed for construction, complete a site selection process and get the approval of federal agencies. May said that many commemorative works take longer than seven years to go from initial congressional approval to completion. |
