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Benning Station, a mixed-use development for the site of the former Chef's Table restaurant (4414 Benning Road NE), may soon move forward with a smaller footprint than originally planned.

Developers Ben Soto and David Tolson had proposed an ambitious project designed to help jumpstart economic revival near the Benning Metro Station. Plans called for 180,000 square feet of offices, with the District's Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) as an anchor tenant, along with 16,000 square feet of street-level retail and a housing component. In March, however, the District announced unspecified plans to move CFSA elsewhere. Current Benning Station plans call for half the office space, along with senior-citizen housing and street-level retail.

The District Real Estate Services (DRES, formerly Office of Property Management) has proposed several smaller agencies as possible tenants for Benning Station, Soto reports. In addition, the developers are exploring similarly-sized federal agencies. “The good news is that the District is reaching out to us,” he says, “but it looks like the project will not be as big as we'd hoped.”

Meanwhile, with a final decision regarding CFSA still pending, Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander suggested in a recent interview that Benning Station “may be in the running.” DRES could not be reached for comment. Timetable for delivery – which figured prominently in the District's spring announcement – might still be a limiting factor for Benning Station, Soto explains. “But we'd love to be in the running for CFSA.”