In early November, Southwest Washington, DC, entered a sorely needed state of redevelopment that will redefine the area through the expansion of housing, retail and office facilities. During the last 50 years, urban topography and community-oriented business have failed to meet the evolving needs of Southwest residents. The intense need for change is best illustrated by the defunct and now demolished Waterside Mall, once envisioned as a center of commerce and social activity for surrounding neighborhoods. The mall was destroyed early this month as an early phase of the comprehensive development of the Southwest Waterfront area and should act as a physical catalyst towards the area’s redevelopment.

“We’re looking forward to the Waterside Mall demolition finally happening,” said Southwest Neighborhood Assembly President Marge Maceda. “We’ve been pushing towards that goal for many years. Once the demolition has begun, we hope that the project will move towards a Barracks Row-style model.”

A nonprofit organization composed of and dedicated to Southwest residents, the SWNA hopes to see further tangible action in the near future regarding the area’s development. It is easy to conflate the demolition and rebuilding of the Waterside Mall with the re-envisioning of the Southwest Waterfront area as a whole; indeed, it represents the first physical action taken in a frustratingly planning-heavy project.

For many longtime Southwest residents, the Waterside Mall wasn’t always a vacant space that didn’t sufficiently serve the needs of those who lived around it. At one time the mall was the centerpiece of the neighborhood, a landmark where residents’ retail, service, and numerous other everyday necessities were met. That time is gone, and what existed as the Waterside Mall for decades now stands in ruins, the first concrete step in what promises to be a long but highly necessary process of demolition and rebuilding in the area. Connectivity is hugely important in any part of the city but especially so in Southwest, which links DC residents from all quadrants to the Potomac River.

The neighborhood’s history with District planners and developers is fraught with missteps and miscalculations. Decades ago, Urban Renewal saw the area rebuilt around poorly planned and executed philosophies that largely cut Southwest off from neighboring wards. The creation of Interstate 395, the mental barrier of South Capitol Street, and the natural barrier of the Washington Channel reified Southwest as an isolated enclave instead of a gateway for DC residents to the water itself.

The Waterside Mall was a perfect example of these philosophies. Seemingly set down in an arbitrary location, it severed a north-south street and limited mobility in the area for commuters and residents of all types. The center’s recent demolition allows for the reconnection of Fourth Street SW and the reorganization of the area as whole that better lends itself to the needs of area residents. A revised and rethought Southwest, anchored at its heart by a newly created area where the Waterside Mall once was, should have the capabilities to overcome its geographic constraints.

Community outreach and interaction on the part of PN Hoffman-Struever Bros., a marriage of two prominent area developers and the organization tasked with the area’s development, has taken place in many required outlets and forums. Shawn Seaman, Hoffman-Struever vice president of acquisitions and development, stated: “Hoffman Struever hired Ehrenkrantz, Eckstut, and Kuhn as master planners for the Southwest Waterfront in June. Since then, EEK has, in conjunction with Hoffman-Struever’s own outreach team, conducted dozens of meetings with neighborhood organizations, existing tenants and businesses, and other Southwest Waterfront stakeholders.

Hoffman-Struever and subcontractor Wrecking Corporation of America, the body charged with the task of the mall demolition itself, face a great challenge in destroying and rebuilding this 1.2 million square foot area into a space that will better serve the needs of neighborhood residents. Despite Urban Renewal’s negative precedent, Southwest is now bustling with activity through the strength of its residents: a fact that should be accentuated and bolstered by the redevelopment. Furthermore, the Waterside Mall’s destruction presents a unique leverage opportunity for political and public interest groups at the local level.

“What’s happening within the community is that groups like the ANC’s, the Southwest collaboratives and SWNA are rallying together to be of one voice,” noted Maceda. “If we’re going under the proverbial knife, we want to make sure we effectively communicate our needs so we can get it right.”

Truly, the mall’s demolition represents the tip of the iceberg in terms of the area’s development, a fact confirmed by Hoffman-Struever. “This fall and winter, design and outreach will continue, and the land disposition agreement will be finalized with the District,” remarked Seaman. “Entitlements and permitting will take between 18 and 24 months, and the first phase of construction should commence in 2010 and be complete in 2013. The full project should be complete in 2015.”

The extended timeline, while necessary for a properly planned and executed project of this magnitude, can be understandably frustrating for residents. “The Waterfront project seems to move slowly,” said Maceda. “We all wait patiently and hope that things will continue to move along.”

Everyone is anxious to see positive change of a timely and effective nature in Southwest, DC. A lack of targeted, evolutionary development during the last 50 years leaves many area residents apprehensive about the change to come. “The Southwest community is not simply an inconvenient network of streets on the way to nightclubs and future baseball stadiums,” noted ANC 6D Commissioner Max Skolnik via a DC Watch blog post. “We are a vibrant neighborhood with a strong sense of community pride. We only ask that the elected leaders of our city work to protect this way of life.” Tangible action, taken in the form of the demolition of the Waterside Mall, should serve to reassure residents that positive change can and will happen.