December 18, 2007
Washington, D.C. Mayor Heralds Convention Center
D.C. officials yesterday announced an $850 million plan to redevelop the old Washington Convention Center site, resolving some questions but raising others about what ultimately will be built there.
The project would cover what is now a 10-acre parking lot with office buildings, apartments, condominiums and retail stores.
"This is going to be a real town center, a city center," said Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, who announced the plan during a press conference at the new Washington Convention Center.
The old convention center site is bounded by New York Avenue and 9th, H and 11th streets Northwest.
The proposed redevelopment was designed as a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood of tree-lined boulevards and 465,000 square feet of office space, parks and entertainment areas. The plan calls for more than 670 apartments and condos and 250,000 square feet of retail space.
How the retail component fits in with the rest of the design remains uncertain.
A drawing of the site dubs a large northeastern section as "District Parcel." Half of it is owned by the city, but it has not been designated for specific buildings or amenities.
"We're still looking at options for the District site," said Neil Albert, deputy mayor for economic development. "Perhaps it's good for retail, perhaps it's good for residential. We'll make that decision soon," said Albert, who de-fined soon as "a few months."
Leading options include a new public library and a hotel, he said. He left little doubt that retail would be built on the site, but he said negotiations were continuing to select the retailers and where they would set up shop.
The rest of the land on the 10-acre site is either being sold or leased to commercial developers under long-term leases.
Yesterday's announcement continues a program Fenty started early in his administration to bring more retail to the District. The plan's retail component helped win support yesterday from the D.C. Downtown Business Improvement District.
"It's the one area of the downtown economy that is kind of lagging behind the others," said Karen Sibert, spokeswoman for the Downtown Business Improvement District.
Washington already has established itself as a center for offices, restaurants and cultural events, but shoppers usually head for the suburbs, she said.
"That will also help stem the tide of about a billion dollars of sales tax that flows out of the city to suburban areas," Sibert said.
The project's acceptance by downtown business leaders marks a departure from the West End and other parts of Washington, where controversy occasionally ensnared plans to sell city property.
Selling land to developers rules out public uses, such as job- training centers and parks, critics say.
D.C. Council member Jack Evans, Ward 2 Democrat, said such complaints reveal a lack of understanding about economics.
"At times, the District needs to sell property," he said.
Developers can't sell condominiums if they don't own the property they're built on, Evans explained.
Fenty listed financial benefits the District expects from the project. They include $32 million a year in new tax revenue, 2,500 retail jobs, $30 million a year in lease payments and $48 million in infrastructure improvements.
Developers Hines|Archstone-Smith plan to begin construction on the project in January 2009. The first residents are expected to move in by July 2011.