ANC 6B will be holding a Reservation 13 Special Call Meeting on Tuesday, May 15, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm at St. Coletta of Greater Washington (1901 Independence Avenue SE).
Staff from the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED)’s Office will be sharing their plans for selecting developers for parcels F1 and G1, the two parcels adjacent to the Stadium Armory Metro entrance. Instead of seeking best and final offers from the two developers who bid on F1 and G1 in 2010, DMPED now appears ready to re-open the request for expressions of interest for the two parcels. DMPED staff also want to get commission and community feedback on what uses (residential, retail, etc.) should be included in the request. View the agenda (pdf).
While I’m pleased that DMPED is seeking community feedback, the decision to re-issue the request instead of seeking best and final offers from the two developers who already bid will result in further delay. And for what purpose? The 2010 request (pdf) clearly laid out that developers should propose medium-density residential and retail for these two parcels. That is consistent with the Reservation 13 master plan and in-line with the mixed-use vision supported by the neighborhood.
I’m also concerned that DMPED is going to drop language from the 2010 request that gives the developer selected for F1 and G1 the right of first refusal to develop the remaining parcels of the 67-acre site. As I detailed in a previous post, this language was a significant incentive for developers to bid on F1 and G1 back in 2010. Removing this sweetener, coupled with the spectre of a Redskins training facility looming in the background, may be enough to keep once interested developers on the sidelines.
My commission colleagues and I will have plenty of questions to ask DMPED on May 15. Please bring your questions and concerns as well. Note that DMPED will also be holding a special call meeting with ANC 7A, the Ward 7 commission that will include Reservation 13 in 2013, sometime in May.
Brian Flahaven 