Frustration in Hill East as Development Plans Stall

• November 12, 2010
• 1 Comment

by Will Smith

The Washington Business Journal reported recently that expected movement on a massive project in Hill East has stalled — or, in the opinion of some, regressed. The Fenty administration was slated to choose a master developer months ago for the development of a 67-acre waterfront site along the Anacostia River, but to date, none has been chosen. The only decision that has been made with respect to the site is the expansion of a methadone clinic from 200 to 500 patients, and that an overflow homeless shelter situated there will stay permanently.

“Neighbors are furious,” reports The WBJ’s Michael Neibauer, “not necessarily because they oppose social services there, but because of the inexplicable delay and the sense that Hill East is a ‘dumping ground’ for the District’s problems.”

Rendering of future Hill East development

In June, the WBJ reported that the city had received development proposals from two master developer teams, both of which consisted of some of the biggest names in DC development. One team includes Mosaic Urban Partners, Abdo Development, EYA Development, Jair Lynch Development Partners and William C. Smith and Co; the other includes Franklin L. Haney Co. LLC, Donatelli Hill East LLC, Chapman Development, Combined Properties Inc., Banneker Ventures and Tudor Holdings.

The city was expected to select one of the two proposals by now, but in light of Fenty’s imminent departure from office, residents don’t expect anything to happen at least until the Gray administration has taken over.

Both proposals called for enormous mixed-use development, including hundreds of thousands of square feet of residential, retail, office, and medical space. Such development is expected to have a transformative effect on the neighborhood.

For more, see:

• Why the holdup on Hill East? Only Fenty knows
• Hill East home to beefed-up detox clinic, stalled redevelopment plans
• UrbanTurf’s neighborhood profile on Hill East

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/frustration_in_hill_east_as_development_plans_stall/2670

1 Comment

1. Ryan said at 8:56 pm on Monday November 15, 2010:

   This is darn right.  It’s ridiculous that the Fenty Admin and now Gray Admin have dragged their feet on this with total disregard for the neighborhood concerns.  Tommy Wells is not much better.  He basically says this is the mayor’s problem not his—and he actually slowed the project when he didn’t like them developing it in phases rather than one giant project.  Meanwhile the community sits and waits—yet again.

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