Capitol Crossing To Develop Over I-395

• August 9, 2012
• 2 Comments

by Shilpi Paul

Rendering of Capitol Crossing courtesy of Property Group Partners.

Many say that downtown DC will be totally built out once CityCenter is complete. However, there’s at least one more massive lot of yet-to-be developed space — over I-395.

Property Group Partners owns the air rights to the 247,000 square feet of land bounded by Massachusetts Avenue NW, E Street NW, 3rd Street NW and 2nd Street NW (map), over the Center Leg Freeway portion of I-395, and it plans to develop it into a, 2.2 million square-foot, $1.3 billion project called Capitol Crossing.

PGP is working with architect Kevin Roche, whose plans for the mixed-use development include four office buildings, totaling 1.9 million square feet, and one 150-unit condo building, as well as five levels of underground parking and a retail component. The office portion will be going up first on the northernmost portion. The plans also include public spaces, like a promenade and outdoor plazas, and on-site child care. The project will reconnect several DC neighborhoods, easing the path between Capitol Hill and downtown.

Capitol Crossing is aiming for LEED Platinum certification and green features will be plentiful, including water recapture mechanisms, green roofs, and recycled and renewable materials. A co-generation power plant will provide enough energy to serve 8 to 10 million square feet, or about five times to size of Capitol Crossing, according to a March article in the Washington Business Journal. Georgetown University is in talks with PGP to tap into the excess power for the university’s nearby law school and perhaps the main campus.

The project has been talked about for years, but recent press seems to indicate imminent movement.

From the Washington Business Journal:

“We’ve been at it six years,” said Sean Cahill, vice president of Property Group Partners. “We’re not going to mothball. We’ve got the equity to build the deck and we think we’ve got the market to see it through.”

The Downtown DC BID reports a late 2013 groundbreaking for the first phase of the project and full completion by 2018.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/capitol_crossing_to_develop_over_395/5887

2 Comments

1. Niklas said at 4:33 pm on Friday August 10, 2012:
   Color me stupid, but please help me understand how they can have levels of underground parking if the entire structure is built on top of the 395?

1. Adam L said at 5:55 am on Monday August 13, 2012:
   @Niklas The largest of the new properties (250 Massachusetts Avenue NW) is not actually being built on top of I-395 but rather on the land immediately west of the highway along 3rd Street NW. Currently that land is just a parking lot and a shed. Nearly all of the underground parking will be built in this location.