DC's Armed Forces Retirement Home Scuttles Huge Redevelopment Plans

• October 26th 2023

by UrbanTurf Staff

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The largest development on the boards in DC is no longer moving forward. 

The Armed Forces Retirement Home (AFRH) announced Thursday that it had terminated a deal with developers Madison Marquette and Urban Atlantic to redevelop an 80-acre portion of the AFRH campus (map) into a massive mixed-use development. 

"The project was facing tough economic conditions between rising interest rates, inflation, supply chain challenges, and a struggling office market in DC," John RisCassi, AFRH Chief Operating Officer, said in a statement, "It was clear that the financial benefit to the Home was now significantly diminished and the terms of the long-term lease were riskier to AFRH. Additionally, AFRH had recently re-phased the effort in an attempt to make it more financially viable, but the economics and other negotiation issues could not be overcome.”

The development plans in the works included over 3,000 residential units (15% affordable), roughly 300,000 square feet of retail and hospitality uses, up to one million square feet of traditional and medical office space, and over 20 acres of open space.

While the current redevelopment plans have been terminated, the AFRH is leaving the door open for redevelopment plans in the future. 

"The agency remains open to future collaborations and is dedicated to finding solutions that ensure its operational continuity without compromising resident care and services."

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/dcs_armed_forces_retirement_home_scuttles_huge_redevelopment_plans/21623.