EYA’s Riggs Park Townhouse Project Adds Senior Apartments, Looks to Break Ground

• May 27, 2020

by Nena Perry-Brown

A Riggs Park townhouse project in the works since 2015 appears close to a groundbreaking.

EYA and JBG SMITH, along with some city-owned land courtesy of the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED), is moving forward with a townhouse/mixed-use development on the vacant lot at Riggs Road and South Dakota Avenue NE (map).

The first phase of Riggs Park Place will deliver 90 townhouses, while the second will deliver 84 senior rental units along Riggs Road above a 20,000 square-foot retail podium. Two years ago, the development was proposed to contain up to 185 townhouses and 20-30,000 square feet of retail.

Because of the affordability covenants associated with building on city-owned land, the development is planned to have 35 affordable units, five of which would be three-bedroom townhouses with two at 30% of median family income (MFI) and three at 50% of MFI.

If the development team is able to secure Housing Production Trust Fund dollars and other gap financing, the plan is to make all of the units in the senior building affordable at up to 30 and 50% of MFI. 

The unit mix will be studios to two-bedrooms in the senior building and from two- to five-bedrooms among the townhouses, for which prices will start in the $500,000s. While the standard townhouse will be three stories, there will also be optional four-story units with lofts and roof decks.

Each townhouse will have an interior garage, and there will also be below-grade parking for the senior building. The townhouse portion will also include courtyards, parklets, and a curbless "woonerf" shared street that can be used for homeowner's association-sponsored events.

An EYA representative shared at an ANC 4B meeting last night that they hope to close on the city-owned land next month and break ground in July; the senior building would likely break ground in September 2022 for delivery in 2024. The development team has also been working with the Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association on a community benefits agreement. 

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/eyas-riggs-park-townhouse-project-has-a-new-look-adds-senior-apartments/16885