Key Bridge Exxon Site is Likely DC Station For Georgetown Gondola

• October 14th 2016

by UrbanTurf Staff

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The results of a feasibility study for a gondola connecting Georgetown and Northern Virginia will be released in the coming weeks, but UrbanTurf has learned where a DC station would likely be located if the initiative moves forward.

A source familiar with the study and Otto Condon, principal at Zimmmer Gunsul Fransca (ZGF) Architects which is leading the study, tell UrbanTurf that the Exxon station near Key Bridge at 3607 M Street NW (map) has been determined to be the most practical location for a station on the DC side. There are number of reasons that this location was chosen, including:

• The Exxon site offers direct sight lines to a likely stop along North Lynn Street in Rosslyn. The gondola technology requires a direct shot, so if the gondola makes a turn of any kind, another station is needed, adding to the cost of the project.
• The site’s location can serve a significant portion of the neighborhood’s population with close proximity to the university, hospital, the western portion of the commercial district and the West Village.
• The station site needs volume, ideally dimensions 100 feet deep, 60 feet wide, 20 feet high, and there aren’t many places that offer these dimensions in the neighborhood.
• DC owns the 36th Street right of way adjacent to the site which the gondola would use.
• Other sites were considered for the station but they are less practical because they are not proximate to likely users or are owned by the National Park Service or are on top of buildings which would require complicated negotiations with property owners, and higher engineering and construction costs.

The gas station, which sits adjacent to the Exorcist stairs, has been slated for redevelopment for several years. While there is talk that those plans have been shelved, Condon indicated that the station could be incorporated into the mixed-use development.

In February, the Georgetown-Rosslyn Gondola Executive Committee released a request for proposals (RFP) seeking a team to evaluate all aspects of the potential construction, operation and maintenance of an aerial gondola system connecting Rosslyn to Georgetown. In April, ZGF Architects was chosen to conduct the feasibility study.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/georgetown_exxon_station_would_be_dc_station_for_georgetown_gondola/11788.