Massive McMillan Reservoir Redevelopment Takes Tentative Step Forward

• July 2nd 2010

by Will Smith

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There is new movement in the stalled plans to redevelop McMillan Reservoir into a massive mixed-use project with office space, apartments and townhomes, a nursing home, and a hotel. The Washington Business Journal reports that the District has allocated $1 million to produce traffic and preservation studies related to the project. The money represents only a small step forward, but any movement at all is news given how much of an impact the redevelopment could have on its surroundings.

McMillan Reservoir sits just behind Howard University at the northern end of Bloomingdale. For decades it was used as the city’s primary water filtration system until a new system rendered it obsolete. It was shut down in 1985 and has remained abandoned and unused since. The area is now a body of water surrounded by grass land and 20 silos where the sand used in the filtration system was stored. (See photos below.)

The whole complex is an enormous 25 acres, enough space to fit over 500 apartments and over 200 townhomes, a nursing home and 100 units of senior housing, a park, 100,000 square feet of retail, a boutique hotel, and an amphitheater. Those were the features of a draft plan put forth by developer EYA, according to the WBJ report.

If it comes to fruition, such development would change the face of the immediate area. In fact, the area is large enough that it could be considered its own new neighborhood.

The vision is not without its detractors, who argue the planned project is too large and dense and that the space would be better used as green space, with certain historical features preserved.

While it will likely be at least a couple years before redevelopment starts (if it ever does), this will be an important site to watch for current and future residents of Bloomingdale, LeDroit Park, and eastern Columbia Heights.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/massive_mcmillan_reservoir_redevelopment_takes_tentative_step_forward/2231.