New Plans for the McMillan Sand Filtration Redevelopment

• October 7, 2013

by Shilpi Paul

Courtesy of VMP.

In preparation for an upcoming hearing before the Historic Preservation Review Board, Vision McMillan Partners (VMP) has revamped their designs for the redevelopment of the McMillan Sand Filtration site.

In July, the HPRB presented the developers with a lengthy list of critiques. The overarching request was for a simplified and more unified design that further highlighted the historic elements (check out the specific critiques here.)

In response, VMP has come back with an altered plan.

Rowhouses.

Generally, the office complex, grocery and multifamily building, and rowhouses, which are all being designed by different architects, are now more cohesive. They are within the same color palette — white and dark charcoal, with wooden accents — and are all oriented in the same, rectangular direction with square angles (earlier plans had a diagonally-oriented structure and some sharper angles).

The rowhouses are now organized in smaller, vertical clusters, rather than horizontal blocks, and are also within the white and charcoal palette. Each home has an individual entrance, but appears to be a part of a single, larger building.

The buildings have also been pulled back from the perimeter, to allow for a enhanced Olmstead walk. In the North Service Court area, the buildings have been pulled back from the silos.

The community center, which received praise from the HPRB at the last hearing, appears to be largely unchanged.

VMP hopes to go before the HPRB on the 24th to hear comments on the newest plans, and will be visiting various neighborhood groups over the next month. You can see their plans here. More renderings below.

Medical office buildings.

An aerial view of the new plan.

The multifamily and grocery building.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/new_plans_for_the_mcmillan_sand_filtration_redevelopment/7661