Planning Officials Plan to Keep an Eye on Second Phase of Anacostia Riverfront PUD

• September 28th 2016

by Nena Perry-Brown

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The revitalization of the Anacostia River will be a massive, multi-stage development involving a lot of moving parts. One of those is a 48,189 square-foot parcel, which is one of the stretches of waterfront property being developed by MRP Realty and Florida Rock Properties.

On Monday night, the Zoning Commission unanimously agreed to set down the phase II proposal for the planned-unit development (PUD) for a public hearing. Here’s what the proposal entails:

The phase II building will be located at 25 Potomac Avenue SE (map), across an alley from the recently-opened Dock 79 building.

Known as “71 Potomac”, the 130 foot-tall sawtooth-shaped building will incorporate a double-height pedestrian plaza bisecting the structure. There will likely be a two-level underground parking garage with 180 spaces, although a third level with up to an additional 94 spaces may be provided to allow visitors to the nearby and forthcoming sports stadium(s) to park as well.

Primarily facing the river, up to 12,272 square feet of retail will cover two levels. The residential entrance will be on Potomac Avenue, with amenity space above the lobby and on the penthouse level.

An earlier approved version of the SK+I Architecture design included 282 residential units; that has now been decreased to 253 total units with 20 set aside for households earning up to 80 percent area median income.

Concerns from both a report from the Office of Planning and the Zoning commissioners include a desire to see a less office-like design for the northern facade, different signage, and clarifications of color and materiality.

If all goes as scheduled, construction on phase II will begin in the first quarter of 2018 for a late 2019 delivery.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/planning_officials_plan_to_keep_an_eye_on_second_phase_of_riverfront_pud/11724.