The Verge, The Stacks and the Soccer Stadium Development: What's on Tap at Buzzard Point

• April 27th 2022

by Nena Perry-Brown

Development has remained slow and steady in DC's Buzzard Point area since more than 1,000 units delivered in 2020, although the pipeline is only expanding.

Environmental cleanup will be an ongoing mitigating factor as the six developments in the works move forward, due to the area's history of heavy industrial use and the need to protect neighborhood residents from poor air quality. Another potential factor that could be a game-changer for the neighborhood is a concept for a potential Metrorail line extension that could include a stop at Buzzard Point.

Below, UrbanTurf takes a look at the latest happenings in the Buzzard Point residential pipeline.

In case you missed them, here are the other rundowns we have updated this year:

• A Metro Development; A 7-11 Development and a Whole Foods: A Look at the Takoma/Georgia Ave Pipeline
• The 3,000 Units in Progress, and 600 Units on Hold, in Rosslyn
• 166 Steps Forward, 54 Steps Back: A Look at the 13 Projects in Georgetown’s Development Pipeline
• The Soon-to-Deliver, and 700 Proposed Units, Destined for The Wharf
• The 22 New Developments on the Boards For Downtown Bethesda
• The 1,500 Units Coming to Tenleytown and AU Park
• A Food Hall, A Fitness Bridge and The Nearly 1,700 Units in the Works For Navy Yard
• DC’s Busiest Development Neighborhood? The 20 Projects on the Boards In (And Around) Shaw
• The 1,200 Units that Delivered on South Capitol Street Over the Past Year
• The 150 Units Coming to Adams Morgan
• The Next Decade of Development at Howard University
• The 9 Potential Developments in the Works Along the DC Streetcar Line
• The 250 Residential Units Proposed Along the 14th Street Corridor

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MDXL Flats

The first phase of this all-affordable development delivered last fall, with 76 units and 3,500 square feet of ground-floor retail at 1550 First Street SW (map). Simultaneously, the second phase broke ground and is slated to deliver an additional 101 affordable units above ground-floor commercial space next door at 1530 First Street.

The unit mix spans from one- to four-bedrooms, and 80% of the units will be for households earning up to 50% of area median income (AMI) with the remainder for households earning up to 30% of AMI. The development also includes satellite space for the United Planning Organization to administer support services like job training and placement. TM Associates is the developer and PGN Architects is the designer. 

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The Vermeer

Building permit review is underway for a 13-story, 501-unit building with 36,500 square feet of retail at the site of the Capitol Building Supply at Potomac Avenue and First Street SW (map). The Toll Brothers development will include 263 below-grade parking spaces and may also include two public plazas and a second phase with a hotel. The first phase is expected to deliver in 2024; KTGY Architecture is the designer.

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The Verge

Interior work is underway on the first phase of a two-phase development at 1800 Half Street SW (map). The 105 foot-tall building will deliver 344 apartments above 8,536 square feet of retail. MRP Realty and Florida Rock Properties (FRP) are the developers; SK+I Architecture is the designer. The first phase could deliver in late 2022, and the second phase could include additional residential units and retail and office space.

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Concrete Plant Redevelopment

A development that could eventually deliver the first full-service grocery store to Buzzard Point got zoning approval in January. Steuart Investment Company filed a design review application in November for the first phase of a project that could deliver 434 apartments above 17,495 square feet of ground-floor retail at the site of a concrete plant near Half and S Streets SW (map). 

Forty-three of the units will be Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) for households earning up to 60% of AMI, and the unit mix will span from studios to two-bedrooms with dens. There will also be 264 below-grade parking spaces and 145 long-term bicycle spaces.

The residential lobby will have indoor/outdoor co-working space courtesy of accordion doors, and there may also be a temporary mural or some other decorative element on the side of the building that will face the future second phase. The developer will also create a public plaza along South Capitol Street.

A separate application will eventually be filed for the second phase of the project, which will include the aforementioned grocery store; there are also a handful of additional sites that will also be developed down the line after remediation work is completed. MRP Realty and FRP round out the development team; SK+I Architecture is the designer and Oculus is the landscape architect. 

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Parcel B

Last summer, Hoffman & Associates filed the long-awaited design review application for Parcel B, a plot of land adjacent to the DC United soccer stadium (map). The development will deliver a 12-story, S-shaped building with 110 senior one-bedrooms, 345 apartments, a new office headquarters for non-profit Volunteers of America (VOA), and 49,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, restaurant, entertainment, and/or performance space that could include a bowling alley. 

The senior units will be affordable to households earning up to 30% and 50% of AMI, and 29 of the other apartments will be affordable to households earning up to 60% of MFI. There will also be 305 parking spaces and 178 long-term bicycle spaces across two below-grade levels. StudioMB and STUDIOS Architecture are the designers. The Zoning Commission approved the project in December.

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The Stacks

Earlier this month, developers Akridge, National Real Estate Advisors, Blue Coast Capital and Bridge Investment Group secured financing to begin the first phase of construction on their massive development on seven acres around 100 V Street SW (map). The full development will deliver over two million square feet of mixed-use space, including over 2,000 residential units, 80,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, up to 250,000 square feet of office, one or two hotels, and a 15,000 square-foot park along V Street.

The first phase will deliver 1,100 rental apartments across three buildings towards the south end of the site, along with up to half of the planned retail space. About 120 of the units in the first phase will be IZ for households earning up to 60% of AMI, and the buildings will have elements like skybridges (including some with interior amenities) and maisonette units. The development will also include winding pedestrian pathways and plazas with seating. 

Architects include Gensler, Morris Adjmi Architects, Eric Colbert & Associates, Handel Architects, DXA Studio, West 8, and Lee and Associates.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/the-verge-the-stacks-and-the-soccer-stadium-development/19568.