Will a Charter School Come to Buzzard Point?

• March 4, 2020

by Nena Perry-Brown

As construction continues at the former General Services Administration office in Buzzard Point, the developer is seeking to swap out retail to make room for a school.

Yesterday, Douglas Development filed a modification with the Zoning Commission which would enable an outpost of Eagle Academy Public Charter School to open on the ground floor of its office-to-residential conversion at 1900 Half Street SW (map). As designed by Antunovich Associates, the development will deliver 442 market-rate and 11 affordable residential units, 16,540 square feet of retail, 128 long-term bike spaces and 280 below-grade parking spaces.

The zoning application seeks to add educational use to the approved uses, and add 2,400 square feet of space for the school, creating 18,942 square feet for the Academy's use. The Academy would serve students from pre-kindergarten through third grade; its current lease in Capitol Riverfront expires in June. The application also intends to preserve the developer's option to convert some or all of the educational space back to retail in the future.

PTM Partners and EB5 Capital are also development partners on the project, which is one of the first citywide to announce Opportunity Zone funding. ANC 6D will vote on the application at their meeting next week; the Zoning Commission is scheduled to consider the application at the end of the month.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/will-a-charter-school-come-to-buzzard-point/16546