With Commanders Stadium Approved, A Refresher On Where DC Could Get 6,000 New Homes

• September 18th

by UrbanTurf Staff

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On Thursday, the DC Council gave the Washington Commanders the green light to build a new stadium at the site of RFK Stadium. Of more importance to many DC residents is how much housing may come with the venue. 

The 180-acre site, dominated by surface parking and the old stadium footprint, will be reimagined into a series of “districts” that could deliver 5,000 to 6,000 new housing units, of which 30% would be affordable. 

At the core of the project will be the Stadium District, which will house the new 65,000-seat venue. While this part of the site is dedicated primarily to sports and large-scale events, the design intentionally limits its footprint to about 15 percent of the land, leaving room for new communities to grow around it. To the west, near the Stadium-Armory Metro, the Plaza District will blend housing with restaurants, hotels, and retail. This area will likely have some of the area's taller apartment buildings that could house neighborhood amenities including grocery stores, pharmacies and restaurants. 

South of the stadium, along the Anacostia River, the Riverfront District will likely be where a chunk of the site’s thousands of planned housing units are expected to be built, ranging from mixed-use buildings to residences along the river. This district will also have restaurants and shops as well as connections to the Anacostia River Trail. 

On the northeastern edge of the site, adjacent to the Kingman Park neighborhood, the Kingman Park District will serve as a transitional residential area. Development is expected to be lower density, complementing the nearby single-family homes and providing a softer edge between the stadium complex and existing neighborhoods. This area will also include community recreation facilities and open space. To the north, the Recreation District will build on the existing athletic fields by introducing a new indoor Sportsplex and maintaining large amounts of parkland for youth sports and public use.

The last parcel will be Anacostia Commons, a 30-acre stretch of waterfront preserved as public open space. Unlike the more built-up districts, the Commons will prioritize access to nature, with trails, parkland, and restored riverfront landscapes. 

The makeup of the housing stock has not been determined, but it is estimated to accommodate 10,000 new residents. While comparisons are being made to the development around Nationals Park that began nearly 20 years ago, the area around the new football stadium will see only about half the number of new units that area did. 

With completion for the new stadium expected in 2030, full build out of all the districts around the stadium will likely take until at least 2040. 

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/with_commanders_stadium_approved_a_refresher_on_where_6000_new_homes/23878.