What’s going on with...Hill East?
Former D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty speaks in Hill East. (D.C. Wire blog/The Washington Post) It was called Reservation 13 years ago, but it was Hill East by the time former D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty began searching for a private development partner for 50 acres along the Anacostia River in 2008.
Since then, residents of the neighborhood haven’t seen much progress. Hill East, located at the eastern end of Massachusetts Avenue Southeast, is still home to a homeless shelter, a medical examiner’s office, former hospital and other social services facilities, even though it was once envisioned as a “vibrant, mixed-use urban waterfront community” according to the city. In fact, the web site for the deputy mayor for planning and economic development still says it plans to pick a developer by “mid-2010.”
D.C. General Hospital, which closed in 2001. (Marvin Joseph - The Washington Post)
So...what’s going on with Hill East?
Despite Hill East’s attractive location between Capitol Hill and the riverfront, the real estate market was approaching panic mode when Fenty began his search for developers in 2008. Fenty narrowed his selection to two teams of developers, each of which proposed massive buildouts approaching 5 million square feet, but chose neither. Vincent Gray, after beating Fenty in the 2010 election, hasn’t selected a developer, either. Now the real estate market has changed so much that a new selection process may be required.
Meanwhile there are other moves afoot that are draped in burgundy and gold. In November, Gray and two members of the D.C. Council traveled to Tampa, Fla. to inspect an NFL training facility similar to one they might consider to build at Hill East for the Redskins. Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) said he doesn’t know what the facility would cost or if the Redksins are interested in it. “First of all we have to get a commitment that they want to get it done,” he said of the team. He will know more, he said, in a few weeks.
Not everyone is thrilled by the Redskins idea, namely residents nearby and Greater Greater Washington bloggers, because the Hill East project has been yanked from the deputy mayor’s office and moved to that of the city administrator while the Redskins idea is considered. Deputy Mayor Victor Hoskins told the D.C. Council Thursday that the Redskins talks, “are really preliminary discussions right now.”
But for Hill East residents hoping for that vibrant, mixed-use community, the talks mean more waiting, as even when a plan is decided on, major development will require moving the existing facilities somewhere else. Current vibrancy mostly stems from D.C. jail.
Is there a project, building or property in your neighborhood that you want to learn more about? We’ve previously written about the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center, the Shrimp Boat restaurant, the Arlington Funeral home site and others. You can send suggestions to oconnellj@washpost.com
Follow Jonathan O’Connell on Twitter: @oconnellpostbiz
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Davidson, however, was back at it in 2005. Because his neighbors’ passion to protect their quaint and historic piece of Lafayette from commercial intrusion had squashed his rezoning attempt, the longtime Lafayette attorney got creative. Somehow, someway, Davidson’s acreage was appraised at $3.25 million by a retired appraiser/close friend/business associate. Davidson then worked out a deal with another good friend, then-UL President Ray Authement, to swap it for the first 36 acres of pristine prairie land, the front portion of UL’s Johnston Street horse farm property. Davidson, who drew up the legal documents, wasn’t actually getting the horse farm land; his plan was to sell his property to the group that would do the exchange with UL. Davidson, this newspaper discovered, would get to remain living on his property rent-free for two years. Davidson’s 4 acres and the university’s 36 were each appraised at $3.25 million. Uh-huh.
In 2007, attorney Jimmy Davidson successfully lobbied the Lafayette City-Parish Council to reclassify the back 2.67 acres of his property from single-family residential to B-1-L, or limited business. Because the Oil Center has grown so much over the years, dramatically altering the landscape of that area, the new classification connects the back of his property with similar commercial zoning. Among the types of businesses allowed in B-1-L are: beauty shop, bookstore, professional office, candy store, coffee and/or pastry shop, commercial child care facility, convenience store (excluding gasoline and diesel sales), cosmetic store, drug store (with drive-thru for pharmaceutical products only), floral shop, gift shop, hamburger and/or sandwich shop, hobby supply store, ice cream parlor, laundry (self-service), tobacco store, antique shop, apparel and accessory shop, art gallery, dance studio, interior decorator, jewelry store, personal service shop and stationery store. In 1998, Davidson was unsuccessful in his attempt to have the property rezoned B-G, or general business, a broad classification that would allow for everything from a car dealership to a service station to a pet store or even a McDonald’s.
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