D.C. Advances Poplar Point Redevelopment With Consultancy Hire, Proposals Request

Washington, D.C., is seeking a way to revitalize the long-vacant Poplar Point area on the Southeastern edge of the Anacostia River. 

The District has tapped consulting firm HR&A Advisors to help with the planning, design, and eventual redevelopment of the 110-acre site. The Business Journals first reported the news. 

Other than some National Park Service and U.S. Park Police facilities, the majority of the federally owned site has more or less sat unused for decades. Congress passed a law in 2006 directing the government to transfer the land to the District, but the transfer has not yet officially gone through nearly 20 years later. 

Several bureaucratic steps stand in the way of the transfer: The site must undergo a federal environmental impact analysis and small area planning process, and the agency facilities on the property must be relocated. Federal law also requires that about 70 acres of the property be set aside as public park space, meaning that only 40 acres is available for development, per the Business Journal.

To that end, HR&A will also help D.C. complete the transfer process, according to the District.

“Poplar Point is our opportunity to fully realize the potential of the Anacostia Waterfront and transform this site into a mixed-use development, world-class park, and entertainment destination that will deliver jobs, business opportunities and housing to Ward 8 [referring to the section of D.C. surrounding Poplars Point],” said Nina Albert, deputy mayor for planning and economic development, in a statement.

D.C. is also seeking a large-scale “destination anchor,” via a request for expressions of interest (RFEI), to develop 15 acres of the property, which District officials hope will increase tourism and provide a “source of substantial tax revenue, jobs and environmental benefits.”

Vienna, Austria-based wellness company The Therme Group could be that anchor. The company formed an agreement with the District last year to explore development of an up to 600,000-square-foot waterpark and spa campus, with Poplar Point as a potentially ideal location.

“Therme has definitely been spending time in the District exploring this as a compatible use in Ward 8,” Albert told the Business Journals. “And we hope that they — and, frankly, we expect — that they will respond to the RFEI.”

Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.