What to do with the two parcels of land south of the entrance to the Stadium-Armory Metro? Currently they are parking lots, but DC wants a developer to come in and turn "Reservation 13" into something more, shall we say, income-producing. Their specific request is to build a Village Square. They want vibrancy! They want retail! They want men with scabards and street urchins running after wenches! One crucial detail: they don't want to use city funds to pay for it. So, according to the Powerpoint presentation, preference will be given to anyone who can come up with a plan that doesn't require city subsidies. That doesn't let anyone off the hook for having to come up with the affordable housing units that the master plan requires, however. Developers are not yet deterred by all these requests—about sixty people came to the preliminary meeting to find out the details. They have to submit an initial proposal, from which a short list of candidates will be announced, and then the final best efforts are due in February. The winner will be chosen sometime next spring, barring any crazy circumstances.
· Hill East Development/Reservation 13 Update [Flahaven6b]
Village square photo from Rolandino / Shutterstock.com