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First Look: Ribbon Cutting at Metrotowns at Parkside

[All photos by Rachel Eisley]

Despite Thursday afternoon's suffocating heat, roughly 65 people trekked out to Northeast D.C. for the ceremonial ribbon cutting of the Metrotowns at Parkside. The Metrotowns community was the vision of the late Abe Pollin, the owner of the Washington Capitals, Mystics and Wizards and the man responsible for the construction of The Verizon Center, the stadium which the three teams call home. Pollin's son Robert, who was present for the ceremony stated that while his father was proud of the Verizon Center that he was also concerned that by driving up property values around the stadium that he was making it harder for the middle class to live in the area. He started looking for land twelve years ago, which almost directly coincides with the completion of the Verizon Center. Unsurprisingly, every speaker at the event, including Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander and Adrianne Todman of the D.C. Housing Authority stressed the community's affordability and that families from 40% of the city's median income to 100% of the median income would be living there. The first eleven units have been finished and everyone present got to view one of the homes on Thursday. While we zeroed in on a particularly geeky detail, it's also notable that most of the home's first floor (which currently houses the real estate office) is actually meant to be a garage. Check out the full gallery!

Verizon Center

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