D.C. Files for Eminent Domain at D.C. United Stadium Site

With hopes to open the D.C. United Stadium by March 2018, the District has filed for eminent domain in order to take control of that two-acre site at Buzzard Point. The site has been a bone of contention between the District and developer and owner of the site Akridge for months now. Last January, Curbed learned that Akridge undervalued the site by $11.2 million, while overvaluing attained properties, creating a net difference of $25.7 million. Because the two parties have yet to settle on a price, a judge will be the one to decide what D.C. will have to pay to acquire the site. The 20,000- to 25,000-seat stadium is expected to cost around $290 million, approximately half of which will be paid by the District. The new stadium is expected to bring $109.4 million in benefits over a 32-year period and about 1,683 full-time jobs.

In the eminent domain filing released jointly by D.C. United and the District, it reads:

"The District of Columbia and D.C. United are moving forward on a soccer stadium that will transform a neighborhood on the banks of the Anacostia and generate hundreds of new jobs for District residents. We have created the best deal for the District, its residents, D.C. United and its fans."This isn't the first time Washington, D.C. has used eminent domain to take control of a site for a stadium. In October 2005, the District used eminent domain on the 14-acre site that would later become Nationals Park. Washington Business Journal described this process, though, as "more complicated, more emotional, more angst-ridden, and more costly for the District" in comparison with the D.C. United Stadium.

See some of the renderings released for the stadium below:

· District of Columbia seeks eminent domain at stadium site [The Washington Post]
· D.C. seizes full control of D.C. United stadium site [Washington Business Journal]
· All D.C. United coverage [Curbed DC]