In the words of Hill East resident Brian Flahaven, Reservation 13 is a "dumping ground." Currently, Reservation 13, otherwise known as the Hill East District Waterfront, is home to parking lots, the now closed homeless shelter called D.C. General Hospital [UPDATE: The hospital is not expected to close until 2018], and the Central Detention Facility/DC Jail. Dreams for the 67 acres of undeveloped land have included building a training facility for the Washington Redskins as well as an Olympic village for the 2024 Summer Olympics. It was in October 2002 that the Hill East Master Plan was approved by the DC Council to transform the area into a thriving, mixed-use waterfront community, but it wasn't until this Monday that the project finally got signed off for its first phase. Groundbreaking for the first phase of the project is expected to begin 2016 with a delivery in 2018.
The first phase will redevelop two lots on the reservation, named F-1 and G-1, totaling 114,042-square-feet of land. Construction plans for this first phase include building 354 apartments (30 percent designated for affordable housing), up to 40,000-square-feet of retail, and approximately 222 parking spaces. There are also plans to build a public village square adjacent to the Stadium Armory Metro station. The developers for the project are Donatelli Development and Blue Skye Development.
· Hill East District Redevelopment [DCgov]
· Hill East redevelopment kicks off with Mayor Muriel Bowser's signature [Washington Business Journal]
· Remaking Reservation 13: Why A Plot Of Undeveloped D.C. Land Remains Untapped [WAMU]