The D.C. government has begun their search to find a firm to design and prepare the McMillan sand filtration site for redevelopment.
Department of General Services released a solicitation on August 24, despite years of protests from community activists that involved a petition with 8,000 signatures and "Save McMillan Park" signs placed in neighborhoods near the site. Last May, the the Friends of McMillan Park and other historic preservation organizations also filed a legal appeal in order to challenge the proposal.
Washington City Paper further reported:
Companies interested in applying for demolition and subsequent construction of a park and a 17,500-square-foot, LEED-certified community center on the southern portion of the land have until Sept. 20 to submit proposals. The work is expected to be rewarded in October, with an anticipated completion in May 2019. The budget for this portion of the redevelopment is $59 million.
The redevelopment will involve a healthcare facility with ground-floor retail, multi-family residential building with ground-floor retail, a grocery store, and roughly 146 rowhouses. Past proposals for the site have included a jail, a hotel or resort, and a K-Mart strip mall.
The 25-acre site is bounded by North Capitol Street NW, Michigan Avenue NW, First Street NW, and Channing Street NW. On the site are 20 underground sand filtration chambers and two east-west service access courts. The site has been listed four times on the D.C. Preservation League list of most endangered historic places.
According to the Friends of McMillan Park, McMillan Park was the first water treatment plant in the city. From 1905 to 1986, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operated the facility, which was once considered as an engineering marvel in the city’s aqueduct and water supply system. The facility was then sold to the D.C. government. For approximately 30 years now, the landmark has been vacant.
"Substantial completion" of the redevelopment is slated to deliver by April 2019.
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