McMillan development receives approvals to move forward, is appealed again

Despite local opposition, groundbreaking began for the McMillan Sand Filtration site in December 2016. One day later, the D.C. Court of Appeals vacated the Zoning Commission’s approval of the McMillan Sand Filtration site redevelopment, halting the development from moving forward with plans for new medical office buildings, multi-family housing, row houses, retail, and a grocery store. Can you say déjà vu? Recently, the $720 million project received the approvals necessary to move forward, but it has now been appealed for a second time.

Opponents of the development, known as Friends of McMillan Park (FOMP), filed a petition in an attempt to stop the project. The petition was launched against the Mayor’s Agent for Historic Preservation, who concluded that “the historic preservation benefits of the proposed project outweigh the preservation losses,” according to the Washington Business Journal.

Bisnow further reports that the Mayor’s Agent’s approval order said that any further delay of the project would be an “exercise in obstruction,” especially since opponents have not provided any “plausible alternative plans.”

When the Agent’s ruling arrived, development team Vision McMillan Partners (VMP) made the following statement: ”Today the site sits vacant and decrepit. In partnership with the District, we have always believed that our plans—with generous open space and a new city park, a new pool and community center, mixed-income housing, neighborhood-serving retail, thousands of new healthcare jobs, and a robust preservation program—reimagine the site for the 21st century while preserving and celebrating its remarkable history.”

The 25-acre site is bounded by Michigan Avenue NW, North Capitol Street NW, and First and Channing streets NW. Once complete, the 2.1-million-square-foot project will feature 531 apartments and a 52,000-square-foot Harris Teeter from Jair Lynch and 146 townhouses from EYA. Additional plans for the site include an eight-acre park and 17,500-square-foot community center. The project is designed to achieve LEED-ND Gold. The cylindrical towers on the site will be preserved and stabilized.

• McMillan Development Appealed Again After Receiving Approvals [Bisnow]

• McMillan opponents appeal again after D.C. order grants permission to move forward [Washington Business Journal]