D.C. officials yesterday said they will seek competitive bids from developers interested in building a mix of housing and retail at Poplar Point in Southeast, an apparent rejection of plans by D.C. United to build a soccer stadium surrounded by development at the site.
D.C. Deputy Mayor Neil Albert said the city will issue an official solicitation for developers by the end of August. He acknowledged a soccer stadium has been proposed for the site but said new proposals will not necessarily require a soccer facility.
“Poplar Point is one of the District’s most valuable assets, and we are presented with a truly once in a generation opportunity to build a new community on the river,” Albert said. “We need an open, transparent and community-driven process to determine that this site will deliver the maximum benefits to our residents.”
Poplar Point, located across the Anacostia River from the site of the Nationals’ new baseball stadium, is a 110-acre site that has been targeted for redevelopment as part of the city’s broad Anacostia Waterfront Initiative. Initial studies by the city indicate the site could accommodate up to 3.5 million square feet worth of development.
It is unclear how long the solicitation process for Poplar Point will last, but it is not uncommon for a year or more to pass before a developer is selected.
United owner Victor MacFarlane, a San Francisco-based real estate developer, submitted a plan earlier this year to buy the land at Poplar Point and build a $200 million soccer-only facility. As part of the plan, the team would redevelop the land and asked for city funds to pay for infrastructure upgrades. As recently as a week ago, the team was actively asking fans to urge the city to support the proposal, and it held a community event near Poplar Point on Sunday.
But talks between the city and United about the plan stalled over the issue of who should pay for the infrastructure upgrades, and community support for the stadium plan was lukewarm, according to sources with knowledge of the discussions. Moreover, city officials said plans for the site are complicated by a delay in acquiring the necessary land from the federal government and relocating current tenants there.
The decision by the city to seek competitive bids for the site would appear to hurt United’s chances of building a new stadium in the District, but team owners said they were still committed to their proposal and were in active talks with city officials.
“We’ve submitted a plan, and we want to build a stadium at Poplar Point,” said Julie Chase, a spokesman for MacFarlane. “Our feeling is that we are still in negotiations.”
The redevelopment of Poplar Point had been the responsibility of the quasi-public Anacostia Waterfront Corporation, but Mayor Adrian Fenty signed a bill Friday abolishing the AWC and transferring its responsibilities to his office.
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