The DC Office of Planning released its draft report on the
Maryland Avenue SW Plan earlier this month after working on it for several
months. This report is a component of the Southwest Ecodistrict Initiative that the National Capital Planning Commission is studying for the
area. In the Maryland Avenue SW draft report, there are recommendations on how
the avenue can be reconstructed, diversify land uses, and serve as a connector
through the Southwest Rectangle (the area between the National Mall and
Interstate 395). Currently, the Maryland Avenue corridor is disjointed – a
small section of the avenue was rebuilt above railroad tracks west of 12th Street as a part of The Portals complex with a landscaped median and on its
eastern end, it will bisect a future memorial for President Eisenhower. However,
Maryland Avenue doesn’t exist between 12th Street and 7th Street. Along this stretch, railroad tracks for freight and VRE are in the
avenue’s right-of-way. East of Reservation 113 (the green space at 7th & C Streets), Maryland Avenue reemerges before intersecting with
Independence Avenue across from the National Air & Space Museum.
Four components that the draft report addresses include land
use, transit, connections, and public realm:
Land use
The draft report encourages a diversification of land uses
for the corridor, which is currently dominated by office space. To that end, there
are four Federally-owned parcels along Maryland Avenue that the GSA is
considering for conveyance out of the Federal inventory. These parcels could
then be redeveloped as mixed use sites, potentially with residential included
in the mix. Zoning in the area can be changed to encourage residential
development with Housing Credits, similar to the bonus density incentives used to
increase housing downtown over the past 15 years. Other parcels along the Maryland
Avenue corridor could also be redeveloped, including the GSA Regional Office
Building at 7th & D Street, the Reporters Building (where Pizza
Autentica is located), and two sites at The Portals (perhaps one could be
luxury condos affiliated with the Mandarin Oriental Hotel next door with
sweeping views of the Tidal Basin?). The draft report indicates at least 1,000
residential/hotel units need to be created in the area to justify the creation
of more retail amenities.
Transit
Connections between the L’Enfant Plaza Metro station and the
L’Enfant commuter rail station should be improved. According to the draft report, about 20,000
riders use the Metro station each weekday and over 15,000 VRE riders use the commuter
rail station. Future ridership estimates anticipate an increase over the next
few years and the commuter rail station may need to expand to accommodate a
possible extension of MARC train service to L’Enfant as well as the
electrification of the rail line. After looking at three options to expand the
commuter rail station, the report recommends the best option would be to build
an extended platform in the vicinity of the current platform to accommodate
four tracks and bi-level trains. The Reporters
Building would eventually become an intermodal hub where VRE, MARC, Metro,
Metrobus, and streetcar service would intersect.
Three alternatives were considered for decking over Maryland
Avenue: one creates a boulevard with a landscaped median along its length and a
newly constructed 9th Street would connect Independence Avenue,
Maryland Avenue, and D Street; a second would create a center roadway section
from 12th to 10th Street with a ramp connection to D
Street, while the area between 10th Street and Reservation 113 would
become a linear park; option three would create a center roadway from 12th Street to Reservation 113 and create a square around it by shifting the
railroad corridor to the south. The report prefers a center roadway section to
a median because of its consistency along the centerline of Maryland Avenue,
but also allows flexibility along the edges depending on what structure abuts
the right-of-way. The approximate cost to re-establish Maryland Avenue would be
$429M, including streetscape, railroad enclosure, commuter rail station
improvements, connections to the street grid, and four-track railroad
enhancements.
Public Realm
Reservation 113 has the potential – if designed properly, to
be a center piece for the neighborhood. Views to the Capitol should be
maintained and Maryland Avenue’s significance as a L’Enfant diagonal street
should be considered in its design; however, pedestrian-scale elements need to
be considered as well. The tree canopy of the area needs to be enhanced and
sidewalks designed for heavy pedestrian use. New buildings along the corridor
should be oriented towards Maryland Avenue and Reservation 113 with the
building facades meeting the edge of the right-of-way to create a defined
street wall effect. Retail nodes should be created at 7th and 10th
Streets with ceiling heights along the ground floor at these locations at a
minimum of 14’. Sustainable infrastructure elements should be maintained
throughout the corridor, including storm water filtration and collection, and piezoelectric
generation along the rail corridor.
Development along the Maryland Avenue corridor can begin in
the eastern end between 6th & 7th Streets, where the avenue
already exists and improvements would take less time (and money) to implement. The
Switzer Building modernization and greening, along with Federal Building 8, is
breathing new life to the area. GSA Parcel 4 is located between 6th & 7th Streets and if conveyed, the parcel could be redeveloped
into a use other than office to help change the perception of the area as an “office-only”
destination. In addition, some improvements can be made to Reservation 113 to
make the area more inviting. As the Southwest Waterfront redevelopment gets
going and the future of the Department of Energy campus is determined, that will
help spur activity on the western side of the Maryland Avenue corridor.
The full report can be accessed from OP’s website and the
30-day comment period is now open until February 3.
Renderings courtesy of DC Office of Planning
1 comment:
Thanks for the excellent recap, Will. There will be a presentation to the ANC by the DC Department of Planning on Monday, January 9th, 7:00pm at 1100 Fourth Street, S.W., 2nd floor conference room. Interested community members are invited to attend.
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