Washington, DC: Who are the Developers Competing to Repurpose Walter Reed?

The following post comes courtesy of Global Site Plans' The Grid. CNU and Global Site Plans recently teamed up to syndicate Grid content, as its contingent of writers presents a view on the opportunities and issues of urbanization all across the world. CNU will carry select posts from the Grid direct on the CNU Salons.

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 Located in northern Washington, DC, to the east of Rock Creek Park and south of Silver Spring, Maryland, Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), once redeveloped, will fuse new commercial establishments and residences into a community of established residential neighborhoods. The Department of State will retain the smaller portion of the 113-acre WRAMC campus, while DC will redevelop the larger portion. 

In September 2012, the DC Office of Planning released the draft plan for the site’s redevelopment.The plan proposes a mixed-use commercial, institutional, and residential community that captures the campus’s history of medical service to the Armed Forces by preserving and reusing historic buildings and protecting the extant landscaping features. 

Nine real estate development and investment firms are competing to repurpose WRAMC. Let’s take a closer look at these firms. What DC-area projects have they led?

• Douglas Development restored and redeveloped the Marlo Building at 901 7th Street NW, 7thStreet NW – Chinatown Row, and The Woodies Building at 1025 F Street NW. Historic row-style buildings compose Chinatown Row, opposite the Verizon Center. The Woodies Building housed Woodward & Lothrop’s flagship department store from the late 19th century until the late 20th century; 

The Woodies Building Now Houses Forever 21

• Forest City Washington is spearheading The Yards, a large-scale, mixed-use project demanding the preservation and repurposing of historic buildings in addition to new construction along the riverfront between First St. SE and the Navy Yard, and Waterfront Stationon 4th Street SW at M Street SW;

• Grid Properties, Inc. developed DC USA, a large-scale retail project propelling the revitalization of the Columbia Heights neighborhood;

• Hines and Urban Atlantic would redevelop WRAMC through a joint venture. Hines preserved and repurposed the City Post Office, creating Postal Square, home to the National Postal Museum and offering retail, office, and event space. Urban Atlantic redeveloped the Arthur Capper Carrollsburg public housing complex into a mixed-income community;

• Republic Properties Corporation developed The Portals, an urban renewal, mixed-use development in Southwest DC, and Georgetown Park, a mixed-use retail and residential property in the heart of Georgetown that demanded careful cooperation with historic preservationists and the surrounding community; 

Georgetown Park

• Western Development Corporation developed Gallery Place at 701 H Street, NW and Market Square at 801 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. Both of these are mixed-use projects;

• Roadside Development developed Cityline at Tenley, a transit-oriented, mixed-use development atop the Tenleytown Metro Station, preserving the historic property built by Sears in 1941;

• The Wilkes Company, Capstone Development LLC, and Quadrangle Development Corporation would redevelop WRAMC through a joint venture. In partnership, The Wilkes Company and Quadrangle Development Corporation developed Mount Vernon Place, a mixed-use development that includes a series of office buildings along K Street and a 1,000-unit residential enclave along Massachusetts Avenue and Third and Fourth Streets. Capstone Development LLC in partnership with Quadrangle is developing the Marriott Marquis, Washington, DC.

What do you know about the real estate development and investment firms competing to execute projects where you live? Comment here or on Twitter!

To read the original post, written by Sunny Menozzi, visit Global Site Plans.