Big redevelopment will remake corner of 14th and U Street
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Developers have until Jan. 20 to submit proposals. Photo: Linda Davidson/The Washington Post via Getty Images
D.C. wants to redevelop the Reeves Center on 14th and U streets NW, someday turning the municipal building into shops, offices, and hundreds of apartments.
Why it matters: This is a prime two-acre site in a bustling corridor, and an opportunity for D.C. to replace an aging landmark with something that fits the booming neighborhood and nightlife surrounding it.
Driving the news: The District government recently reset the process of choosing a developer to overhaul the block.
- Developers have until Jan. 20 to submit new proposals. The city received only two since opening up bids in July 2020.
State of play: Those previous proposals included a glassy apartment and office space, a food hall, a hotel, and a pedestrian walkway.
- One pitch included a Marion Barry Way in between new buildings, honoring the late four-term mayor who spearheaded the building of the Reeves Center in 1986 to revitalize the U Street corridor.
- D.C. has a preference for a hotel to boost daytime activity and a civic space for the community, said John Falcicchio, deputy mayor for planning and economic development.
The redevelopment’s anchor tenant will be the new national headquarters of the NAACP, moving from Baltimore to a D.C. neighborhood rich in Black history and culture. Once known as “Black Broadway,” the area suffered after the 1968 riots that arose in the aftermath of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
- The NAACP and Mayor Muriel Bowser announced the future move in 2020.
Between the lines: It’s rare that a big redevelopment opportunity would only get two bids. One hangup was the estimated $47 million cost of relocating sensitive IT infrastructure, a price tag that the District recently agreed to cover.
- When reissuing the request for proposals, the Bowser administration announced that it “removed some of the complexities that created a high barrier to entry and deterred potential respondents.”
What’s next: D.C. plans to pick a redevelopment team in February and gain D.C. Council approval by the summer. The anticipated groundbreaking is in the summer of 2025.