The District of Columbia last week signed a land disposition agreement with Hoffman-Struever Waterfront LLC that will allow the development team to move ahead with plans to transform the southwest waterfront into a $1.5 billion, mixed-use “waterfront destination.”
The project will be financed in part by nearly $200 million of bonds backed by payments in lieu of taxes and tax increment financing.
“This is a huge step forward for a project that has the promise of becoming one of the East Coast’s great maritime attractions while at the same time serving as a community anchor for a great new southwest neighborhood,” Neil Albert, deputy mayor for planning and economic development, said in a statement. “Hoffman-Struever is a great team and they have all the tools to make this project a reality.”
Hoffman-Struever is planning to turn the 26-acre waterfront into a two million square feet of mixed-use development that will include public parks, plazas, and open green space.
Earlier this summer, the District Council approved $198 million in TIF- and PILOT-backed debt to help pay for the cost of infrastructure improvements.
The agreement allows the district to transfer several parcels to the Hoffman-Struever team. The LDA must be approved by the council. Kwame Brown, chairman of the council’s Economic Development Committee, is slated to hold a hearing on the LDA resolution today.
The southwest waterfront project, part of the $10 billion Anacostia Waterfront Initiative, is aimed at transforming land along the Anacostia River in a fashion similar to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
