The District of Columbia’s plan to issue about $200 million of bonds for its $1.1 billion Southwest Waterfront redevelopment project got preliminary approval from the District Council last week.
The council at its July 15 meeting will consider the bill, which would provide about $198 million in a combination of tax increment financing and bonds backed by payments in lieu of taxes, said Ruth Werner, legislative analyst for councilman Jack Evans. Werner said she expects the council to have some “technical amendments,” but that the total amount of debt most likely will not change.
The Southwest Waterfront project is part of the district’s $10 billion Anacostia Waterfront Initiative, a 20-year plan designed to transform land along the Anacostia River in a manner similar to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
Two other major projects in the Anacostia plan are the Hill East Waterfront site, located in the southeast area of the district, which officials say is likely to carry a multimillion-dollar price tag and be partially financed by bonds, and the $2.5 billion, 110-acre Poplar Point project, located in the Ward 8 section of the district, also likely to use TIF and PILOT funding.
District officials in January announced that they had reached an agreement with Hoffman-Streuver Waterfront LLC, a team of companies and groups led by district-based PN Hoffman and Baltimore-based Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, to head up the project. Struever Bros. built much of Baltimore’s waterfront, as well as similar projects around the country.
Debt will be used to help finance the development of infrastructure, new public piers, assorted repairs, and the creation of five new public parks within the 16-acre site.
The plan calls for 400,000 square feet of office space, 280,000 square feet of retail space, 476,000 square of hotel space, and 150,000 square feet of cultural space. The redevelopment is expected to create nearly 2,900 jobs, 100 new businesses, and homes for 1,100 new residents, according to district officials.
