What the New D.C. United Stadium’s Approval Means for Developers
Last week, plans were approved to begin construction on D.C. United’s new stadium.
The project has been long talked about. Initial discussions began 21 years ago regarding creating a permanent home for the D.C. United soccer team. Earlier this month, development of this stadium was given its final go-ahead. Work on the project site is already underway, with an official groundbreaking ceremony set for 3:00 pm on February 27th.
The $300 million project is due to be completed in June of 2018. Clearly, a project of this size will have an impact on our local development community. But what, exactly, can we expect from the D.C. United stadium?
The Direct Impact of the Stadium
The immediate impact of this project is clear: many more people will begin visiting the Buzzard Point neighborhood. The stadium — the focal point of a 14-acre development — hosts capacity for 20,000 fans. The stadium will host D.C. United’s approximately 20 home games per season. Average attendance for each of these games is expected to be between 4,000–12,000 spectators. These numbers are expected to grow — D.C. United’s season ticket base has already grown by over 60% since 2014.
Within the next two years, the Buzzard Point neighborhood will begin to see at least tens of thousands — though likely hundreds of thousands — of new visitors every year. And the development community is stepping up to meet the needs of these new visitors, and the growing Buzzard Point neighborhood.
Supporting Buzzard Point’s New Visitors
Substantial development is already underway to meet the needs of this influx of new visitors. The D.C. United’s organization has been courting developers to help create a vibrant neighborhood surrounding the stadium.
One representative develop is the transformation of a former Coast Guard headquarters into “a mix of apartments and condos above roughly 80,000 square feet of retail space”. Much of the open acres surrounding the new stadium are also being developed in a similar mixed-use style.
The stadium itself is being developed to integrate well into the neighborhood. When the stadium was first proposed, neighborhood leaders felt concerns. They worried the stadium’s design and development would cater only to spectators, and wouldn’t take Buzzard Point residents into consideration. In response, the stadium’s developers have built more “street-facing retail, and improved access to better integrate the stadium into the neighborhood,” as well as greater public space and parking.
The Revitalization of Buzzard Point
The new stadium will serve as an “anchor” for the transformation of Buzzard Point. Mayor Bowser has described the development as representing “the first step toward revitalizing an overlooked area of the District that will spur economic activity on the banks of the Anacostia, hire residents for good-paying jobs, and give more Washingtonians a fair shot.”
However, the upcoming D.C. United stadium can’t be given entire credit for Buzzard Point’s revitalization. Last year — before the stadium’s development was approved — Buzzard Point was already named one of D.C.’s neighborhoods seeing the most recent development.
And Buzzard Point’s development represents part of a larger city-wide trend towards reclaiming D.C.’s waterfront for residents. Even if Buzzard Point wasn’t currently on fire with development, and even if the D.C. United Stadium plans fell through, the neighborhood would have inevitably been developed as part of “the inevitable outgrowth of Capital Waterfront”, another of D.C.’s development hotbeds.
Developers, consider next week’s ground-breaking ceremony for D.C. United’s stadium a signal. If you haven’t yet looked towards Buzzard Point — or the waterfront as a whole — now is the time to consider contributing to this rapidly revitalizing section of our city. At Evergreen Private Finance, we’re committed to helping developers join the city’s hottest development trends — before the best opportunities are taken.
