Originally published: Bisnow.com | March 15, 2016 | by: Bisnow Staff
The Rise And Fall And Rise of NE DC
NE DC was a hinterland of the capital as recently as the beginning of the 20th Century, when the area began seeingmassive influxes of Southern black migrants. By the middle of the century, the H Street NE corridor was one of Washington’s busiest commercial districts.
Ironically, the Civil Rights Movement ultimately drove business out of the area. Upscale stores in the downtown parts of DC, seeking to profit from integration, began catering to a black clientèle. Having long been excluded from these prestigious establishments, African-Americans flocked to taste the formerly forbidden fruit, and the old working-class shops on H Street suffered.
But the true demise of Northeast DC as a major commercial center came with the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Arson, looting and vandalism devastated the neighborhood, and many parts of the city, and it hasn’t fully recovered since.
That looks to change soon, however, as several massive developments are slated to arrive in NE DC in the near future.
In The Works: The Top Three Developments Coming To NE DC
It’s no overstatement to say that Northeast DC is on the verge of a development renaissance. Here are the three cornerstones of the area’s revival.
MidCity’s RIA
MidCity has joined forces with the architecture firm Perkins Eastman to bring NE DC a 20-acre mixed-use development dubbed RIA. Situated on the south side of Rhode Island Avenue, east of Brentwood Road NE, and west of Montana Avenue NE, the ambitious project will include1,760 residential units and 181k SF of retail, along with a town center, pedestrian sidewalks and green spaces. The first phase of construction next year will deliver a 200-unit affordable housing building for seniors.
Eckington Yards
A JV of the JBG and Boundary Cos, Eckington Yards will contain 695 residential units in four buildings connected by walkways, approximately 77k SF of retail, and 331 underground vehicle parking spaces. The complex will arrive north of the intersection of New York and Florida Avenues NE. The developers are targeting “makers” as the primary tenants, whom they hope to attract with affordable brick-and-mortar buildings that can serve as both retail storefronts and production spaces.
Rhode Island Ave Center’s redevelopment
MRP Realty, with Sandrock LP and B&R Associates, is nearing completion of the review process for its redevelopment of the 13-acre Rhode Island Center inEdgewood. The developer has proposed a six-block, seven-phase project with 1,500 units of residential and up to 250k SF of retail. Amenities like a high-end theater, a community gym and ample green space will further attract community-minded tenants. The project’s first phase is slated to begin construction in 2017.
GO TO FULL ARTICLE