To address concerns from area developers, the D.C. United have are modifying the design for a proposed Buzzard Point stadium.
Earlier this fall, four developers and the head of Capitol Riverfront BID signed a letter to D.C. council member Charles Allen that expressed displeasure about the design of the facility. The specific contention was that design elements of the stadium’s exterior, including areas along First Street SW, would limit retail development.
With the letter signaling organized opposition to the stadium, the United made a series of tweaks to the original design. The changes focus largely on opening sections of the stadium’s exterior for future development, highlighted by a 14,000-square foot retail plaza and various egress changes. More from Washington Business Journal:
In the new filing, D.C. United’s response to recent concerns include: maintaining a public open space at the corner of Potomac Avenue and Half Street SW, including an active retail base in as many points as possible along the stadium edges, maintaining the established street grid with a newly aligned First Street SW through the stadium site, and designing First Street SW to be dynamic, among others.
“This street will provide circulation and porosity benefits to locations south of the stadium site,” the report says of the First Street realignment. “This new private First Street will be open as much as possible, although portions or all of it will be closed during events.”
The additional retail space is planned for the east side of the stadium along First Street SW — a private, two-lane road with parking on either side between Potomac Avenue and S Street SW. More retail will also be located along First Street near the Pepco substation.
A zoning hearing for the stadium is scheduled for November 28. The United is seeking to open the new stadium by June 2018.
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