(Washington, DC) – Mayor Adrian M. Fenty on Monday announced the District has issued a Solicitation for Offers seeking a development partner to transform the Park Morton public housing complex on Georgia Avenue into a vibrant mixed-income community that will ultimately include more than 500 new units of affordable and market-rate housing.
“We have an incredible opportunity here on Georgia Avenue – in the heart of the Park View community – to make some meaningful changes in peoples’ lives,” Mayor Fenty said. “We’re looking for a partner that is interested in more than just building housing. We are looking for someone who is committed to building a healthier, safer new community.”
The Park Morton project is one of the District’s four New Communities. The program, aims to rebuild some of the city’s most troubled public housing complexes into new mixed-use, mixed income neighborhoods. Drafted in cooperation with community leaders of each neighborhood, the District’s plans call for replacing each existing housing unit with a new unit; every resident who currently lives in each community will have the opportunity to move into a new unit. The other New Communities are: Northwest One in Ward 6, Barry Farm in Ward 8 and Lincoln Heights/Richardson Dwellings in Ward 7.
Located in Ward 1’s Park View neighborhood, Park Morton is generally bound by Georgia Avenue on the west, Warder Street on the east, Lamont Street on the south, and Park Road on the north.
The solicitation issued today seeks a development partner for the first phase of the Park Morton project, which is expected to include at least 168 new housing units. The entire project – likely built over three phases – will include more than 500 new units of housing as well as a 10,000 square foot park and a community center.
In addition to the physical program, competing development teams will work with human services groups to develop plans to engage residents in adult education, financial literacy and employment programs as well as create youth development and community health care opportunities. Bids are due on December 12 and a developer selection could occur by March 2009. The solicitation is available at dcbiz.dc.gov.