(Washington, DC) – Mayor Adrian M. Fenty on Wednesday joined community members and developers for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the 323-unit Capitol Quarter housing development, which is part of a $700 million neighborhood development plan near the Anacostia Waterfront in Ward 6. The project is the largest designated sustainable neighborhood project in the country.
“We’re working as hard as we can to build strong, healthy and sustainable neighborhoods throughout the District of Columbia,” said Mayor Fenty. “And there is perhaps no better example of how that work is being done than here at Capitol Quarter.”
Capitol Quarter is a public/private partnership between the District government, the District of Columbia Housing Authority, developers EYA and Urban Atlantic as well as the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. It is a part of the Arthur Capper/Carrollsburg HOPE VI project, where the District leveraged a $34 million federal grant to transform a 23-acre, 707-unit former public housing complex into a more than 1,600 new rental and home ownership units. The plan calls for replacing -- one-for-one – each demolished public housing unit as well as incorporating office space, neighborhood retail and a community center into the overall project.
Capitol Quarter’s first phase – delivering now -- includes 77 market-rate townhouses, 36 affordable units, 39 public housing rental units and 8 Housing Choice Voucher units. It is expected to be complete next year, followed by a second phase that is scheduled to deliver in 2012.
The project’s market and workforce-rate townhomes will feature ENERGY STAR labeling, high-efficiency windows, low-flow toilets and faucets, and recycled construction materials that reduce environmental impact and conserve resources – making it the nation’s largest LEED for Homes certified community by the US Green Building Council.
EYA and DCHA committed more than 40 percent of labor contracts for the construction work to local and small businesses.
Two buildings were completed prior to the groundbreaking for Capitol Quarter at Capper/Carrollsburg. The first was a 162-unit public housing senior building and second, a 139-unit building for a mix of low-income households. The senior building is fully accessible, with 15 percent of units accessible to mobility-impaired individuals. Amenities include an internal courtyard, an observation deck and an on-site space for medical exams.
Since 2005, the District’s Department of Housing and Community Development has contributed more than $11 million in funding toward the Capper/Carrollsburg project. And the District has made substantial investments in the surrounding Capitol Riverfront neighborhood from Nationals Park, to a string of parks and infrastructure projects totaling more than $60 million.
Earlier this year, the District broke ground on three nearby public parks: the half-acre Diamond Teague Park between Nationals Park and the river; the six-acre Park at the Yards with partner Forest City Washington; and the three-block long Canal Park near M Street and New Jersey Avenue, SE.
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