(Washington, DC) - Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, together with the project team and city officials gathered today to celebrate the opening of the first phase of Waterfront Station, a multi-phase, transit oriented, mixed-use project in Southwest DC, incorporating new street retail, two new office buildings, new public plazas, and the newly restored 4th Street.
Located at the Waterfront/SEU MetroRail station, right at 4th and M Streets, Southwest, Waterfront Station will ultimately consist of 1.2 million square feet of new office space, approximately 1,000 new residential units, underground parking and up to 140,000 square feet of neighborhood-serving specialty shops and services as well as restaurants. The first phase includes a total of 628,000 square feet.
The project is being developed by Waterfront Associates, a joint venture between Forest City Washington, Inc., Bresler & Reiner, Inc. and Vornado/Charles E. Smith.
Mayor Adrian Fenty said today, “The opening of Waterfront Station marks a significant milestone for this community and for the District of Columbia. Here in the heart of Southwest, we’ve created a new hub of activity, transportation, shopping, and employment. The city was so committed to this neighborhood and this project, we made it our home.”
The District government is the project’s anchor tenant taking 500,000 square feet – or 100% of Phase One – across two office buildings at 1100 and 1101 4th Street, Southwest. The complex is now home to more than 1,600 District employees and consolidates the offices of various agencies that include: the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA), the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) and the Office of Planning. The new buildings offer a customer-friendly business service center for permitting and licensing. For District government operations, efficiencies are achieved through the merger of the Office of the Recorder of Deeds with its parent department, the Office of Tax and Revenue’s Real Property Tax Administration, and a connection between the Office of Revenue Analysis, the Office of Economic Development and the Office of the Chief Information Officer with other OCFO agencies. Agencies have been moving into Waterfront Station since mid-March on a rolling basis with the final move-ins by early May.
Both offices buildings – each 250,000 square feet – are designed to achieve at least LEED silver certification with features that include: green roof, a design that achieves maximum daylight to interior offices, use of low-emitting materials and recycled and locally-available sources.
The new DC Government buildings, along with 85,000 square feet of neighborhood retail line the newly restored 4th Street, SW. The stretch of 4th Street, Southwest between M and I Streets, Southwest was closed more than forty years ago when the site was developed as an urban mall and office complex. The right-of-way has been restored as a part of the project’s initial phase. The new 4th Street not only creates the new “Main Street” of Waterfront Station, but a new connecting artery for Southwest.
Mitchell N. Schear, President of Vornado/Charles E. Smith and part of the Waterfront Associates development team said, “Waterfront Station was a huge opportunity to create a new center of vitality in southwest through a very creative public/private partnership.” He commended the city and the neighborhood “for making transformative projects like Waterfront Station a priority.”
Waterfront Station has also become the new neighborhood destination, with 88 percent of the first phase retail space already leased.
Waterfront Station retail includes two stores that were a part of the site’s former use and have operated throughout the project’s construction phase.
On April 16 Safeway opened an expanded, new urban concept store to replace its former store on the site. The dynamic new 54,769 square foot store features a food court with prepared foods, a full service deli, cheese bar, bakery, sit-down sushi bar and an in-store Starbucks, all in addition to a significantly expanded grocery selection throughout the store.
CVS, which was also an existing retailer on the site, will relocate from its temporary onsite location into a new 12,543 square foot store on the east side of 4th St. SW at 1100 4th Street. The new store opens this summer.
“We were pleased to be able to keep Safeway and CVS open onsite throughout the construction phase because they are so critical to the Southwest community,” said Deborah Ratner Salzberg, president of Forest City Washington. “Now with the addition of several great, new places to eat and service-oriented merchants being added, Waterfront Station is legitimately the neighborhood center of this vibrant residential and office community.”
In addition, several new retailers and places to eat will be locating at Waterfront Station. Subway, the popular national sub shop chain, will open in September 2010. DC-based Z Burger also plans to open a new 2,270 square foot location serving Southwest DC.
An exciting new restaurant will be opening soon at the 1101 4th Street building of Waterfront Station. Station 4, a new concept from the owners of Ulah Bistro on U Street will be opening a stylish new restaurant of just under 4,000 square feet and have seating both indoors and outdoors on the plaza area. Station 4 is expected to open in the fall of 2010.
Waterfront Cleaners, a convenient and established dry cleaning operation will also soon have a location at Waterfront Station.
Information about Waterfront Station can be found at waterfrontstation.com.