Multifamily To Replace Hotel And Office Plans Along Navy Yard’s Waterfront
Instead of once-planned hotel and office buildings, the Navy Yard riverfront is poised to gain nearly 600 more apartment homes.
Local developers MRP Realty and Florida Rock Properties filed an application with D.C.’s zoning commission last week requesting a change of use on the remainder of its parcel next to the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge.
The partnership is proposing two residential buildings next to the Anacostia River, one completely residential with 309 units and the other 281 units with just over 6K SF of ground-floor retail. Both are designed to have communal amenities on the penthouse levels and rooftop pools.
The plan also includes a dog park between the buildings, a native plant garden and a subterranean parking garage with 385 spaces. Fifty-nine of the units will be set aside for residents making 60% of the median family income. SK+I Architecture was the architect on the filings.
The properties proposed would round out the partnership's development vision for its land on the west side of Navy Yard, across from Nationals Park. The first two phases were apartment buildings Maren and Dock 79, which together total 569 units and house ground-floor retailers, including restaurants The Salt Line, All-Purpose Pizzeria and Jackie American Bistro.
“The Project finalizes the decades-long vision of this important waterfront property by creating an iconic entrance to Navy Yard with two 13–foot buildings surrounded by welcoming open space intended to draw people towards the waterfront,” the application filed with the Zoning Commission said.
The developments would take place in two phases, with the mixed-use building starting first in 2026.
In its application, the partnership asked that while the first building is underway, the rest of the parcel be allowed to continue housing the interim dog park as well as pop-up retail, and act as a staging area.
MRP and Florida Rock's plans come at a time when much of the multifamily construction pipeline is stalled. Navy Yard saw a multifamily boom in the years before the pandemic, but little is left on the boards, with the amount of space running out. To the east of the ballpark, Brookfield Properties delivered 379-unit Vela last year and next door Urby is set to bring another 467 units.
But to the southwest, more development is underway, with the Buzzard Point neighborhood starting to take shape. Toll Brothers expects to complete its 501-unit mixed-use property, called Vermeer, this winter with 37K SF ground-floor retail.
Also, next to Audi Field, a partnership that includes Akridge and National Real Estate Advisors is building a 2M SF mixed-use project called The Stacks, set to include over 2,000 residential units and deliver early next year.
