One Big Question: Will Audi Field Transform Buzzard Point Like Nationals Park Transformed The Navy Yard?
Before there was Yards Park in D.C.’s Capitol Riverfront neighborhood, there was just a plot of land. Added to the Navy Yard in 1916, the land was later transferred to the General Services Administration.
It wasn’t until the 21st century that this plot of land started to become a neighborhood of its own. Nationals Park, the Washington Nationals’ home stadium, was constructed in 2006, drawing locals and visitors to the Capitol Riverfront. Slowly, several developments began to follow.
Since then, the area has seen significant growth. The neighborhood sees 3 million visitors annually, 2.25 million of whom are visitors to the ballpark. The Capitol Riverfront neighborhood is home to 7,300 residents, a number that is expected to almost double by 2020. In addition to hosting games and concerts at the stadium, the neighborhood is home to a brewery, a winery, coffee shops, restaurants and bars. During the summer, Yards Park hosts a Friday night concert series with views of the Anacostia River at sunset.
Nearby Buzzard Point could soon see a similar transition. The area sits at the confluence of D.C.’s two main rivers, and will become home to Audi Field, D.C. United’s new home stadium. The city expects Audi Field to transform Buzzard Point in the way Nationals Stadium transformed the Capitol Riverfront neighborhood.
"If you look back over time, many developments didn't seem like the most logical when they first started, but they do now," Douglas Development Corp. principal Norman Jemal told Bisnow in 2016. "I think this is one of those cases."
Audi Field will be the first major development to open in the area. With 19,000 seats, the stadium is expected to bring throngs of people to the area daily. Seeing this as an opportunity for growth, several owners and developers are focusing their efforts on revitalizing the area around the stadium. By 2020, there will be an expected 1,014 residential units and 106K SF of retail.
Building on D.C. United’s move to the area, the city has announced plans to transform the former industrial area, once known for its Pepco power plant and oil and gas facilities, into a medium-to-high-density, mixed-use neighborhood. Audi Field’s ground-floor retail, restaurant developments and parks are expected to activate the neighborhood. Plans are in the works to further develop Buzzard Point’s southern tip. The former U.S. Coast Guard HQ, located at 2100 Second St. SW, will become a mixed-use development with 485 residential units and 70K SF of retail.
While plans for the neighborhood are still being ironed out, major developers see potential. Navy Yard’s transformation did not happen right away, and these developers expect a similar pattern at Buzzard Point.
"The opportunity you have to capture what really is this ready and willing audience that wants to go spend money, have a beer and eat some food before and after the game," Bryan Moll, then of the JBC Cos., told Bisnow in 2016. "There is so much opportunity on one block."
