Photo by Ronnie R.

D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton announced today that a congressional committee had given approval to a bill that would allow a massive redevelopment of the Southwest Waterfront to take place.

Norton’s Southwest Waterfront redevelopment bill, H.R. 2297, clarifies the legal status of the property in order to allow the District to move forward with a major redevelopment project that will include 2.5 million square feet of hotels, office space, retail and residences, as well as increased maritime activity.

The federal government transferred the Southwest Waterfront land to the District in the early 1960s, before D.C. had home rule, but, even though the District owns it, restrictions on the land have resulted in its underuse.

The massive redevelopment of the waterfront is expected to create the type of place you’d like to, you know, actually go to. The last time the waterfront was redeveloped, it was by the federal government in the 1950s and under the guise of “urban renewal.”