Photo by Mr.TinDC.

Photo by Mr.TinDC.

The Zoning Commission has spoken, and it’s saying pretty much the same thing it did last year: the proposed development at McMillan Sand Filtration site can move forward.

It’s one of two government agencies, along with the Mayor’s Agent for Historic Preservation, that had to reconsider their approval for the $720 million project after their previous orders were vacated by a D.C. Court of Appeals judge in early December 2016. That decision came down a day after public officials held a ceremonial groundbreaking, though the ongoing court case prevented developers from doing much more than historical preservation work.

The mayor’s office and developer group Vision McMillan Partners pledged that they would address the issues highlighted by the court, which included how the Ward 5 multi-use development would impact the surrounding neighborhood, like the use of utilities, property values, and displacement.

The Zoning Commission came to a unanimous agreement on Thursday evening that the increased density was essential for the project, as first reported by UrbanTurf. The multi-use development will have 146 townhouses, more than 500 apartments, retail, a Harris Teeter, a park, and a community center.

But while the commission came to consensus, there’s more to do before demolition can begin. “We heard a lot of talk last night,—Zoning said they were satisfied with very specific stuff—however, that’s just talk,” says Kirby Vining. He’s the treasurer of Friends of McMillan Park, which brought the suit. “The order is what’s legally binding and we haven’t seen that yet.”

Vining says that Friends of McMillan Park isn’t opposed to all development on the property, a landmark that sits on the National Register of Historic Places and has been vacant since the 1980s. He says the group wants the historical nature of the site preserved, the Comprehensive Plan respected, and a competitive bidding process for the project, saying that the Deputy Mayor’s Office for Planning and Economic Development awarded Vision McMillan Partners without getting requests for proposal from other developers.

The D.C. Auditor agreed on the final count, calling the 2007 bidding process “flawed” in a 2015 report, and recommending the city put the project out to bid again.

But the DMPED says that, since 2007, the project has been thoroughly vetted and earned D.C. Council approval after Chair Phil Mendelson introduced emergency legislation to waive procurement rules. It also cites the 3,000 construction jobs, 3,200 permanent jobs, and more than $1.2 billion in tax revenues over the next 30 years it says the development will bring to the city.

Even so, the project has been controversial, and public hearings about it have been heated. In addition to the forthcoming order from the Zoning Commission, the project needs two new orders from the Mayor’s Agent for Historic Preservation to satisfy the courts.

Previously:
Court Throws Wrench In McMillan Development A Day After Mayor’s ‘Groundbreaking’
Bowser Will ‘Break Ground’ At McMillan, But A Demolition Can’t Actually Follow
Photos: Organizers Throw Secret Party Underneath McMillan Park To Protest Development
Development Firm Makes Case For Mixed-Use McMillan

Filed Under: development, DMPED, friends of mcmillan park, mayor bowser, mcmillan, multi-use development,