The District has selected developers to convert a sprawling plot of mostly unused land in Southeast D.C. into a site that would include hundreds of apartments, retail space, a hotel, and a park.

Mayor Muriel Bowser chose Blue Skye Development and Donatelli Development to build out a large section of the underdeveloped land known as Reservation 13, which sits in the Hill East neighborhood. Another company, Community Partners, was selected to develop another section of the land.

Blue Skye and Donatelli have already developed two residential buildings on a small parcel of land near 19th Street SE as part of the city’s larger effort to revitalize Hill East.

The mixed-use development would include more than 2,300 residential units, about one-third of which would be designated for low-income residents. Another third would be set aside for families that make between 60% and 120% of the median family income in the region, which is $129,000 for a family of four.

“We know that Washingtonians need jobs and housing, and that’s what we are delivering in Hill East,” Bowser said in a statement.

The project would also include retail space, a park along Independence Avenue SE and a 150-room hotel. The D.C. Council must still approve the development plans.

If the proposal moves forward, it would mark major progress for a project that has remained at a standstill for years, in a neighborhood where residents have fought for more housing, grocery stores, and restaurants.

A collection of concrete and imposing buildings sit on Reservation 13, a 67-acre parcel of land that stretches from 19th Street SE to the western shore of the Anacostia River.

Many of the sites have closed, including D.C. General Hospital, which until 2018 served as an emergency shelter for families experiencing homelessness after the hospital closed two decades ago. The District demolished D.C. General last year and opened smaller shelters throughout the city.

The city commissioned a developer to begin working on a “vibrant, mixed-use waterfront community” in 2008 but drastically scaled the project down during the recession.

Nearly a decade later in 2017 the city submitted a response to a request for proposals from Amazon, which was scouting locations for its second headquarters. D.C. included Reservation 13 as one of four possible sites for the online retailer’s sprawling offices, sparking outcry from local leaders.

That proposal did not go anywhere. And in November 2020, the District’s economic development office asked developers to submit plans for the site.

D.C. Councilmember Charles Allen, who represented the area that includes Reservation 13 before it was redistricted, said he is still learning about the plans but is encouraged by the progress.

“Today is a major step forward for a project that has stretched on for nearly two decades,” Allen said in a statement. “The winning bids commit to building more housing at multiple price points and for individuals and families at different stages of life.”