D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 10-A, § 1617
1617.1 The L'Enfant Plaza/Near Southwest/Maryland Avenue SW Policy Focus Area is bounded by 15th Street NW on the west, 2nd Street NW on the East, Independence Avenue on the north, and I-395 on the south. The area includes a mix of private commercial development and numerous federal office buildings, including the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Energy, Education, and Housing and Urban Development. Recently, L'Enfant Plaza has experienced an exciting renewal of interest from non-federal entities looking to relocate headquarters in a prestigious and central area of the nation's capital, including the International Spy Museum, the Urban Land Institute, and WMATA. These three developments alone will add thousands of new employees and attract new visitors to the area. With a workforce of about 65,000 employees, Near Southwest is one of the major employment hubs of Central Washington.
1617.2 Near Southwest reflects the Modernist design philosophies of the 1950s and 1960s. Although some of its buildings were constructed in the late 1930s, the area's character was largely defined by the urban renewal projects of the post-war era. Many of its mid-century buildings are set back from the street by vast plazas and are accessed by raised roadways like the 10th Street SW promenade. The vision for the area as a coherent set of futuristic buildings was never realized, and today the area is disconnected.
1617.3 In addition, Near Southwest's former role as a federal industrial district is evident in a number of places. Elevated railroad tracks bisect the area, and there are still active heating plants, warehouses, and even quasi-manufacturing activities like the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. Navigating the area on foot can be confusing, and the relationships between buildings, streets, and the area's larger context is often unclear.
1617.4 In 2012, the District adopted the Maryland Avenue Southwest Small Area Plan. The plan envisions the transformation of the area to a mixed-use neighborhood with streets redesigned to improve connectivity and walkability. Economic trends suggest the area can support at least 1,000 new units of housing, as well as additional hotel, retail, and visitor-oriented uses. Maryland Avenue SW is envisioned as the heart of this reimagined district, with a deck atop the rail tracks and pedestrian-oriented retail uses along the ground floor of new mixed-use buildings facing the avenue. Attracting development to the area will require a range of livability improvements, including new streetscapes and public realm enhancements, better connections to the L'Enfant Plaza Metro station, and Virginia Rail Expressway commuter rail, as well as new and restored parks and open spaces.
1617.5 Some of Near Southwest's private complexes, including the Portals and L'Enfant Plaza, are zoned in a way that allows additional development on their plazas and open spaces. Design measures, such as the zoning changes in 2016 that emphasized the preservation and re-opening of L'Enfant's 1791 plan for the City of Washington street rights-of-way, are needed to guide this development so that it can help resolve the harsh pedestrian conditions within the area and humanize the streetscape. Streetscape improvements are also needed to better connect Southwest Washington with the Southwest Waterfront (via the Banneker Overlook at the end of 10th Street SW) and the National Mall. Planning for the area should be done collaboratively with NCPC, which has jurisdiction over much of this area. NCPC's SW Ecodistrict Plan Addendum and Programmatic Design Concept for 10th Street SW and Banneker Circle SW contain extensive recommendations for improving circulation and streetscape in this area, while also addressing security concerns for major federal tenants. In addition, the area is addressed by NCPC's Monumental Core Framework Plan.
1617.6 Policy CW-2.7.1: Enhancing Near Southwest
Work collaboratively with NCPC redevelop SW Federal Center as a mixed-use community anchored with national civic and cultural uses. Plans for the area should identify streetscape and signage improvements, pedestrian circulation changes, measures to mitigate the scale of the area's monolithic buildings, guidelines for new (or replacement) buildings within the area, and the potential for new residential uses if federal properties transfer from federal use.
1617.7 Policy CW-2.7.2: Independence Avenue SW
Support redevelopment opportunities along Independence Avenue SW while respecting the civic qualities of adjacent cultural institutions and views along the south side of the National Mall. Buildings located along Independence Avenue within the Monumental Core should complement the character of Smithsonian buildings and minimize visual impacts from the National Mall.
1617.8 Policy CW-2.7.3: 10th Street Promenade and Banneker Overlook
Enhance and activate 10th Street SW as a major point of access between the National Mall, L'Enfant Plaza, the Southwest Waterfront, and the new Wharf development. Encourage a nationally significant cultural attraction at Banneker Overlook that provides a clear connection across Southwest quadrant, the Washington Channel, and East Potomac Park. The recent addition of the International Spy Museum—with its exciting and colorful design and its promise to diversify the visitors of L'Enfant Plaza beyond workers and to lure tourists south of the National Mall—is a great first step in the quest to create a more vibrant neighborhood. Enhance on-street vibrancy with permanent and temporary art, cultural programming, appropriate lighting, and beautiful landscaping. To create more street vibrancy, work with future developments to bring food courts, restaurants, and retail on the street level of new and renovated buildings rather
than creating more underground attractions. Encourage civic destinations and ground level uses at the Maryland Avenue SW intersection. Encourage vertical connections between upper and lower elevations of 10th Street SW, such as at D Street SW. Encourage motor coach parking under 10th Street SW.
1617.9
Support Maryland Avenue SW redevelopment as an urban boulevard and L'Enfant Metro station expansion for intermodal transit, allowing Maryland Avenue SW to be partially restored as a connecting diagonal street. Develop Maryland Avenue SW as an important corridor that respects L'Enfant's 1791 plan for the City of Washington's intent for reciprocal views between historic landmarks and pedestrian movement. The Maryland Avenue Southwest Small Area Plan provided detailed guidance for the reconstruction of Maryland Avenue as a 160-foot-wide boulevard and for improvements to 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th Streets SW (and underpasses) along D, 4th, 6th, and 7th Streets SW. The reconstructed streets should reconnect the grid at grade with Maryland Avenue where possible. New buildings should be sited to add definition to the street, framing its edges and highlighting the view to the U.S. Capitol. The plan also calls for optimization of building height, recognizing the area's urban context, central location, and proximity to transit.
1617.10
Establish a mix of uses that will ultimately include at least 1,000 new residential units as federal properties are redeveloped in the future. Support a mix of residential, commercial, and cultural development throughout the area to achieve a more balanced mix of uses to complement the office presence. Encourage ground floor retail uses, with a goal of up to 100,000 square feet of retail at full build-out to encourage lively street-level activity.
1617.11
Initiate physical improvements to the Maryland Avenue SW streetscape and transform Reservation 13 into a dynamic urban park. Provide attractive settings in the public realm to help activate and beautify the neighborhood.
1617.12
Capitalize on the presence of multiple modes of transportation by emphasizing alternatives to single-occupancy driving, improving transit stations, and focusing activity and future development around transit stops.
1617.13
Support the development of 7th Street SW as a retail street, gateway to and from the National Mall, and intermodal transit connection.
1617.14 Policy CW-2.7.9: 12th Street Expressway and SW Freeway
Support development over 12th Street Expressway and SW Freeway. Encourage the lidding of expressways and freeways to reconnect street grids and encourage mixed-use infill development.1617.15 Policy CW-2.7.10: Virginia Avenue SW and C Street SW
Restore Virginia Avenue SW and C Street SW between 9th and 12th Streets SW, to achieve the L'Enfant's 1791 plan for the City of Washington's intent for pedestrian and vehicular movement and reciprocal views between historic landmarks.1617.16 Policy CW-2.7.11: Redevelopment of Maryland Avenue SW and Surrounding Lands
Encourage residential uses and neighborhood livability standards for the creation of a new mixed-use neighborhood as part of any redevelopment of the Maryland Avenue SW area. Provide for the reconstruction of Maryland Avenue SW, including cultural use and public space, as appropriate.1617.17 Action CW-2.7.A: Design Planning for Near Southwest
Work collaboratively with NCPC support the transformation of this area into a mixed-use, livable new community through rezoning and design guidelines. Support new high-density mixed-use development, highly sustainable infrastructure, use of small energy production plants to produce energy needs for local buildings, and other best management practices found in the SW Ecodistrict Plan.1617.18 Action CW-2.7.B: Residential Uses in Near Southwest
Use the innovative zoning in ZR16, as appropriate, to link development potential to identified infrastructure improvements, and coordinate with NCPC to identify infrastructure compatible with local and federal planning goals for the area. Innovative zoning may include establishing a direct correlation between maximum zoning entitlements and infrastructure construction and requiring minimum residential densities.1617.19 Action CW-2.7.C: Activating L'Enfant Plaza
In the future, as new development comes in and old buildings are renovated, work with federal partners and private developers to create buildings that contribute to street activation and vibrancy. Refrain from supporting new underground attractions and food courts, and instead, encourage new developments to create retail and restaurant space on the street level. Retrofit streets with new landscapes, attractive lighting, public art, temporary activations, and cultural programming. Key to creating more vibrancy will be the extent to which local stakeholders will
be able to improve connectivity to and from new and old attractions and neighborhoods around L'Enfant Plaza, including the planned renovation of the South Mall campus, the Wharf, and the Southwest Waterfront neighborhood, which is also experiencing significant growth and redevelopment.
SOURCE: District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984, effective April 10, 1984 (D.C. Law 5-76; 31 DCR 1049 (March 9, 1984)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984 Land Use Element Amendment Act of 1984, effective March 16, 1985 (D.C. Law 5-187; 32 DCR 873 (February 15, 1985)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1989, effective May 23, 1990 (D.C. Law 8-129; 37 DCR 55 (January 5, 1990)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1989 NCPC-Recommended Amendments, and Closing of Public Alleys in Square 669, S.O. 88-452, Act of 1990, effective May 23, 1990 (D.C. Law 8-132; 37 DCR 2213 (April 6, 1990)); as amended by District Government Land Use Temporary Amendment Act of 1994, effective October 1, 1994 (D.C. Law 10-190; 41 DCR 5360 (August 12, 1994)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1994, effective October 6, 1994 (D.C. Law 10-193; 41 DCR 5536 (August 19, 1994)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984 Land Use Amendment Act of 1994, effective March 21, 1995 (D.C. Law 10-235; 42 DCR 30 (January 6, 1995)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 1996, effective April 18, 1996 (D.C. Law 11-110; 43 DCR 530 (February 9, 1996)); as amended by Second Technical Amendments Act of 1996, effective April 9, 1997 (D.C. Law 11-255; 44 DCR 1271 (March 7, 1997)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 1998, effective April 27, 1999 (D.C. Law 12-275; 46 DCR 1441 (February 19, 1999)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 1999, effective April 12, 2000 (D.C. Law 13-91; 47 DCR 520 (January 28, 2000)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2006, effective March 8, 2007 (D.C. Law 16-300; 54 DCR 924 (February 2, 2007)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 2008, effective March 25, 2009 (D.C. Law 17-353; 56 DCR 1117 (February 6, 2009)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2010, effective April 8, 2011 (D.C. Law 18-361; 58 DCR 908 (February 4, 2011)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2021, effective August 21, 2021 (D.C. Law 24-20; 68 DCR 006918 (July 16, 2021)).