Ward 8, discuss Reunion Square August 2 — Anacostia Parks and Community Collaborative

Reunion Square is coming to historic Anacostia and there's a community meeting Thursday, August 2, 6:00-8:00 pm at the Department of Housing and Community Development (1800 Martin Luther King Jr Ave, SE, in the Housing Resource Center) to discuss plans and more.

The development project encompasses retail, residential, and office spaces on 9.5 acres. The first phase is 2235 Shannon Place, current home of several DC government agencies. According to project partner Four Points LLC,

A former warehouse in historic Anacostia, 2235 Shannon is being completely repurposed as a LEED Silver Class-A office building offering 80,000 sf with stunning Capitol and Monument views. This building is the first new offering in the planned Curtis/Four Points development at the Anacostia Metro. At completion the project will include as many as 500 multi-family units and over 1,100,000 sf of commercial office and neighborhood-serving retail.

2235 Shannon Pl, SE. image: Four Points LLC

Reactions so far

East of the River's Phil Hutinet interviews a number of residents and local activists, reporting their views on Reunion Square in Large-Scale Development Coming to Historic Anacostia. For example, Hutinet writes,

Neighbor Charles Wilson has concerns about the scale of the project in relation to the adjoining Anacostia Historic District that lies just across Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. While Wilson finds any new development in the neighborhood “exciting,” he believes that a six-story building is at odds with the historic charm of the neighborhood. “Historic Anacostia is a small town in the big city; the scale of the building [Reunion Square] complicates the charm that exists in the neighborhood,” explains Wilson.

Camille Bourgignon, another resident, echoes some of Wilson’s misgivings about the size and scale of the building, believing that the Reunion Square project might block Anacostia’s breathtaking vistas of the city. “The 65-foot building is the first of a series of 65 to 90-foot structures the developer hopes to build along MLK that would block the view and visually disconnect the neighborhood from the river and the rest of the city,” suggests Bourgignon.

Learn all the details of the project, including timing, deadlines, community wins, and more, at this community meeting co-sponsored by Anacostia Coordinating Council and Historic Anacostia Block Association, two of 28 APACC members.

Reunion square is comprised of eight lots in green between Railroad ave, SE and Martin Luther king, Jr. Ave, SE, including numbers 5 and 6 (blue). Image: Washington DC Economic Partnership.