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Concept Design Approval for McMillan Parcel 2

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Lauded as a “high bar for architecture” in the District and an “elegant solution that reinforces the ground plain”, in a 6-1 vote the HPRB approved JAIR LYNCH’s proposed concept design for Parcel 2 during their April 30th meeting. Located between 1st Street and Half Street, the building provides a dynamic and efficient mixed-use program with 250 apartments, of which 25 will be affordable at 80% of AMI, and 15,000 sf of neighborhood serving retail with outdoor seating adjacent the North Service Court and Olmsted Walk. Collectively the design and program optimize the pedestrian experience and benefits to residents, while remaining a backdrop to the historic landmark. Designed by MV+A Architects, the building is imagined to provide a unique expression honoring the McMillan site as a historic landmark, while relating to the existing approved buildings. Drawing inspiration from themes articulated in the Master Plan and Design Guidelines to allow for a cohesive place, the design is unified and diverse, while complimentary to the existing historic resources and sense of place that is McMillan.

 

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McMillan Surplus and Disposition Resolution Receives Final Approval

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Capping off a series of recent approvals by the Zoning Commission and DC Council’s Government Operations and Economic Development Committees, the four resolutions granting the surplus and disposition of McMillan received unanimous passage during the December 2nd Legislative Meeting.  The first resolution, The McMillan Surplus Declaration and Approval Resolution of 2014 (PR20-1081), declares the McMillan Sand Filtration Site surplus property pursuant to DC Official Code §10-801, thereby allowing the sale of a portion of the site.  In separate actions, the Council unanimously passed Resolutions PR20-1082, PR20-1083 and PR20-1084 granting the sale at fair market value to VMP partners – EYA, JAIR LYNCH Development Partners and Trammell Crow Company.

 

Decommissioned in 1985 following construction of a modernized chemical filtration plant on the adjacent reservoir site, the District purchased the 25-acre site from the federal government in 1987 for redevelopment.  In the ensuing years, the District issued several unsuccessful solicitations with no viable proposals materializing due to the complexity of the site.  In March 2006, the District transferred jurisdiction of the property to the National Capital Revitalization Corporation (“NCRC”) and after a year-long solicitation and rigorous vetting process, NCRC selected Vision McMillan Partners (“VMP”) in July 2007 to develop the McMillan site.

 

Since 2007, over 200 meetings took place to engage the community on redevelopment plans for the site, including building designs, traffic management, storm water management, preservation and public amenities.  During this period, the master plan constantly evolved fulfilling community priorities and to accommodate DC Water’s Clean River Project.  Today’s development plan is the culmination of years of extraordinary engagement between the District, development team and community, brought to life by the design vision of talented planners and architects.  For more information on the history of the project, see our recently published timeline.

 

In the coming year, VMP will focus on final schematic design and permitting in anticipation of breaking ground in early 2016.  When complete, McMillan will lead the area’s transformation from a crossroads of diverse and unrelated land uses to a walkable mixed-use community supporting and enhancing the fabric of existing neighborhoods.  Balancing an architecturally cohesive and distinct new construction element with a carefully considered preservation program and adaptive re-use strategy, McMillan is the next great community in our city.

 

 

 

VMP Submits Revised Building Designs

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In preparation for our upcoming hearing on September 29th and in response to questions raised at our last hearing, VMP provided additional information to the Zoning Commission on Monday. During the last hearing, the Commission requested additional information on, or restudy of, the height of the Healthcare Facility; the loading facilities for the multifamily/grocery store; proposed traffic mitigation measures; and additional information on the timing and scope of public benefits and amenities.

As detailed in the images below, revisions to the PUD include a reduction of the western wing building height of the Medical Office Building from 130 feet to 115 feet. To maintain the architectural aesthetic of the overall design, the clearance height of the projecting bay on the north and south facades of the east wing was raised, thereby reducing the size of the eastern building as well. To further sustain the design intent, the building peripheral was also adapted on all sides of the western and eastern wings, which is visible in the second image. The net effect of these changes is an overall reduction of 25,000 square feet of gross floor area.

Revision 2   Revision 1

With regards to the multifamily/grocery, the street level design of Evarts Street was further refined to ensure a safe and attractive experience for pedestrians. One curb cut along the street was eliminated, while combining the trash and service space for the residential and grocery store uses. The two relatively small changes resulted in significant enhancements to the street level elevation. First, new flexible space is now available at the eastern end of the building with new windows spanning approximately 55 feet of the ground floor to further activate the streetscape along Evarts Street. Second, the loading bay opening is now divided into two sections separated by a column, producing a more articulated rhythm to the ground floor façade. Both changes are illustrated in the renderings below.

13085_082014_view_H6e_screen   13085_082014_view_H9_screen

The full submittal is available for download.

Coalition for Smarter Growth Highlights McMillan Transportation Study

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In his April 7th article “No carmageddon at McMillan, says a study,” Alex Posorske of the Coalition for Smarter Growth discuses our Transportation Study and implementation of transit improvements by the District.  Below is the full text of the article, which also appears on Greater Greater Washington.  We hope you’ll take a minute to read his article below, then click here for hearing dates and times to sign up to attend and show your support!

No carmageddon at McMillan, says a study

by Alex Posorske   •   April 7, 2014

Redeveloping DC’s McMillan Sand Filtration site will not choke neighborhoods in new traffic as long as the District follows through on transit plans, says a transportation study from the project team.


McMillan Sand Filtration Site. Photo by IntangibleArts on Flickr.

The most important element: better transit

The study says that it’s quite possible to avoid burdening busy roads in the surrounding neighborhoods, as long as planned improvements to transit actually happen. The report says is transit is actually necessary regardless of whether the project goes forward or the site remains fenced off.

In the short run, improving the Metrobus 80 bus line on North Capitol Street, which WMATA has already designated a “bus priority corridor,” will help the most. Other bus lines also need improvements that previous studies have identified.

The report also calls for building the proposed streetcar line along Michigan Avenue from Woodley Park to Brookland Metro. If these projects get delayed, he report recommends coordinated shuttles to the Brookland Metro station.

Along with some tweaks to surrounding roads, the traffic will be no worse with the McMillan project than if nothing gets built.

The report also calls for better bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, including completing the street grid through McMillan, multiple pedestrian access points in each building, ample bicycle storage, and space for three Capital Bikeshare stations.

Transit today around McMillan. Image from the report (p. 92).

 


Proposed transit. Image from the report (p. 97).

Pitfalls remain

While the study demonstrates the redevelopment can move forward without burdensome traffic impacts, it also points to potential problems that the project team will need to take care to address.

There needs to be ongoing pressure on the city and DDOT to move forward on transit. The city has moved slowly to upgrade transportation elsewhere, so project partners need to keep a close eye on progress.

Walking and bicycling conditions on and off the site also need more attention. Busy driveways on Michigan Avenue pose potential new conflict points for pedestrians and bicyclists. As the city reviews this project, it should take every chance to improve access and safety in the area. Also, while it’s great to leave space for three Capital Bikeshare stations, the development should pay for at least one.

The transportation plan specifically cites a proposed DC Circulator route from Brookland to Tenleytown, which covers the same ground as the current H buses. Instead of duplicating existing service, DC and Metro could work together to improve existing H bus service. In fact, Metro recently studied the H lines and made several recommendations to make service faster and more reliable through the area.

New traffic signals will help pedestrians and bicyclists, but the added turn lanes and driveways on Michigan Avenue and First Street NW could pose additional barriers and hazards.

The report also recommends incentives to reduce driving, lower vehicle parking ratios, and encourage transit use in later phases. Instead, these efforts should start now.

With a redevelopment as large and controversial as McMillan, it’s important to push for the right policy decisions. To voice your support for the right policy decisions regarding the McMillan redevelopment, head over to the Coalition for Smarter Growth to sign up to speak at an upcoming hearing.

McMillan: Fact Vs. Fiction

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GET THE FACTS!

ON REDEVELOPMENT OF THE McMILLAN SAND FILTRATION SITE

 

Fact v. Fiction

 

FICTION:  VISION MCMILLAN PARTNERS’ (VMP) PLANS ARE TOO DENSE AND DO NOT PROTECT OPEN SPACE THAT WAS WAS ONCE A PARK
FACTS:
  • VMP’s plan creates three parks, including an expansive 6.25-acre central park with a community center and pool. If you add in the South Service Court and other public gathering places, there will be a total of 12 acres of new, public, open and green space. Specifically, of the 3½ block site, the majority – almost 2 blocks – will be open and green space distributed throughout the site.
  •  World-renowned landscape architects Nelson Byrd Woltz will design the public green space. They are famous for their work with urban parks, have garnered over 80 national and regional awards and have been featured in many national and international publications. This community will soon have one of the largest and best-designed parks not only in the District, but also in the region and in the country.
  •  While there was once a small park on the federal side of the McMillan site (near the reservoir, on the west side of First Street), the McMillan land that VMP is redeveloping was never a park. Historically, it was a working industrial site with manholes dotting the landscape every few feet, providing access for workers to the underground cells. In order to deliver water to the city, the site was in use all day and night, cleaning and pumping water.
  •  When the McMillan Sand Filtration Plant first opened, Olmsted, Jr. was commissioned to design a walking path around it that would offer residents a view without disturbing the daily work of the site.  This Olmsted Walk is being restored as part of the plan and will surround the entire redevelopment, connecting the parks and open spaces, providing engaging access and offering tremendous views of both the site and surrounding landmarks.  Every step of the walk will be publicly accessible and maintained. Finally, the fences on the site will be down, and there will be a park for residents to use and enjoy.
FICTION:  VMP PLANS REPRESENT A NOTABLE DESTRUCTION OF THE HISTORIC FABRIC OF THE SITE. ALL OF THE CELLS WILL BE DEMOLISHED, ALONG WITH THE WALLS FRAMING THE COURTS AND MANY OF THE SILOS
FACTS:
  • The very foundation of the VMP plan is a $22 million preservation program that will create exemplary design compatible with this historic landmark.
  •  The majority of the above grade structures will be preserved.  Every silo, every regulator house, every washer and every basin will be preserved and the historic courts will be maintained with special pavers.
  •  While the plan includes repurposing of underground cells, it is not feasible to place grocery retail inside the chambers or use the underground cells for foundation. Not only have retailers expressed opposition to the idea of an underground location here from a sales perspective, but the cost of making the cells safe enough for this type of use alone would make rental rates prohibitive for community and retail uses alike.
  •  Two underground cells (each the size of a football field) will be preserved, and the current plan includes repurposing Cell 14 for retail use.  Cell 28 will be preserved to view through the community center, as part of the planned memorialization.   The park will incorporate many features of a “cell with the lid off” as way of further using the unique structures of the site.
  •  The VMP plan incorporates water as a theme related to the history of the site. For example, the historic fountain currently located on the federal site will be relocated to the site. There will be spray grounds for children, a 25-meter pool inside the community center, a bio pond for water management and water features incorporating the historic silos.  There will also be historical memorialization, including community-planned and executed self-tours.
  •  The Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB), in a unanimous vote found that VMP’s revised master plan “has been developed to retain important character-defining features of the site sufficient to convey its historic characteristics.“
FICTION:  NEW BUIDLINGS WILL BE LARGE AND DISPROPORTIONATE
FACTS:
  • Buildings will increase in size to the north west of the site, while eastern and southern sides of the plan will step down to work with the scale of existing neighborhoods.
  •  Two thirds of the total area of the site will be open and green space.  The remaining one third of the site will include local serving retail with a premium grocery store anchor, restaurants, community and cultural space. There will also be housing and offices on site.
  •  VMP’s plan will result in 3,200 new, permanent jobs, 3,000 construction jobs and generate $1.2 billion in new tax revenues. 35% of the local contracting opportunities are required to go to certified local, small and disadvantaged businesses and more than half of all jobs created must be offered to District residents.
FICTION:  THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION REVIEW BOARD REJECTED VMP PLANS
FACTS:
  • On October 31st, 2013, the HPRB voted unanimously that VMP’s revised master plan and design concepts satisfied their requirements.  Because they cannot vote on demolition, they referred the project to the Mayor’s Agent.  The project now moves forward to the Mayor’s Agent and Zoning Commission for additional approvals.
FICTION:  THERE WAS NO PROCESS FOR IDENTIFYING THE DEVELOPMENT TEAM. VMP WAS THE SOLE BIDDER ON MCMILLAN.
FACTS:
  • In 2006, the National Capital Revitalization Corporation (NCRC) issued an RFQ to select a development partner for the McMillan site. The selection process spanned several months and included several community meetings and community votes. The initial process was conducted by former Mayor Fenty, signed off on by MAG leaders and later evaluated and held up by former Mayor Gray.
  •  The eventual five bidders were judged on their land development capabilities, vertical development capabilities and financial capacity.  Community members attended tours of the vertical development projects for all five bidders. In July 2007, Vision McMillan Partners was selected from among the five bidders by the NCRC because of their collective experience with complex redevelopment projects that present a number of overlapping priorities such as historic preservation and open space.

McMillan Park

History

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Significance

The McMillan Slow Sand Filtration Plant is a unique historic landmark occupying a key location within the extended boundaries of the City of Washington as envisioned in the McMillan Commission’s Plan of 1901. It exemplifies the influence of the City Beautiful Movement on public works at the turn of the twentieth century.

The District-owned McMillan Site is a 25-acre parcel that was once part of the larger 92-acre McMillan Reservoir and Filtration Plant complex. The property is within the McMillan Park Reservoir Historic Landmark, which was listed in the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites in 1991 and the National Register of Historic Places in February 2013.

History_Overview   History_Horse

History

Constructed between 1902 and 1905, the McMillan Slow Sand Filtration Plant was the first large-scale water purification facility in Washington, DC.

Between 1907 and 1911, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. was retained to develop a landscape design to transform the appearance of the larger reservoir and filtration plant site, beautifying the grounds with plantings and pedestrian paths. Open space for active recreation was located adjacent to the reservoir, and a perimeter pedestrian path was located on the site of the filtration plant.  People often enjoyed leisure activities at the park and played on the grounds adjacent to the McMillan Reservoir, west of First Street, NW.

History_Diagram   Historic Uses

In these historic Terence Vincent Powderly Photographic Prints (ca. 1911-1921) from The American Catholic History Research Center and University Archives, residents are seen visiting the areas adjacent to the McMillan Fountain, which is east of the Filtration site.

Terence Vincent Powderly Photographic Prints, 1911-1921. The American Catholic History Research Center and University Archives.   Terence Vincent Powderly Photographic Prints, 1911-1921. The American Catholic History Research Center and University Archives.   Terence Vincent Powderly Photographic Prints, 1911-1921. The American Catholic History Research Center and University Archives.   Terence Vincent Powderly Photographic Prints, 1911-1921. The American Catholic History Research Center and University Archives.

In fact, McMillan Park may have been the first de-facto integrated park in Washington, DC. In these images (ca. 1930) from the Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Black opera singer Lillian Evanti and her son were photographed enjoying the park grounds.

Lillian Evanti (Lillian Evan Tibbs and son Thurlow Tibbs) at McMillan Park ca. 1930. Scurlock Studio Records, ca. 1905-1994, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.   Lillian Evanti (Lillian Evan Tibbs and son Thurlow Tibbs) at McMillan Park ca. 1930. Scurlock Studio Records, ca. 1905-1994, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.  Lillian Evanti (Lillian Evan Tibbs and son Thurlow Tibbs) at McMillan Park ca. 1930. Scurlock Studio Records, ca. 1905-1994, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.   Lillian Evanti (Lillian Evan Tibbs and son Thurlow Tibbs) at McMillan Park ca. 1930. Scurlock Studio Records, ca. 1905-1994, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

The park and the perimeter walk at the McMillan Site were enjoyed until the 1940s, when the site was permanently closed to the public during World War II. Operation of the filtration plant ended in 1986 and the federal government sold the property to the city for the purpose of redevelopment.

Next Life

Since the sale of the property, the McMillan Site has been the subject of numerous studies and development proposals. Community members, historians, landscape architects, urban planners, engineers, and developers have spent years studying the site and determining its existing conditions and future potential. In 2007, Vision McMillan Partners was selected to advise the District on the land development in exchange for exclusive rights to negotiate purchase of pads for vertical development. Today’s Master Plan is the result of that partnership.

–excerpted from Historic Preservation Report for the Proposed Redevelopment of the McMillan Slow Sand Filtration Plant. Prepared by EHT Traceries, Inc. July 28, 2010. Click here to view the report in its entirety.