The View From 1983:
The station impact area is generally an underutilized area containing vacant parcels, deteriorated industrial structures, old and some newer public housing apartments, and the 66-acre Washington Navy Yard and GSA Southeast Federal Center. Much of the Navy Yard appears to be marginally used including the Anacostia River wharfs and large, former weapons factory buildings. The principal arterial roadway in the area is M Street, while the Southeast Expressway (1-295) to the north. South Capitol Street on the west, and Anacostia River on the south isolate it from nearby Capitol Hill and the "New Southwest" to the west.
Several realtors active in this area who were interviewed for the case study view the area as having enormous future development potential. In addition to federal redevelopment of the Navy Yard and Southeast Federal Center, there are extensive areas to the north and south of M Street in the western part of the impact area that may be redeveloped. Those realtors attributed the prospect of a Metrorail station and the area's proximity to Capitol Hill and other Washington federal buildings as the major factors in the resurgence of development interest in the area.
They also felt that the areas of public housing to the north of M Street and east of 1st Street are strictly a public sector issue unless major housing program changes occur.
ADDITIONAL CASE STUDIES:
District of Columbia. Anacostia, Farragut North + Farragut West, Gallery Place + Metro Center, Navy Yard, Rhode Island Avenue, Takoma.
Maryland. Addison Road, Friendship Heights, New Carrollton, Rockville, Silver Spring.
Virginia. Ballston + Court House + Rosslyn, King Street, Huntington.
EXCERPTED FROM:
These observations were compiled in 1983 by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, a group of 300 area-politicians that currently self-identifies as “the hub for regional partnership.” Within the context of 1980’s Metro history, transit author Zachary Schrag has described the group as essentially “a forum for intergovernmental discussions,” without direct impact on policy.
Read the full text below. “Metrorail Station Area Planning, A Metrorail Before-and-After Study Report,” by Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. August, 1983
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