
As the city's FY16 funding process reaches its crunch time, the
council late this afternoon released its amended budget.
And deep in the multitude of
documents and
words is the "11th Street Bridge Park Funding Limitations Act of 2015," which states that "no funds allocated for the Park may be awarded or disbursed for purposes of construction until at least 50 percent of the total projected construction costs of the project have been raised from private donors."
The act also "prohibits the use of District funds for the purpose of operations or maintenance" of the planned park.
The piers left from the now-demolished downstream
11th Street Bridge span would be used to build
this park, running from just east of the Navy Yard over to Anacostia Park, has a $40 million price tag attached to it, according to
published reports.
The District has
previously committed to providing $14.5 million of the $25 million construction costs, and a
fundraising campaign is underway to fund both the $10.5 million construction funding gap and the estimated $15 million in operations funding.
The council will be voting on its proposed budget tomorrow, Tuesday, May 27.