Today the
Anacostia Waterfront Corporation named two teams of development companies to "enter into exclusive negotiations" to develop mixed-use projects on two sites in the
ballpark district.
Forest City Washington (developers of
Capper/Carrollsburg and the
Southeast Federal Center) and
Western Development Corporation (Herbert Miller's company, responsible for Potomac Mills and many other projects) lead one team, and
Monument Realty LLC (which has purchased many parcels of land along N and Half Streets) and
The Cordish Company LLC (developers deeply involved in the Baltimore Harbor) lead the other. What does this mean? Not as much as it sounds right now--the Forest City/Western team will be negotiating with AWC to develop the 6 acres of excess land at the
WASA site on 1st Street, and Monument/Cordish will be negotiating for the 3 acres of WMATA parcels along Half Street. However, at this time AWC does not own either of these properties. The teams will be working together (coordinated by Forest City/Western) to create a Development Strategy for the entire
ballpark district, which is due to the AWC in draft by March 15, 2006 and in final version by April 15, 2006. The teams have committed to provide payment to the AWC through a combination of up-front payment, annual base rent, and participation in development profits.
UPDATE: Here is the
mayor's office press release.
UPDATE II: The
Post's web site now
has its story about the announcement.
UPDATE III: And here is
the AWC's press release.
UPDATE IV: Here is the
Baltimore Sun's
Cordish-centric story.