Earlier today, I reported that the D.C. Housing Authority was looking to redevelop its obsolete NoMa headquarters. Now I’ve obtained the developer solicitation released today by the Housing Authority, so I can provide more details.
The request for qualifications seeks responses from developers by Sept. 19. It calls for a mixed-use development on the site at 1133 North Capitol St. NE, with a residential component and office space for the Housing Authority, in addition to construction of a separate facility for the Housing Authority’s public services elsewhere in the city.
The requirements include 80,000 square feet of office space for the Housing Authority headquarters, a mixed-income residential development with at least one-third of the rental units set aside for low-income residents (defined as those making less than 80 percent of area median income—-which is not really all that low-income), a mixed-use development for the remainder of the parcel, and 46,000 square feet of space for the Housing Authority’s walk-up customer service functions in a “satellite office.”
The site is more than 100,000 square feet, and offers developers nearly 700,000 square feet of development potential—-or more than a million if the developer takes advantage of a bonus density option.
The NoMa neighborhood has become increasingly valuable in recent years, as offices and high-end residential buildings have gone up. The three-story Housing Authority building, with its parking lot and grassy field, is not making the most of the space—-nor is it meeting the Housing Authority’s needs.
“The existing building is inadequate for DCHA’s corporate and customer service requirements,” the RFQ reads. “Additionally, the area surrounding the property … has undergone significant revitalization in recent years, following the construction of a Metro Station at New York and Florida Avenues. Recent development has left the Site as one of the few significant properties untouched by the revitalization of the area. Therefore, DCHA believes the Site can be redeveloped to better suit its organizational purposes, better serve the neighborhood, and result in positive financial returns to the Authority.”
In addition to the new development on the North Capitol Street site and the satellite office, the Housing Authority seeks assistance with temporary staff relocation and “substantial payments” to the Housing Authority for the land it’s giving to the developer.
The Housing Authority expects to name a shortlist of qualified developers and issue a request for proposals to them in the fourth quarter of this year.
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