The latest attempt at developing the Anacostia Riverfront property known as Hill East took a small step forward last night, with a committee of the local ANC moving to support the lone proposal to turn the property into a mixed-use development. The Capitol Hill Corner blog reports that ANC 6B’s planning and zoning committee “agreed in principle” last night to support the proposal from Donatelli Development and Blue Skye Development and made public a draft letter to Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Victor Hoskins.

After several abortive efforts over the years to develop the property, the city attracted just one response to its solicitation for development proposals for the site by the January deadline, from Donatelli and Blue Skye. The plan calls for two residential buildings, totaling 353 rental units and with more than 30 percent affordable units, near the Stadium-Armory Metro station, with ground-floor retail along 19th Street SE and underground parking.

The proposal conforms to the zoning regulations and will therefore not require approval by the city’s zoning authorities. But because the site is city-owned land, DMPED gets to choose a developer for the project—-or, when there’s only one response, whether the developer will be permitted to move forward. The ANC gets to weigh in on this decision, though the city doesn’t always follow the ANC’s advice, as we saw with Shaw’s Parcel 42. The full ANC will consider the committee recommendations and vote on whether to support the proposal at its meeting next Tuesday.

Rendering from Donatelli Development