The District plans to provide $35 million in financing for the redevelopment of the O Street Market in the Shaw neighborhood.
The 1-million-square-foot site, located two blocks north of the Convention Center, will have 87,000 square feet of retail space, including a new Giant food store, which replaces the existing Giant, a 560-space parking garage, a 200-room hotel, and about 150 condos, 100 units of affordable senior housing and 400 rental units.
“The O Street Market was once a great commercial center in the Shaw community and this project will breathe new life into this historic site,” said Mayor Adrian Fenty. “We’ve agreed to provide a financing package that will not only make this project feasible, but one that will bring real community benefits for Shaw residents and the city at large.”
Roadside Development, the developer of the $260 million project, acquired the property in 2001. Construction will begin in the fall of 2009, and the entire project will take a little over three years. The Giant, senior housing and residential portions will be finished first, said Richard Lake, principal with project developer Roadside Development.
By 2012, Lake hopes the area will have “shaken loose” of any negative economic conditions.
“I really am bullish about Shaw,” Lake said. There is already “beautiful housing” along the side streets, he said, and the O Street Market will be “catalytic” for the commercial sector. The neighborhood is also part of a larger redevelopment of that part of the city, with the U Street area and Chinatown already becoming established. “You really see it growing together,” said Lake.
The tax increment financing agreement, in addition to supplying funding support, calls for green design and opportunities for small retailers, local contractors and investors. It also designates the O Street Market project as part of the larger CityMarket at O development. The $35 million will go toward part of the initial construction expenses, and will be repaid from the tax revenue generated from the site.
The D.C. Council still has to approve the TIF package.
