The District has selected a pair of developers to lead the construction of a $108 million mixed-use project near the Minnesota Avenue Metro Station, Mayor Adrian Fenty announced Monday.
Bethesda-based Donatelli Development and D.C.-based Blue Skye Development will partner to build the first major transit-oriented development east of the Anacostia River, on a 4.8-acre District-owned parcel at the intersection of Minnesota Avenue and Benning Road Northeast.
“This team has a great track record for success in terms of delivering neighborhood-transforming development projects at Metro station sites across the city,” Fenty said in a news release. “This project is going to be at the center of an incredible revitalization of Downtown Ward 7 and the Minnesota Avenue and Benning Road corridors.”
The development team will plan, finance, build and operate the project on 211,151 square feet. The proposal includes 435 residential units — 370 aimed at “working families” — 40,000 square feet of retail, a 5,000-square-foot retail incubator for Ward 7 businesses, 2,500 square feet of community space, and a police department work station.
Donatelli continues to put its stamp on transit-oriented development across the District, having already built at the U Street/Cardozo, Columbia Heights and Georgia Avenue/Petworth Metro stations. Blue Skye, meanwhile, has invested more than $20 million in several Ward 7 development projects.
The Minnesota Avenue station is one of the least used in Washington.
The Donatelli/Blue Skye project was chosen over that of CityInterests Inc., which submitted a pair of proposals, dubbed CityEast, for the site.
CityInterests is developing other parcels in the immediate area, which won the company some community backing, but its plan called for D.C. government subsidies, while Donatelli/Blue Skye sought no public funding and required no zoning approvals.
