D evelopment is changing the face of our nation’s capital with a building boom unparalleled in the city’s history. Despite recent economic downturns and a slowing real estate sales market, development in the District is proceeding at an unprecedented pace with new and revitalized neighborhoods emerging downtown, in Mt. Vernon Square, east of the Anacostia and elsewhere. Whether in new home construction, reuse and renovation of historic edifi ces, or mixed-use developments on otherwise fallow land, from multi-family to townhomes to mansions and multi-family complexes, Washington, D.C., is experiencing a housing renaissance for every lifestyle. The largest and perhaps most exciting development project to break ground last year was The Yards at New Jersey Avenue and M Street, S.E., where 42 acres of property along the Anacostia River will become a vibrant new world

class waterfront destination. In what was once the annex to the Washington Navy Yard, developers Forest City Washington, Inc. are expected to invest some $1.7 billion to convert historic industrial structures and construct new buildings to create 2,800 residential units, 1.8 million square feet of offi ce space, and more than 300,000 square feet of shops and restaurants all within blocks of the Washington Nationals’ new baseball stadium, due to open this Spring. Also planned are fi ve and a half acres of parkland boasting a terraced waterfront performance venue, a public marina, and a bike path that will connect The Yards to Potomac riverfront locations as far west as Georgetown. With a reputation for redeveloping derelict neighborhoods and refurbishing underused buildings, Forest City Washington, in partnership with PN Hoffman, already has plans to renovate and convert a building used to produce ordnance for ships during World War II into a 250-unit cosmopolitan-style

condominium, to be called Factory 202. PN Hoffman has also been awarded a major role in the revitalization of the Southwest waterfront, which has lacked any widespread redevelopment since the concrete laden urban renewal of the1960’s. Here, PN Hoffman and Baltimore’s Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse plan to invest $900 million to improve the riverfront landscape and turn it into a more pedestrianfriendly, park-like setting with an inviting promenade, perhaps an aquarium or maritime museum, and about 770 condos and apartments, 675 hotel rooms, signifi cant Class A offi ce space, and 280,000 square feet of retail space. To capitalize on the best of what nature has to offer, both The Yards and the Southwest waterfront projects are participating in the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Development (LEED) Neighborhood Pilot Program which incorporates the principles of sustainable growth, urbanism,