Southwest Waterfront redevelopment, Water St. to be closed

[PotomacCyclist]

The Wharf is a $2 billion multi-building redevelopment of the Southwest Waterfront. (Not a security officer aboard the USS Enterprise.) Groundbreaking is scheduled for March 19. Construction could continue for the next 4 years. The new development will include apartments, offices, condos, hotels, a movie theater, a jazz club, a piano bar, a country-western bar and a 6,000-seat concert hall. The developer also wants to add LED lighting to the nearby Case Bridge (I-395).

Of particular note for cyclists is the removal of much or all of Water Street. The new buildings will be constructed up to Maine Ave. (A cycle track is planned for Maine Ave. See the next post below.)

One of the JDLand pictures shows the Kastles team tennis stadium torn down. That was only built in 2011. I think the new development includes another Kastles stadium, but I haven’t looked at the plans recently. It shouldn’t take that long to build a new stadium. The old one wasn’t that large (maybe 1,000 capacity?) and it was made of scaffolding and bench seating for the most part. I hope they improve the drainage system. When it rained during a match last summer, the entire pedestrian area got flooded, even though it was only a typical summer rain shower.

I’m not sure of the exact construction schedule, but expect Water Street to be closed at some point in the near future.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/southwest-waterfront-redevelopment-set-to-break-ground-but-not-without-concerns/2014/03/07/7572dd28-a53c-11e3-8466-d34c451760b9_story.html?hpid=z2

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-business/wp/2014/03/07/a-walking-tour-in-pictures-the-southwest-waterfront-on-the-eve-of-demolition/

According to the project website, there will be 1,750 bicycle parking spaces throughout the development:

http://www.thewharfdc.com/office/office_numbers.htm

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According to the following blog, there will be a 10-ft. wide “bike lane” and a 15-ft. wide sidewalk along Maine Ave., separated by a row of street trees. Sounds more like a cycle track to me. If so, good.

http://southwestquadrant.blogspot.com/p/southwest-waterfront-redevelopment.html

A wide Wharf Street will replace Water Street. A 20-ft. wide section will be reserved for seating. The middle 20 ft. will have limited vehicular travel and possibly a street car. The other 20 ft., closest to the shoreline, will be reserved for pedestrians.

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June/July 2015

MAINE AVENUE FISH MARKET PLAN

Hoffman-Madison Waterfront, the developer of The Wharf, also holds a 99-year lease on the Maine Avenue Fish Market. They have essentially combined the market with The Wharf in their planning.

They have just revealed plans for an extensive renewal of the fish market. I’m not sure if I heard about this before. I thought they might skip over the fish market, but it makes sense to do some work there too. The parking lots and access lanes are in poor shape and the plot looks run-down and just plain ugly. It’s the first thing that visitors see when traveling from the Tidal Basin to the future Wharf.

http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/breaking_ground/2015/07/here-s-the-plan-to-restore-d-c-s-historic-maine.html

In this video, the CEO of PN Hoffman (one of the partners in Hoffman-Madison Waterfront) says that they will add a rum distillery, a pavilion, outdoor seating and a large market hall with a beer/wine shop, a restaurant, and an Italian butcher. (I don’t know why they specify an Italian butcher, but that’s what the article says.) The fish market will be retained but spruced up a bit. The CEO says that they are working with the people who live aboard the boats in the nearby marina to address concerns that they may have.

The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts is looking at the proposal. They seem cautiously optimistic about the plans.

The article includes a slideshow of concept renderings, plus a site plan. The text of the plan document is too small to read clearly. You can open the image in a new tab to get a slightly larger display:

http://media.bizj.us/view/img/6382722/fish-market-site-plan.jpg

There is no specific mention of cycling accommodations. But given that the main Wharf development will include 1,750 bicycle parking spaces, I think they may include additional bike parking near the fish market where possible. Even if they don’t add many bike racks at the new fish market development, there should be plenty of bike racks at the nearby Wharf buildings, maybe within 50 feet.

They included cyclists in slides 4-6. They wouldn’t have done this if they were planning to keep bikes out of the new fish market area.

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I also noticed that they will bury the overhead utility lines.

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This is what the fish market looks like today:

https://goo.gl/maps/rOibF

Topic

[PotomacCyclist]

This is the construction timeline posted on the official website for the development:

http://www.thewharfdc.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ConstructionTimeline.pdf

It seems to indicate that everything would be complete by 2017. (However, since large construction projects almost never stay on schedule, I’m guessing summer 2018 or late 2018 as the completion date. A major setback could delay it further.)

But this blog post says that Phase I includes the section between 7th Street to the Fish Market. Phase II will include the section from 7th Street to the P Street Park.

http://www.swtlqtc.com/p/southwest-waterfront-redevelopment.html

Phase II wouldn’t be complete until 2021-2022 (or later).

If I’m reading this correctly, the new Wharf Street (replacing the former Water Street) would be open from the Fish Market to 7th Street in 2017 (or 2018).

[PotomacCyclist]

Slide 9 of the development site plan (dated Nov. 2014) shows the future bicycle routes (Slide 9 of 23).

http://www.thewharfdc.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/development-site-plan.pdf

The map includes the “proposed bike lane” along Maine Ave., from the Fish Market to M Street, but no clear indication if this has been finalized. Even if it has been approved, will the entire bike lane/bikeway be available in 2017 (2018)?

[lordofthemark]

Fish market worse than usual – the wide sidewalk in front, which I have been using, was closed for what appeared to be utility work. I was going to bravely take the lane on Maine, but a couple of lanes appeared closed and it all looked like a mess, so I rode through the fish market to the light to cross to the north side sidewalk, which was busy with cyclists and pedestrians.

[elbows]

Recognizing that I have a lot of Case Bridge in my future, what does anyone think is the possibility of getting curb cut-outs at L’Enfant Plaza? I have to go over the curb 3 times to get the Case. What if someone in a wheel chair wanted to get from Case to the fountain?

[lordofthemark]

@elbows 112804 wrote:

Recognizing that I have a lot of Case Bridge in my future, what does anyone think is the possibility of getting curb cut-outs at L’Enfant Plaza? I have to go over the curb 3 times to get the Case. What if someone in a wheel chair wanted to get from Case to the fountain?

I think that is supposed to all get completely redone as part of the “Southwest EcoDistrict” plan, but I expect that will take longer to get implemented than it will take to get our scrumptious new cycle track on Maine Avenue.

[dasgeh]

@elbows 112804 wrote:

Recognizing that I have a lot of Case Bridge in my future, what does anyone think is the possibility of getting curb cut-outs at L’Enfant Plaza? I have to go over the curb 3 times to get the Case. What if someone in a wheel chair wanted to get from Case to the fountain?

Certainly worth bringing up again. I know I’ve reported to 311. But you could do that, as well as alert the DC BAC and tweet at @bikepedantic and @DDOTDC. And WABA

[Brendan von Buckingham]

Still riding it every day. Stay tuned. They’re pouring a lot of cement on the Maine Ave lanes inbound. My bet is be next week the road surface will be good to 9th Street. That gets you to G and 4th.

[Steve O]

@Brendan von Buckingham 112845 wrote:

Still riding it every day. Stay tuned. They’re pouring a lot of cement on the Maine Ave lanes inbound. My bet is be next week the road surface will be good to 9th Street. That gets you to G and 4th.

If it’s done for Nationals opening day on Monday, that will make me happy. 😎

[PotomacCyclist]

@Steve O 112860 wrote:

If it’s done for Nationals opening day on Monday, that will make me happy. 😎

Correction: “Nationals opening day win on Monday”

EDIT: Or not.

[PotomacCyclist]

Minor update on construction progress: https://www.bisnow.com/archives/newsletter/local-real-estate/washington-dc/4594-down-at-the-wharf/

One of the co-developers of the Wharf project, Madison Marquette, has moved its own office to temporary space in the former Channel Inn (on the former Water Street). Crews are pounding in 30-35 piles a day at the construction site and hauling out as many truckloads of debris.

“Next benchmark: building pad delivery and the pouring of foundations and garage this summer, which will top out in a year.”

Based on my observations of all the large construction projects in Pentagon City/Crystal City in recent years, I’d guess that the street will remain closed to the public until close to the end of completion. So even though the foundations will be poured this summer, I wouldn’t expect to see the opening of the new Wharf Street (the new name for Water Street) this year.

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For tennis fans, I read that the Washington Kastles are having talks with the developers to move back to the SW Waterfront once the Wharf Phase I project is completed. The Kastles played in a temporary stadium for a couple years, then moved once construction began. There’s a proposal for a new outdoor stadium with some of the seating on a floating base in the Washington Channel.

[lordofthemark]

@PotomacCyclist 113193 wrote:

Minor update on construction progress: https://www.bisnow.com/archives/newsletter/local-real-estate/washington-dc/4594-down-at-the-wharf/

One of the co-developers of the Wharf project, Madison Marquette, has moved its own office to temporary space in the former Channel Inn (on the former Water Street). Crews are pounding in 30-35 piles a day at the construction site and hauling out as many truckloads of debris.

“Next benchmark: building pad delivery and the pouring of foundations and garage this summer, which will top out in a year.”

Based on my observations of all the large construction projects in Pentagon City/Crystal City in recent years, I’d guess that the street will remain closed to the public until close to the end of completion. So even though the foundations will be poured this summer, I wouldn’t expect to see the opening of the new Wharf Street (the new name for Water Street) this year.

---

For tennis fans, I read that the Washington Kastles are having talks with the developers to move back to the SW Waterfront once the Wharf Phase I project is completed. The Kastles played in a temporary stadium for a couple years, then moved once construction began. There’s a proposal for a new outdoor stadium with some of the seating on a floating base in the Washington Channel.

if you look at the plans http://www.thewharfdc.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/development-site-plan.pdf Wharf “Street” is designated for pedestrians with emergency vehicle access only. It is not designated for cyclists. Its not going to be a replacement for Water Street. Its going to be more of a woonerf, a wide place for pedestrians, with I guess the occasional authorized vehicle. If they allow biking at all, it will be close to sidewalk biking conditions. I suspect most cyclists (other than the ones who prefer just taking the general travel lane on Maine) will be awaiting the completion of the protected bike lane/cycle track.

[PotomacCyclist]

Yes, I forgot about that. But I believe they said there would be three separate zones on Wharf Street. One section would be prioritized for seating, another would be for walking (and perhaps very slow cycling) and another section would have limited car traffic (at very slow speeds).

[PotomacCyclist]

This is a quote from the link in the 2nd post of this thread:

“Water Street will be removed and replaced with Wharf Street. The promenade will be 60 feet wide broken into three equal sections and in most places will be at “elevation 13″ or 13 feet above the surface of the channel. The 20-foot section closest to buildings will be for outdoor seating. The middle 20-foot section will be Wharf Street, with limited vehicular access. The 20-foot section closest to the shoreline will be for pedestrians.”

[lordofthemark]

@PotomacCyclist 113206 wrote:

This is a quote from the link in the 2nd post of this thread:

“Water Street will be removed and replaced with Wharf Street. The promenade will be 60 feet wide broken into three equal sections and in most places will be at “elevation 13″ or 13 feet above the surface of the channel. The 20-foot section closest to buildings will be for outdoor seating. The middle 20-foot section will be Wharf Street, with limited vehicular access. The 20-foot section closest to the shoreline will be for pedestrians.”

Unless those limited vehicles show up fairly regularly, I am guessing that will end up a pedestrian space as well. I do not know the planned bike policy for it. They could let it be a comfortable bike space, or they could be hardasses and say bikes are vehicles (they are, of course) and so are off limits just as private non-emergency vehicles are off limits. While I doubt they would do that (because they are trying to promote themselves a bike friendly) I think the PBL next to Maine will be the route for through cyclists, and such access to Wharf street as there is will be used by cyclists going to and from The Wharf.

[PotomacCyclist]

The south side of Case Bridge will get blue accent lighting at the end of 2016. Phase I of The Wharf is expected to deliver in late summer 2017. (That probably means the end of 2017 or early 2018.)

http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/breaking_ground/2015/04/its-time-to-light-the-lights-case-bridge-to-be.html?page=all

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