Ecodistrict plan underway in Washington D.C.

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Washington D.C. is looking at an expansive ecodistrict plan. 

The federal government’s big green plan for a 110-acre swath of Southwest D.C. would ramp up development by as much as 5 million square feet while shrinking the area’s impact on the environment.

The National Capital Planning Commission on Thursday released its public draft report on the SW Ecodistrict — its plan to transform the space between the National Mall and the Southwest waterfront. The authors say the plan could result in an additional 2.8 million square feet of office space, 1.8 million square feet of residential and hotel space, up to five sites for new cultural buildings or memorials, and 14.3 acres of new or improved parks and plazas. It would reconnect the street grid, create 17 new intersections and expand the rail corridor, while at the same time drastically reducing environmental impact.

Bounded by Independence Avenue to the north, Maine Avenue to the south, 12th Street to the west and 4th Street to the east, the Ecodistrict encompasses 15 blocks, the Southwest Freeway, L’Enfant Promenade, eight federal buildings, eight private buildings and two federal parks.

The report (Summary PDF) breaks the Ecodistrict into four sections: Independence Quarter, the 10th Street corridor and Banneker Park, the Maryland Avenue and 7th Street corridors, and the Southwest Freeway.

Read more in the Washington Business Journal.