*goodlinks: the growing focus

the S. Capitol Street Bridge from Poplar Point

Consolidation for Homeland Security, Headaches for Preservationists, via New York Times
most in River East are excited about the upcoming move-in of 14,000 employees to our hood, but others still fear the campus' character will be lost

Alexander calls on all residents to protect the environment, by Greater Greater Washington
councilwoman Yvette Alexander (Ward 7) went on NPR's Kojo Nnamdi show to denounce the claims that the Anacostia bag bill is harmful to low-income residents: "No matter what your income ...it does not excuse you from being environmentally conscious and responsible."

Anacostia Streetcar Plan Runs Into Delays, via Washington Post
in an annoying but not-surprising twist, the Anacostia streetcar is now delayed until 2012. since we're delaying it, howabout running it up MLK to St. E's, then down Malcolm X to the maintenance facility?

DC Unwanted, via the Examiner
so I guess stadiums aren't the pay-anything-to-get-one economic revitalizers everyone used to clamor for. PG County has joined DC (remember Poplar Point?) in dropping plans for a new stadium-based development for MLS's most successful soccer franchise

sort of stadium news

- See Update Below -

The CityPaper has the scoop, but here is the abstract:

- more than a dozen people were laid off last week from the Washington offices of MacFarlane Partners (developer / owner of DC United)

- [among those laid off] is Linda Mercado Greene, the former top aide to Marion Barry who became MacFarlane’s VP for public affairs and community relations in the summer of 2006

Of course, this does not necessarilly mean that DC won't get the stadium. Does make you wonder why people are losing their jobs, though, as well as what it means for a new stadium anywhere in the region. The company does not have a separate office in Maryland.

---

UPDATE, 7:53 P.M.: The positions being cut, 14 of them, were not in the D.C. office only, Chase says, but also included the New York and San Francisco offices. As for Greene, she says, MacFarlane “no longer has a need for the role that Linda Greene was filling in D.C.,” which included responsibility for securing support for the soccer stadium. But Chase says that Greene has been offered a position with D.C. United itself “that would allow her to continue to focus on the team’s stadium in DC and Prince George’s County.”

Also, more from the Washington Business Journal

no soccer legislation

Just a quick update to say that no legislation was introduced yesterday regarding a soccer stadium at Poplar Point, despite rumors that this would happen June 3rd.

Getting the Facts Straight

“…the city has no business paying for such a facility or grabbing riverfront parkland to build it.”

- Marc Fisher, A Stadium Plan That Won't Pay Off

Such flagrant misinformation should get a little more editing before being published. Let’s set the record straight:

Poplar Point is not parkland. It is vacant land, with a few buildings on it currently used by the National Park Service. At present, Poplar Point is planned to be developed by Clark Realty Capital, who will build approximately 6.3 million square feet on 110 acres.

So, despite what Washington Post columnist Marc Fisher argues in his latest article, this is not an issue of parkland v. stadium. The land will be developed regardless of whether a stadium is part of the plan or not.

The city is not necessarilly proposing to pay for the stadium itself. Specifically, it is proposing a cap of $150 million (DC United wants them to pay $225) provided towards the stadium development, most if not all would go towards infrastructure (roads, sewers, etc). For now, the legislation had not yet been made public, so any details on what the money would go for is pure speculation. Regardless of what is built, the city will end up paying infrastructure costs: there are costs associated with developing land that has never been built on.

I used to be pretty ambivalent about the stadium issue, but now I see it as a crucial investment in our part of town. The stadium proposal has changed dramatically since I originally wrote about my position on the topic: at that point we were talking about MacFarlane's desire to have sole development rights to Poplar Point, whereas now the stadium is (potentially) part of Clark's more integrative masterplan. If built, the stadium will be part of a major redevelopment that will include offices, townhouses, condos, apartments, retail, cultural space, deck over 295, and a 70-acre park.

And honestly, Anacostia could use some face-painted and passionate United / Freedom / Bayhawks fans walking its streets.

Click Here for Clark's presentation on Poplar Point

more on the stadium

turns out that the DC Council will be voting early next week on whether to allow $150 million of the excess tax revenue from the ballpark to go towards the Poplar Point soccer stadium.

pretty interesting that, after months of silence on the topic, that within hours of my post yesterday afternoon an announcement was finally made.

sources: WJLA, Washington Post, WTOP

Stadium Announcement Soon

*Update*

According to Bruce Johnson's blog, the DC Council is supposed to introduce and vote on a bill next Tuesday that would bring a soccer-specific stadium to Poplar Point.

Details of the bill are still being worked out; but sources say the measure would see developer Victor Macfarlane own the stadium. One Councilman under questioning from this reporter said Macfarlane would be expected to build much of the stadium with his own financing.

Looks like this is really starting to happen. (thanks for the link, rob)

- - -

As vague as both of these sources stay on the issue, it seems that an announcement about a DC United stadium at Poplar Point is expected soon. With its integration into the larger Poplar Point context, this is a project that would do quite a lot to bring people and vitality into the neighborhood.

Mayor Fenty on Comcast Sportsnet:


DC United President Kevin Payne on Forbes.com: