That, at least, is the vision cast by developers for the emerging Buzzard Point, a neighborhood in which a plethora of construction projects for mixed-use buildings and aspirational condo and apartment living sits beside some of the District’s oldest public housing and the 233-year-old Army Fort Lesley J. McNair.
Despite its waterfront location, Buzzard Point’s story is largely one of unrealized potential. A 2014 history published by the Southwest Neighborhood Assembly describes a region first named in 1673 in honor of the turkey buzzards that gathered there. Despite hopes that Buzzard Point would become a hub of commercial activity, major investments never materialized. The Arsenal Penitentiary, a military prison, opened on the marshy point in 1831; in the 1930s, the imposing Buzzard Point power plant began operation.
While farther north, public housing complexes including Greenleaf Gardens, Syphax Gardens and James Creek are decades old, the peninsula east of Fort McNair has remained largely undeveloped. That all began to change, though, when Audi Field opened in 2018.
While some land parcels had been purchased before Audi field opened, the influx of foot traffic from game-goers provided a fresh opportunity to transform the neighborhood.
“That was, in my opinion, the true catalyst of getting dirt moving in the neighborhood,” Kristin Connall, vice president for development at the Akridge real estate company, said.
A group of developers headed by Akridge now wants to transform Buzzard Point into “the final jewel in the riverfront crown,” according to a sleek website they launched to promote the neighborhood. And with one condominium complex now open on the point and new commercial tenants opening their doors, the vision is beginning to come to life.
In addition to Peninsula 88, with roughly 110 condominium units, apartment buildings The Verge and Watermark advertise luxury rentals. Other housing developments, set to open in 2025, include The Stacks, a mixed-use retail and apartment complex that may include condos, and Vermeer, an apartment building with ground-level commercial spaces. While more developments are underway, the 2025 openings will mark the point that “there will really begin to be more of a community in Buzzard Point,” said Andrew Christopher, an Akridge developer.
As construction continues, the team behind the new Buzzard Point has also invested in beautification initiatives, including colored lighting to accent the three smokestacks from the power plant that are visible on the skyline “so it looks a little bit more like art than equipment,” Connall said. They also commissioned local artists Rose Jaffe and Kaliq Crosby to paint colorful murals inspired by the District on a 20-foot wall surrounding the substation.
Also in the works are efforts to redesign the waterfront Buzzard Point Park, including new connector trails, the team said.
Justin Paulhamus, a broker at D.C.’s 4J Real Estate who has shown and sold homes in Buzzard Point, said he continues to watch the neighborhood closely to see if it will make good on its promise of becoming a destination in the District. He noted that riverfront fusion restaurant The Point is already open, with new eateries coming later this year.
But, he said, he has concerns about the challenge of making the new commercial and dining spaces on the point easily accessible from adjacent riverfront neighborhoods with limited connecting routes and the challenge of navigating around Fort McNair.
“I think that the vision really is to integrate everything from the Wharf, all the way to kind of the waterfront Navy Yard,” Paulhamus said. “And I just don’t know if that’s possible.”
In the last year, according to real estate brokerage site Redfin, four homes sold, ranging from a 1940s-era two-bedroom attached home for $480,000 to an updated three-bedroom attached home for $700,000. Two adjacent two-bedroom townhouses are on the market for $700,000 and $750,000. At Peninsula 88, according to Redfin, units now for sale range from $565,000 for a one-bedroom to nearly $2 million for a two-bedroom penthouse.
How the new development will nest with the area’s centuries of history and established communities is a matter of open discussion. Fredrica Kramer, a 40-year resident of Southwest Washington and one of two Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners representing Buzzard Point, said she worked with developers…
Read More: Buzzard Point is emerging on D.C. waterfront