INDUSTRIAL LAND IN A POST-INDUSTRIAL CITY District of ...

District of Columbia Industrial Areas Study DC Office of Planning
Prepared by Phillips Preiss Shapiro Associates, Inc.
public uses to the east and west. Analysis of the underlying ownership patterns of this site
suggest that it would be unlikely that District government – much less private sector users –
would be able to acquire it, and its current tenancy patterns suggest that it is significantly under
performing and in fact contributing to the blighted image of the New York Avenue gateway. As it
is trending toward redevelopment, a change of use is not unreasonable.
Area 10 contains a strip of land along New York Avenue and a large triangular site south of
New York Avenue, west of Bladensburg Road and east of Montana Avenue. Reuse of the
narrow band of land between the CSX/Amtrak railroad and New York Avenue for strip retail is
advisable, so long as roadway improvements such as shared access / egress are made. This
corridor, a gateway into the District, could accommodate a good mix of convenience retail and
office uses, and is a strategic area for economic development. This area is now primarily C-M-1
and M zoning.
Area 11, part of the 11 th Street SE area, includes parcels that have received approvals, prior to
this Study’s completion, for office and hotel development – uses currently permitted in the M
zone, but which may not be permitted if the M zone is amended as recommended by this report.
Other portions of this area are currently within a residential context and are largely within the
Capitol Hill Historic District, so a land use change from industrial use to a mixed use district
would be appropriate. However, other portions of this area under and adjacent to the highway
and along the railway tracks should be considered for public sector use (see Section 4.4).
East of the Anacostia, all of CSX2, including Anacostia/Fairlawn and Kennilworth, can be
rezoned to a mixed-use designation (Area 12). At the northeastern end, in Kennilworth,
residential and commercial development already surrounds the Metro stations of Deanwood and
Minnesota. Anacostia/Fairlawn, meanwhile, is underutilized. Meaningful PDR development has
not yet taken place along this corridor and is probably not possible, most likely due to its very
small and narrow parcels hugging the rail line and I-295. Kennilworth and much of Anacostia
Fairlawn are zoned C-M-1. Other portions of Anacostia Fairlawn are zoned GOV, C-M-1, R-5-A,
and C-2-A.
Area 13 (Scattered Site 5) is a scrap yard located in the middle of a residential area, and near
Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue, a designated “Great Street.” Regardless of whether this is a
viable business, it is an inappropriate use to be located in the middle of a residential area;
rezoning for residential use would help facilitate its relocation and redevelopment.
4.5.2 ZONING STRATEGIES
As we noted above, there are two sub-strategies under the “change of use” recommendation—
to either zone away PDR uses or to permit residential development and let the real estate
market take its course.
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