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.
6.2.4 CSX1
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Location and Land Area The CSX/Red Line corridor forms the central axis of this area,
which is roughly bounded by Girard Street to the north, 10 th Street to the east, Brentwood Road
to the Southeast, T Street to the south, and 7 th Street to the west. It encompasses 167.42 acres,
representing 6.36 percent of the District’s industrial study areas.
Building Typologies Building typologies vary greatly within this area, from one-story brick and
concrete commercial buildings to multi-story industrial facilities, to very large modern big box
facilities.
General Site Condition The site conditions also vary greatly. Sites along the rail line are
generally ill-kept, while sites fronting on the larger streets tend to be cleaner and better
maintained. Sites on Reed Street, NE and on 5 th Street, NE are in poor condition, reflecting the
character of the streets themselves.
LAND USE
Land Use, General Character, and Function The northern portion of CSX1 houses
construction contractors, WMATA, industrial hardware stores, a community development
corporation, Old Towne Trolley Parking, and various other industrial users. However, 10 th
Street, NE, within the industrially-zoned land, is a well-established neighborhood residential
street, and several small houses of worship are sprinkled throughout the area. A large
wholesale store and supermarket are west of the railroad tracks, off of 4 th Street, SE between
Channing Street and Bryant Street.
The site south of Rhode Island Avenue is a mix of commercial and industrial. The eastern side
is home to Home Depot, Giant supermarket, and an accompanying sea of parking. There is
room for a third big box on this site. The United States Postal Service maintains a very large
mail facility here. To the west of the railroad are industrial users, including a concrete batching
plant, construction contractors, storage, auto salvage, taxi and auto uses, a local fire house, a
DCPS vehicle facility, and two United States Postal Service fleet facilities. Some of this land
falls in what appears to be the District’s only de facto industrial park, called the ABDO Industrial
Park.
Surrounding Land Use Context Active industrial land borders this site to the south and
southeast. To the east are residential communities and neighborhood streets, and to the west
lie a mix of uses including light commercial and moderate density residential.
Access and Circulation Access into and out of these areas is generally easy, with most
traffic utilizing Franklin Street, Rhode Island Avenue and Brentwood Road. Circulation ranges
from fair to good, as there are plenty of entrance and egress options with minimal friction points.
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