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.
There is little development pressure on this sub-area. It is a prime location for uses
such as information and communications, warehousing and transportation, and
heavy municipal operations. Appropriate zoning and land use policies should be
enacted to preserve this industrial area in use and character.
6.2.11 WATER STREET, SE AND 11TH STREET, SE
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Location and Land Area This sub-area is located on the west bank of the Anacostia River
east of 11 th Street, SE, south of I-295 and the Congressional Cemetery, and south of the
Baltimore & Washington Railroad Bridge. Pennsylvania Avenue, SE cuts the site in two pieces:
Water Street, SE is the northeastern portion and 11th Street, SE is the southwestern portion
(according to the labels on the map). In total, these sub-areas amount to 37.0 acres,
representing 1.41 percent of the District’s industrial study areas.
Building Typologies Buildings along the river appear to be marina and boating facilities,
including docks, and are low-rise. Several buildings in 11th Street, SE, on the Maritime Plaza
site, are medium-rise brick and concrete commercial buildings.
General Site Condition The site appears to be in good condition, but numerous open and
apparently vacant parking lots and large cylindrical tanks of an unknown nature contribute to a
decidedly “no man’s land” feel.
LAND USE
Land Use, General Character, and Function The area contains commercial, industrial,
and parking uses. Quite a large amount of the land is unimproved and vacant surface parking,
or is under / adjacent to freeways, bridges, and railway tracks. Marina buildings, on what is
currently National Park Service land, line the waterfront. At the north-west corner of the 11 th
Street area is a mixed use subarea, including some light industrial, warehouse, and open space
uses.
Surrounding Land Use Context I-295, the CSX railroad corridor, and the 11 th Street bridges
isolate these areas from surrounding land uses. The Navy Yard is beyond 11th Street to the
west, and to the north of I-295 lie moderate density residential areas, and open space in the
form of a Congressional cemetery.
Access and Circulation The area is neither particularly accessible nor inviting to the
public. O Street, SE and M Street, SE provide some access from the west, and an access road
to RFK Stadium provides very limited access from the north east.
- 136 -