Developer Brookfield Properties has released more details about its planned Phase II expansion of The Yards, the mixed-use community along the Capitol Riverfront.
Phase II will include a total of 3.4 million square feet of new development in 10 additional buildings with more office, residential, restaurant and retail space as well as more public park space.
Once completed, it will make The Yards the largest waterfront development in the Washington, D.C., region, with a total of 48 acres, including: six waterfront acres; 2 million square feet of office space; 400,000 square feet of retail and restaurants; 3,400 residential units, including apartments and condos; and 7.5 acres of public parks.
The Phase II additions include 1,260 residences and 1.8 million square feet of office space, some of it waterfront. All Phase II buildings will be within a three-minute walk to the river.
One of the key additions to The Yards development will be Yards Place, a cobblestone, curbless, pedestrian-friendly street that will connect the Navy Yard Metro to the Anacostia River, the only direct walkable connection from a Metro stop to a D.C.-area waterfront, according to Brookfield Properties.
“It is going to be very unique to D.C. I compare it, in terms of how it will look and feel, to New York City’s High Line in the sense that it will be a very highly landscaped, highly curated, very comfortable-feeling space that people will flock to,” said Toby Millman, senior vice president of development for Brookfield Properties.
“Not only for the shopping and activities along the street, but also because of the look and feel of the experience as you walk down the street,” he said.
Phase II development will be in an area that is currently a large swath of vacant land and parking lots bounded by New Jersey Avenue SE and First Street SE. Phase II, though, will not happen overnight: Depending on market conditions, Brookfield Properties expects to complete the final build out of The Yards in 10 years.
Brookfield Properties has set a goal of all new buildings achieving LEED Gold certification. Architects for the various additions include Selldorf, SHoP, Leong Leong, Concrete, Studios and Scape.
Phase II of The Yards has been in planning for awhile. It officially got its jump-start with the groundbreaking of a 300,000-square-foot office building at 1250 New Jersey Ave. SE a year ago. Chemonics International, a company that manages projects in developing countries, has signed a lease for the building and will move 1,200 employees to its new headquarters when completed later this year.
Chemonics is currently the only signed tenant for Phase II construction.
Phase I of The Yards was completed in 2010. Brookfield Properties acquired The Yards in late-2018.
