DC’s pick for Reeves Center redevelopment will bring jazz, dance and Dave Chappelle

A rendering of Reeves CMC Ventures' proposed redevelopment of the Frank D. Reeves Municipal Building in the heart of the U Street corridor. (Courtesy Reeves CMC Ventures)

The District has selected the development team to tackle the redevelopment of the Frank D. Reeves Municipal Building, known as the Reeves Center, in the heart of the U Street corridor.

The award goes to a joint venture called Reeves CMC Ventures, which includes MRP Realty and Capri Investment Group, and CSG Urban Partners.

Its plans for the high profile property, at the intersection of 14th and U Streets in Northwest, include 100,000-square-feet of Class A office space, half of which will be the new headquarters for the NAACP, retail space, and mixed-income apartments.

NAACP is currently headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.

The project leans heavily into arts, with a new Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and School, a Washington Jazz Arts Institute, a Viva School of Dance, a restaurant from Food Network celebrity chef Carla Hall and a Dave Chappelle Comedy Club.

A hotel is also part of the mix.

“The project will continue to honor the legacy to icons such as Franklin D. Reeves and Mayor Marion Barry and preserve the legacy of Black Broadway,” Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office said in a statement, announcing the selection.

The District solicited proposals for the redevelopment in 2020, and narrowed it to two proposals in 2021. There is no formal timeline for when the redevelopment project will begin or be completed.

Jeff Clabaugh

Jeff Clabaugh has spent 20 years covering the Washington region's economy and financial markets for WTOP as part of a partnership with the Washington Business Journal, and officially joined the WTOP newsroom staff in January 2016.

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