Section 10-A2111. NNW-2.1 SHAW/CONVENTION CENTER AREA

 

2111.1The Shaw/Convention Center Area is bounded by Massachusetts Avenue and New York Avenue on the south, 12th Street and Vermont Avenue on the west, U Street and Florida Avenue on the north, and New Jersey Avenue on the east. This area has a long history as an economically and ethnically diverse residential neighborhood. An urban renewal plan for the area was adopted in 1969 in response to the 1968 riots and poor housing conditions in much of the area. The urban renewal plan took a more incremental approach than was taken in Southwest, selectively clearing alley dwellings and substandard housing rather than calling for wholesale clearance. As a result, the area contains a mix of publicly assisted housing complexes from the 1970s and older row houses from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 2111.1

 

2111.2Recent market trends in the District, as well as the opening of the Washington Convention Center in 2004, have increased development pressure on the neighborhood. This has brought the opportunity to revitalize the struggling business districts along 7th, 9th, and 11th Streets, but it has also brought the threat of displacement for long-time low-income residents. Two historic districts were created in the area in 1999 to control growth and mitigate the effects of development sparked by the new convention center in the center of this neighborhood. 2111.2

 

2111.3In 2005, the Office of Planning completed the Convention Center Area Strategic Development Plan to guide development, revitalization, and conservation in this area. The Plan identified several issues, including the need to protect affordable housing, generate new quality housing, revitalize local businesses, improve sidewalks and public space, upgrade parks and public facilities, provide stronger design controls, and expand the Shaw Historic District. Nearly one-fifth of the housing units in the study area receive some form of public subsidy and are considered affordable. Many are part of the federal Section 8 program and are vulnerable to conversion to market rate rents in the next five to ten years. A recent market study of the area indicates that residents can support up to 600,000 square feet of commercial space, but until 2005 there was no strategy for where it should be located or how it might be attracted. 2111.3

 

2111.4The Strategic Development Plan identifies programs to address these issues and defines specific actions and municipal programs to preserve and enhance the quality of life for all residents living in the study area. It defines a number of sub-areas, including historic row house neighborhoods, the immediate vicinity of the Convention Center area, the 7th/9th retail corridors, the Uptown Area (in the adjacent Mid-City Planning Area), the 11th Street corridor, Shaw and Seaton Schools, the Rhode Island Av/New Jersey Av intersection, the Bundy School/NW Cooperative II, and the two metro station areas. The Plan calls for maintaining the current number of affordable housing units, targeting commercial development to sites where it is most likely to benefit the community, and providing a clear hierarchy of streets and public spaces. 2111.4

 

2111.5Policy NNW-2.1.1: Affordable Housing

 

Protect existing affordable housing within the Shaw/Convention Center area, and produce new affordable housing and market rate housing on underutilized sites. Use a range of tools to retain and develop affordable housing in the study area, including tenant organization and public education, inclusionary zoning, renewing project-based Section 8 contracts, tax abatements, public-private partnerships, and including affordable housing when development on publicly owned land includes a residential component. 2111.5

 

2111.6Policy NNW-2.1.2: Reinforce Existing Development Patterns

 

Stabilize and maintain existing moderate-density row house areas within the Shaw/Convention Center Area. Locate multi-unit buildings in areas already zoned for greater density, including areas near the Mount Vernon Square and Shaw/Howard University Metrorail stations, and on publicly owned land with the potential for housing. Ensure that development on infill sites scattered throughout the row house portions of the Shaw/Convention Center area is consistent with the neighborhood’s character. 2111.6

 

2111.7Policy NNW-2.1.3: Shaw/Howard University and Mount Vernon Square Metro Stations

 

Encourage mixed-income residential development with underground parking adjacent to the Shaw/Howard and Mount Vernon Square Metro stations, particularly on existing surface parking lots. 2111.7

 

2111.8Policy NNW-2.1.4: Blagden Alley

 

Encourage adaptive reuse and mixed use infill development along Blagden Alley, a residentially zoned block with historic structures such as carriage houses, garages, and warehouses. Appropriate measures should be taken to safeguard existing residential uses as such development takes place. 2111.8

 

2111.9Policy NNW-2.1.5: 7th and 9th Street Corridors

 

Locate retail development within the Shaw/Convention Center Area in a manner that best serves residents, creates the best environment for businesses to succeed, and uses land already zoned for commercial uses. Continuous ground floor retail uses should be encouraged along sections of 7th and 9th Streets as designated in the 2005 Strategic Development Plan to create a traditional pedestrian-oriented Main Street pattern and establish a unified identity for the community. These corridors should attract convention-goers, residents, and visitors, and should include both new and existing businesses. 2111.9

 

2111.10Policy NNW-2.1.6: 11th Street Retail

 

Strengthen 11th Street between M and O Streets as a mixed use district with ground floor retail and upper story residential buildings with a mix of market rate and affordable units. Emphasize 11th and N Streets as the hub of this area. 2111.10

 

2111.11Policy NNW-2.1.7: Public Realm

 

Improve streets and open spaces throughout the Shaw/Convention Center Area. Open space in the area should promote a sense of community, provide a high level of public safety, and address multiple needs. Connections between the area’s parks and open spaces should be strengthened and opportunities for new recreational activities should be accommodated where feasible. 2111.11

 

2111.12Policy NNW-2.1.8: Street Hierarchy

 

Design the streetscapes in the Shaw/Convention Center Area to clearly differentiate between residential streets and commercial streets, and to highlight the distinct role of avenues, retail streets, greenways, and primary and secondary residential streets. 2111.12

 

2111.13Action NNW-2.1.A: Historic Resources

 

Establish an historic district in Shaw East Survey Area. Coordinate with the National Park Service to ensure that detailed plans for the Carter G. Woodson House are consistent with goals for the neighborhood. 2111.13

 

2111.14Action NNW-2.1.B: Retention of Non-Conforming Retail

 

Investigate zoning tools to retain Shaw’s non-conforming retail corner stores and other existing retail uses within residential areas. 2111.14

 

2111.15Action NNW-2.1.C: Convention Center Spin-off Development

 

Leverage the presence of the Washington Convention Center to achieve compatible spin-off development on adjacent blocks, including a new Convention Center hotel at 9th and Massachusetts Avenue, leased street front space within the Convention Center for retail use, and upgrading facades along 7th and 9th Streets to attract retail tenants. Provide safe, well-marked, street-level pedestrian connections between the Convention Center and these areas. 2111.15

 

2111.16Action NNW-2.1.D: New Housing

 

Provide incentives for mixed-income housing above retail space on 7th and 9th streets, and encourage development of multi-family apartments and condominiums on parcels that are vacant or that contain buildings identified as non-contributing to the Shaw Historic District on 11th Street. 2111.16

 

2111.17Action NNW-2.1.E: Retail Rezoning

 

Rezone the following parts of the Shaw/Convention Center area to require ground floor retail in new development or in major rehabilitation projects:

 

a.7th Street between Mount Vernon Square and M Street, and between O Street and Rhode Island Avenue;

 

b.9th Street between Mount Vernon Square and N Street, and between M and O Streets;

 

c.O Street between 7th and 9th Streets; and

 

d.11th Street between M and O Streets. 2111.17

 

2111.18Action NNW-2.1.F: O Street Market and Environs

 

Support development of the O Street market site as a mixed use project that becomes the focal point for the 7th and 9th Street retail corridors. Encourage NCRC to develop their properties on adjacent sites along O and P Streets with mixed use projects containing ground floor retail and upper story housing. 2111.18

 

2111.19Action NNW-2.1.G: Watha Daniel Library

 

Rebuild the Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Neighborhood Library as a state of the art library that provides a community gathering place and attractive civic space as a well a source of books, media, and information. Realize the full potential of the site to address multiple community needs, including housing and local-serving retail use. 2111.19

 

2111.20Action NNW-2.1.H: Shaw Area Traffic Study

 

Study 6th, 7th, 9th, and 11th Streets to determine current levels of traffic and the necessary number of travel lanes, and make recommendations to improve the use of the public right-of-way along these streets. 2111.20

 

2111.21Action NNW-2.1.I: Street Hierarchy and Public Realm

 

Undertake the following actions to improve the public realm in the Shaw/ Convention Center area:

 

a.Develop, maintain, and enforce standards for residential and commercial streets that address sidewalks, tree boxes, and public rights-of-way;

 

b.Improve the appearance of gateway intersections at New Jersey and Rhode Island Avenues, New Jersey and New York Avenues, Mount Vernon Square, and 11th and Massachusetts Avenue; and

 

c.Explore the designation of P Street NW as a “greenway” and identify opportunities for connecting open spaces along the street. 2111.21

 

2111.22Action NNW-2.1.J: Expiring Section 8 Contracts

 

Develop a strategy to renew the expiring project-based Section 8 contracts within the Shaw area, recognizing the vulnerability of these units to conversion to market rate housing. Consider the redevelopment of these sites with mixed income projects that include an equivalent number of affordable units, and additional market rate units. 2111.22

 

2111.23Action NNW-2.1.K: Bundy School Redevelopment

 

Explore re-zoning and public-private partnerships to facilitate redevelopment of the old Bundy School and adjacent surface parking lot. Construction of mixed income housing and recreational uses should be pursued on the site. 2111.23

 

2111.24Action NNW-2.1.L: Shaw Junior High Feasibility Study

 

Conduct a feasibility study for redeveloping Shaw Junior High School and Recreation Center through a public-private partnership that includes a reconstructed school and recreation center, new mixed income housing, upgraded green space to replace the one-acre concrete plaza, and restoration of the L’Enfant street right-of-way along 10th and Q Streets. Seaton School should be included within the study area. 2111.24

 

notation

The provisions of Title 10, Part A of the DCMR accessible through this web interface are codification of the District Elements of the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital. As such, they do not represent the organic provisions adopted by the Council of the District of Columbia. The official version of the District Elements only appears as a hard copy volume of Title 10, Part A published pursuant to section 9a of the District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1994, effective April 10, 1984 (D.C. Law 5-76; D.C. Official Code § 1 -301.66)) . In the event of any inconsistency between the provisions accessible through this site and the provisions contained in the published version of Title 10, Part A, the provisions contained in the published version govern. A copy of the published District Elements is available www.planning.dc.gov.