Seven companies submitted proposals to Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty’s office this Saturday seeking development rights to Poplar Point, a 110-acre bare stretch of land lying along the Anacostia River and, the city hoped, the future site of a new soccer stadium. The city opened the site to competition after negotiations between the city and MacFarlane & Partners, the principal owner of D.C. United, ended over the summer.
MacFarlane seemed poised to win the rights to build a soccer stadium at Poplar Point since January, but did not submit a proposal to the city by the Saturday deadline for the contest. Two of the seven proposals included suggestions for a stadium, however Fenty’s office has not named these two companies as the selection process is ongoing.
According to Community Organizer Andrew Willis of ONE D.C., a development organization that operates throughout the city, Fenty expects the seven companies to unveil their plans to the public on November 27th. But Willis insists that as Fenty will select a development plan by late December, this “is not enough time to get insight into what the community wants.”
While Willis said that the city and D.C. United had not been concerned with what members of nearby communities want throughout the development process, MacFarlane spokeswoman Julie Chase said her company was always very in touch with the community.
“Most residents had no idea [the stadium] was on the table,” Willis said. He cited a survey conducted by ONE D.C. in September that indicated that 64 percent of surveyed residents first heard about the stadium when asked for the survey if they supported it. And 87 percent of respondents did not.
But Willis heard concerns from among residents about the possible gentrification of Ward 8 as a result of development.
“Many of the people we surveyed said, ‘But where are we gonna live?’” he said. “There has been a lot of double speak here, and the Mayor hasn’t lived up to his promises to keep the process resident-driven. When residents asked for more time to help word the RFP [Request for Proposals] before Fenty sent it out, he said no. But when one of the companies asked the Mayor to extend the deadline for the proposal, he said yes.”
By helping to author the RFP, Willis said, ONE D.C. could have helped word it to attract companies that would develop Poplar Point according to what he believed were the community’s desires.
