“new progress at the McMillan Sand Filtration Site”

North Capitol and Michigan Ave, NW photo by Jeff

From the Mayor’s Office:

“Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) announced new progress at the McMillan Sand Filtration Site, a 25-acre site located at North Capitol Street and Michigan Avenue NW in Ward 5. At the financial closing today (Thursday), the District received $17.3 million and full-scale development has now commenced at this transformative project, which is expected to create 146 homeownership opportunities and more than 450 apartments.

“After years of delays, we are one step closer to putting this land to good use,” said Mayor Bowser. “We have a plan that preserves the historical integrity and significant green space of the site, while simultaneously delivering much-needed housing, retail amenities, food access, and employment opportunities for the residents of Ward 5.”

The McMillan Sand Filtration Plant was a large-scale water purification facility throughout the early twentieth century. In 1986,operations of the filtration plant ended and the District bought the land from the federal government for $9.3 million.

Over the years, the District, development team, and community have hosted many meetings and engagements to discuss how to utilize the land in a way that preserves the historical integrity and green space while addressing the District’s growing need for housing, retail amenities (particularly grocery and fresh food access), and employment opportunities for the residents of Ward 5. 

“Throughout her Administration, Mayor Bowser has worked with the community to find solutions to move forward with long-stalled projects,” said Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development John Falcicchio.
“After countless community meetings, we’ve got great community support and come up with a plan to redevelop the McMillan site in a way consistent with the District’s Comprehensive Plan and Future Land Use Map and create affordable housing and jobs for our residents.”

McMillan is the product of a successful community-driven process led by Mayor Bowser. The District will invest over $100 million in public infrastructure and community amenities, including an eight-acre park and a 17,000 square-foot community center with a pool. The District investment will also preserve all four regulator houses, 20 sand silos, sand bins, and two underground filter beds. 

Now that the District has completed site work, Vision McMillan Partners (VMP) will spearhead the private portion of the development, which will feature: a full-service grocery store; restaurants and retail; 146 for-sale townhomes; 467 rental apartments; and over one million square feet of healthcare facility space. The VMP team consists of a partnership between Jair Lynch, Trammell Crow, and EYA.

“On behalf of all the VMP partners, EYA, Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners, and Trammell Crow Company, we are excited to begin the transformative redevelopment of the McMillan Sand Filtration Site,” said Jack Lester, Executive Vice President, EYA. “We are grateful for the engagement and input from the community, stakeholders, District agencies, and efforts of the many professionals that have contributed to creating a shared vision for the site. We are most grateful for the leadership of Mayor Muriel Bowser and her team at DMPED, without whom this historic milestone would not have been achieved.”

The McMillan redevelopment is another example of Mayor Bowser’s leadership advancing long-awaited, significant projects in the District. Once completed, the McMillan redevelopment is slated to create approximately 2,000 jobs. One of the many community benefits includes an investment of $1 million into a workforce development fund, of which $300,000 in scholarships will go to community residents to pursue higher education, training, or job-related certification, encouraging “legacy” career paths such as civil engineering, landscape architecture, or on-site jobs in the medical field, with a preference for residents from Wards 1 and 5.”