A Mixed-Income, Mixed Use Gateway to the Ward 7 Waterfront

Project Overview

Kenilworth/Parkside, located between Kenilworth Park and the Anacostia Freeway, offers great potential as a mixed-use, mixed-income gateway to the Ward 7 Anacostia Waterfront.

The Kenilworth/Parkside project will have 2,000 new housing units and 500,000 square feet of commercial and retail space. The District is working to improve access from the Parkside neighborhood to Marvin Gaye Park and the planned Anacostia Riverwalk. A key component of the revitalization strategy for the area is improving pedestrian access to the Minnesota Avenue Metro Station. 

The District is working with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) to create a new pedestrian bridge that will reduce the walking distance from the neighborhood to the Metro station by nearly a quarter mile; reduce parking demand in the neighborhood; encourage Metro ridership; help create a distinctive “gateway” to the Anacostia Waterfront; and spur economic development along Minnesota Avenue, NE. Plans for the area incorporate principles of transit-oriented development to create higher density around the Metro stop and developing more pedestrian-oriented retail and commercial amenities.

The District has engaged a broad array of stakeholders to identify long-term needs and concerns in the Kenilworth/Parkside neighborhood. This included a series of community workshops in 2006 to solicit the input of neighborhood residents on a Ward 7 Waterfront Plan to guide future development. The final plan for Kenilworth/Parkside will be presented to the DC Council.