(Washington, DC) On November 16, the first public hearing on the Northwest One redevelopment plan was held by the Committee on Economic Development, Sharon Ambrose, Chair. Residents and other stakeholders turned out to participate in large numbers at this daylong hearing. There was standing room only in Council chambers.
The hearing included testimony from a District government panel, led by City Administrator Robert C. Bobb. The hearing included testimony from the City Administrator, the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, the Deputy Mayor for Children, Youth, Families and Elders, the Director of the Office of Planning, the Housing Authority, NCRC, and DC Public Schools, as well as a host of community residents and stakeholders
The Northwest One draft Redevelopment Plan is unique for three reasons:
- One-for-one replacement of every low-income unit
- Full partnership between the District and the residents, represented in the Guiding Principles
- Build First to enable families to stay in their neighborhood during redevelopment.
The vision for redevelopment grew out of the yearlong partnership between the District government and residents, including a multi-day community design workshop in July 2005. After months of pre-work and negotiations, the Northwest One Council and the District signed a set of Guiding Principles on January 31, 2005 to define the goals and decision-making process for the Northwest One Redevelopment Plan. The draft Redevelopment Plan presented to the Committee on Economic Development was endorsed unanimously by the Northwest One Council, including the leadership of the Sursum Corda Cooperative.
As the District's first New Community, the Northwest One Redevelopment Plan would invest approximately $558 million to transform the neighborhood into over 1,600 units of mixed-income housing and a new state-of-the-art school and other community amenities including a recreation center, health center, approximately 90,000 square feet of neighborhood-serving retail centers, and most importantly, a well-coordinated human capital plan designed to give long-time residents the tools to thrive in the new neighborhood. The Northwest One draft Redevelopment Plan focuses on strengthening the community's human capital through targeted social services such as job training, educational advancement opportunities, mental health services, counseling, rehabilitation, and more.
To view the complete coverage of the New Communities public hearing, view the plan, or read the testimony of District officials, please select this link.
For more information on the New Communities Initiative, please call the New Communities hotline at (202) 724-5566 or explore the New Communities website.
