Artistic rendering of new development at the Armed Forces Retirement Home (courtesy AFRH)

by Cesse Ip

This past July, the Armed Forces Retirement Home (AFRH) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the DC government which set out the process to redevelop about 80 acres of its 272 acre campus.

The AFRH sits on the eastern edge of Petworth, bounded by North Capitol Street on the east, Rock Creek Church Road on the west, and Irving Street on the south. It serves as a retirement community for about 600 retired and former members of America’s armed forces and their spouses. The location in DC (there’s also one in Gulfport, MS) dates back to 1851 and is the oldest and only federally funded retirement home for retired members of the military.

AFRH plans to lease underutilized land on their campus’ southeastern corner, bordered by North Capitol and Irving Streets. This new development will eventually amount to 4.3 million square feet of mixed-use redevelopment to include “residential uses, retail, art spaces, sports and wellness venues, as well as adaptive reuse of several historic buildings, including the power plant and hospital complex.”

According to the master plan from 2018, some of the mixed-use development can be used for offices, medical offices and a hotel. In addition, there will be more than 20 acres of publicly accessible green space, as well as pedestrian and bicycle paths.

Rendering of proposed development types (courtesy AFRH)

Two new vehicular entry points are planned on Irving Street, and two existing entries are planned to be reactivated. One entry will be off North Capitol Street, at the overpass that is currently between Irving and Taylor Streets. The other entrance will be opposite of 1st St NW on Irving Street, opposite of the entrance to Washington Hospital Center.

An additional 5,189 parking spaces are planned to be added, as a combination of above grade, below grade, street parking, and surface lots. Right now there are no sidewalks on Irving Street or North Capitol Street where the planned entrances are. AFRH commented that it is too early in the process to address sidewalk construction.

Madison Marquette LLC and Urban Atlantic have been identified as the developers for the site. Madison Marquette is headquartered in DC and is a national real estate development company with developments like The Wharf under its belt. Urban Atlantic is based in Bethesda and its portfolio consists of projects like The Parks at Walter Reed, and Rhode Island Row.

While a date for groundbreaking has not been set, the original redevelopment plan was approved in 2008, and then amended in 2018. AFRH will resubmit the master plans for review again later this fall.

One thing is for sure though, when this development is completed, it will be a massive addition for the city and neighborhood.