WASHINGTON - A controversial mixed-use development could be one step closer to being built thanks to a recent court decision.
On Wednesday, the DC Court of Appeals handed down an opinion that affirmed the DC Zoning Commission's order to approve an application for a planned unit development on the site of the McMillan Reservoir and Filtration Complex.
The old water filtration complex, which sits at the corner of Michigan and North Capitol avenues, has existed since the early 1900s. However, it has not been in operation since the 1980s.
The city and several development firms want to build a 113-foot tall medical facility, an eight-acre park and a community center at the location. The plan would also include several mixed-use buildings and 146 individual rowhouses. In all, 677 new units of housing would be created.
City officials revealed their first plans for the site in 2013.
Since then, it has come under fire from locals who claim the project would potentially create traffic, displace local residents and destroy too much property at site that is on the National Register of Historic Places.
"That's the issue," said Kirby Vining, treasurer of Friends of McMillan Park. "It is a historic site. You don't have to keep all of it, but this is getting real close to hardly anything at all being left."
In 2016, DC's Court of Appeals initially vacated an order by the Zoning Commission that approved the developers application for a planned unit development at the site.
The Zoning Commission then approved a slightly revised application that was subsequently challenged by Friends of McMillan Park and other opponents of the plan.
City leaders believe Wednesday court decision could finally open the doors toward making development at the McMillan site a reality.
"We appreciate the courts reaffirmation of our use of local zoning tools to create affordable housing, neighborhood-serving amenities and jobs for District residents," said Sarosh Olpadwala, the real estate development director in the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. "This clears the way for more Planned Unit Developments (PUDs), which are a valuable tool for us to meet our affordable housing needs."
In the DC Court of Appeals' latest decision, the court disagreed with the plan's opponents that the DC Zoning Commission inadequately analyzed potential impacts to the environment and historic property, among other things, related to the project.
But, Vining says his group is not done fighting the project yet, despite the court's most recent ruling.
"We asked the court to consider granting a rehearing on some very specific things about the historic preservation law that we believe are flagrantly ignored by the court," he said.
Mayor Muriel Bowser initially broke ground on the project in 2016. At the time, the project was expected to cost around $720 million and create over 6,000 jobs.
Aakash Thakkar, the executive vice-president of land acquisition and development at EYA, one of the developer's of the project released the following the statement regarding the court's recent decision:
"The development team, the City, the Mayor and City Council, and the community have worked collaboratively for over 12 years to re-imagine the McMillan Sand Filtration site. It will be a vibrant mix of public park space, a public community center and pool, market rate and affordable housing, retail shops, and offices that cater to the adjacent Children's Hospital and Washington Hospital Center. It will provide housing, jobs and community amenities. This plan will transform a site that is unsafe and crumbling, surrounded by chain link fencing, and inaccessible to the public. The Court's decision allows the project to move forward and provide DC residents a wonderful new place that will add to the history, diversity, and growth of their City."