Zoning commissioners hear Florida Rock/MRP plan for riverfront phases 3–4; grant procedural waiver

The Zoning Commission held a public hearing Jan. 23 on a modification to the long‑running Florida Rock Properties/MRP Realty planned unit development (PUD) for Square 708, Lot 16 at Potomac Avenue SE, hearing a presentation from the applicant team and testimony from District agencies. Commissioners granted a waiver request to Subtitle Z §401.5 for a late submission of a transportation-related report and set a procedural schedule for the project record.

The proposal would replace the previously approved office and hotel buildings in the western portion of the riverfront PUD with two residential buildings (phases 3 and 4) totaling roughly 590 units, roughly 62,000 square feet of new open space in those phases and a publicly accessible community dog park. The applicant told the commission the change in program reduces parking and peak‑hour traffic compared with the earlier office/hotel plan and increases the amount and usability of public open space.

Why it matters: The site sits between the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge and Nationals Park and is part of an incremental, multi‑phase effort to complete the Anacostia riverfront walkway. The commission and agencies focused on how the revised plan would preserve waterfront public access, provide community amenities (notably a permanent dog park), and meet transportation and affordable‑housing commitments.

Applicant presentation and project highlights

Christine Roddy, attorney for the applicant, and developer MRP Realty described the modification as the final two parcels of a multi‑phase riverfront PUD. "We are here this evening to present Florida Rock's and MRP's vision for the final two parcels that make up the riverfront PUD," Roddy said during the presentation.

Fredéric Rothmeier of MRP said the revised plan produces more public open space than earlier approvals. "Net, net, we ended up with…