Developers are targeting the Congress Heights Metro station in an effort to capitalize upon the massive redevelopment expected at St. Elizabeths Hospital across the street. On Thursday, Metro’s Board of Directors will be asked to approve the $3 million sale of roughly one acre of land surrounding the station’s south entrance on Alabama Avenue in Southeast to the adjacent property owner.
Developer Sanford City Partners, which has an office in Adams Morgan, plans to build a 281,000-square-foot office and retail development there, according to the project’s architect, Maurice Walters.
Jeff Griffith of City Partners was not available for comment Monday.
Metro first tried to sell the Green Line property in 2005 but received no takers. The transit agency document proposing the sale notes the parcels are too small to be viable on their own.
But since then — and with the advances made in the redevelopment of St. Elizabeths — adjacent landowner City Partners approached Metro about buying the property, according to the document.
“It’s a good indicator the market [there] is strengthening,” said Anita Kramer, senior director for capital markets at the Urban Land Institute. “A large redevelopment like that is the perfect catalyst for an area.”
Walters’ design calls for an L-shaped building at the station that is seven stories at its tallest point and includes a rooftop terrace. Ground-floor retail meets riders at the top of the Metro escalators in addition to a stand-alone cafe or restaurant.
“The goal is to create a focal point for the community,” Walters said. “[With the] plaza and cafe there’s the opportunity for a neighborhood center.”
The concept is in line with goals of the 170-acre redevelopment of St. Elizabeths East Campus, which sits at Congress Heights’ north station entrance across the street. That plan, which includes new offices and residences, calls for neighborhood-serving retail along Alabama Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to the north.
Profits from the sale will go toward Metro’s capital budget in accordance with Federal Transit Administration regulations regarding properties purchased with federal funds. The regulations also require FTA approval of the sale.
