by Larry Janezich
Posted August 8, 2026
Commissioners attending ANC 7D meeting last Tuesday night: Top, left to right: Commissioners Ebony Payne 7D05, Dominic Pacheco 7D06, Ashley Schapitl 7D09, Bottom, left to right: Chair Brian Alcorn 7D08, Commissioner Katie Murphy 7D04
ANC7D Single Member Districts most affected by Redevelopment of RFK
ANC7D Hill East Lists Concerns on RFK Redevelopment
Last Tuesday night, ANC7D held a rare August meeting to consider proposed comments on the Draft Master Plan for Development of RFK. The period for comment in response to the Office of Planning’s latest release of the plan ends August 14.
ANC7D is comprised in part of the five single member districts that are most affected by the redevelopment of the RFK campus, single member districts 05, 06, 07, 08, and 09, but 04 across the Anacostia River is also being affected.
After four of the ANC7D Commissioners from these districts weighed in on concerns and recommendations regarding redevelopment, ANC7D Chair Brian Alcorn (7D08) offered his own feedback on the Master Plan. Then followed a brief discussion of macro concerns – given the pause in development of Reservation 13 – which seemed to relate to underlying unease about how the development of the campus will fare once the stadium is built.
The consensus of the Commission was to hold an Executive Committee meeting before August 14 to finalize the language of comments to forward to the Office of Planning.
In his summary, Alcorn noted that DC is very clear that the plan relates to the 180 acres of the RFK campus, but that the development requires more than a Master Plan. He cited earlier remarks of Commissioner Katie Murphy’s (see below) concerns and said that having a broader community plan “is absolutely essential to making this work; there are communities that surround these 180 acres that are not only our homes but are integral in getting people from where they are to where they want to be.” Alcorn specifically cited the transportation and infrastructure interconnections and city services that will need to be provided and enhanced.
Alcorn said he would like to encourage an opportunity for home ownership. Within the Master Plan, there are three districts which are planned to host the housing components – apparently all rental units. The land for the development will be leased from the federal government, but Alcorn says there are financing structures which allow for home ownership on leased land. This, he said, is especially important for a new community that’s going to interface with the Kingman Park historic residential community park literally just across the street.
Alcorn said he hopes planners can think more broadly in terms of developing the campus – perhaps as a location for a museum. He suggested that the U.S. Navy’s new museum might be a potential occupant of the campus which would help activate it when other events are not scheduled.
He said the ANC should seek clarity on the future of the Armory – having an active military facility in the context of a sports/residential/retail complex being “less than ideal” – the structure could be repurposed into a larger transit center or Metro expansion or as a sporting facility.
Regarding the need for providing rapid transit to the future stadium, he said there is still broad support in the community for an additional Metro Station since “it’s clear that Stadium Armory Metro cannot be expanded enough to bring support the needs.” He suggested that the ANC might recommend avoiding closing the door completely on a second station, and provide for the possibility of looking forward to a time when funding might become available.
Other attendant issues of concern to the community include the strong feeling of nearby residents that they want to be able to park near their homes and want assurances that there will be parking enforcement. He stated, “I don’t think anybody accepts that this joint partnership that exists between DDOT and DPW is the ideal way to run a ticketing and towing parking program.”
He also noted that a more comprehensive plan should include Reservation 13 and the construction of a new DC Corrections facility as well as a traffic plan related to the construction of a new trash transfer station in the Benning Road community.
Commissioner Schapitl picked up on Alcorn’s Reservation 13 comments noting that investment in the district has declined significantly and residential construction projects are struggling to get financing as has happened on Reservation 13. She suggested that 7D include language urging OP to address their degree of confidence they have that they will be able to attract developers to provide housing.
That view was reinforced by ANC7D’s Resident Commissioner Member Zach Abramovitz who chairs 7D’s Committee on Housing and Economic Development. He agreed that the city has been challenged in encouraging economic development and private investment both on the commercial front – Reservation 13 being an example – but also on the affordable housing front.
Abramovitz said, “I will note that the draft Master Plan has a very lofty goal of 30% of the planned 5,500 to 6000 housing units be affordable but we really need to see more in terms of benchmarks and more in terms of what tools the city is going to use to meet that goal.” He added that given the regulatory hurdles facing re-zoning to accommodate the development, an “expeditious spirit” will be needed “in order to meet the goals and to ensure that we do have affordable housing and economic development alongside a brand new stadium.”
Here are some of the issues individual Commissioners offered regarding feedback they are hearing from their constituents in the single member districts most affected by the RFK Development:
Commissioner Ebony Payne, ANC7D 05, Kingman Park
- Opposition to the size and or location of Garage 2 between Kingman Park and the stadium.
- Activation of the two parking garages as much as possible with ground level retail or temporary sporting amenities.
- Concerns about rapid transit and access to public transit. Urge keeping open the possibility of a second Metro station to serve RFK.
- The Fields at RFK – Urge Office of Planning to partner with Go Play (the current non-profit that manages The Fields at RFK) and with DC Pole Vault DC – soon to be evicted from its practice space next to Maloof Skate Park in front of the RFK Stadium site.
- Possible future repurposing of the Armory as an Aquatic Center with an Olympic size swimming pool – an amenity, Payne said, that a lot of people have asked for – and something which might not be feasible it is anywhere else on the campus.
Commissioner Katie Murphy, 04 ANC7D, River Terrace
- Neighborhoods east of the river are being impacted by the proposed highway construction of the RFK Master Plan and the plan should include surrounding neighborhoods/as well as pedestrian walkways outside the campus boundaries.
- The Master Plan proposes all these improvements across the river while in River Terrace, street lights and sidewalks are not being repaired.
- Need for efforts to keep the river clean.
- Transit is really important to River Terrace especially since street cars are not coming River Terrace anymore.
- Across-the-river neighborhoods like River Terrace are being left out.
Commissioner Dominic Pacheco, ANC7D 06, Rosedale North
- General access to river front.
- Transportation concerns – streets being changed to one way, lack of clarity regarding how to access and exit campus.
- Need for creative architecture, landscaping and placement
- Parking enforcement on residential streets.
Commissioner Ashley Schapitl, ANC7D 09
- Parking enforcement.
- Lack of clarity about the plan for renovation of the Armory.
- Lack of clarity about the construction time line.
- Issues regarding when Metro Station will close and for how long.
- Concerns about the plan for retail development,
- Plan for trash collection in neighborhoods following events.
CAPITOL HILL CORNER 