CityCenterDC, colloquially called CityCenter, is a mixed-use development consisting of two

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...

buildings, two rental

apartment An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement (Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that ...

buildings, two office buildings, a luxury hotel, and public park in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

It encompasses and covers more than five city blocks. The $950 million developmentO'Connell, Jonathan. "CityCenter Project to Commence in April." ''Washington Post.'' October 22, 2010. began construction on April 4, 2011, on the site of the former

Conrad Conrad may refer to: People * Conrad (name) * Saint Conrad (disambiguation) Places United States * Conrad, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Iowa, a city * Conrad, Montana, a city * Conrad Glacier, Washington Elsewher ...

Washington, D.C. opened in February 2019. The development is one of the largest 21st-century downtown projects in the United States,Howell, Tom. "CityCenterDC a 'Piece of the Puzzle' Downtown." ''Washington Times.'' April 5, 2011. and the largest urban development on the

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the region encompassing the coast, coastline where the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean; it has always pla ...

until the December 2012 groundbreaking of Manhattan's Hudson Yards. It has been described as "a modern-day

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art De ...

" by Hector Falconer at ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''.Pristin, Terry. "Blocks From the President, Developers Plan Big." ''New York Times.'' June 21, 2011.
Accessed 2011-08-18. ''The Washington Post'' architectural critic Steven Pearlstein, writing in 2003, said the project will "reshape" downtown D.C.Pearlstein, Steven. "A Bad Idea For Convention Center Site." ''Washington Post.'' September 26, 2003. The D.C. deputy mayor for economic development characterized the project in 2004 as "the capstone of an effort to move the center of energy from the Mall to downtown". D.C. Mayor

Anthony A. Williams Anthony Allen Williams (born Anthony Stephen Eggleton; July 28, 1951) is an American politician who was the mayor of the District of Columbia, for two terms, from 1999 to 2007. Williams had previously served as chief financial officer for the dist ...

said in 2005 it was "the crowning achievement in the rebirth of our downtown"."Council Approves Rebuilding Plan on Site of Old Convention Center." ''Associated Press.'' June 7, 2005. In 2007, D.C. Mayor

Adrian Fenty Adrian Malik Fenty (born December 6, 1970) is an American politician who served as the mayor of the District of Columbia from 2007 to 2011. A Washington, D.C. native, Fenty graduated from Oberlin College and Howard University Law School, then ser ...

called the development a "live, work and play environment unlike anywhere else in D.C." Metro Center and Gallery Place, two of the city's busiest Metro stations, are within three blocks of the development.

Geography

CityCenter occupies a 10-acre lot in downtown Washington, D.C., bounded by 11th Street NW on the west, New York Avenue NW on the north, 9th Street NW on the east, and H Street NW on the south. 10th Street NW runs north–south through CityCenter, and I Street NW runs between 9th and 10th streets. CityCenter is within a few blocks walking distance from both Metro Center and Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro stations.

Palmer Alley

The main spine through CityCenter is Palmer Alley, a three-block long

pedestrian mall Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town restricted to use by people on foot or ...

running east–west through the middle of the development. Palmer Alley is one of

's only pedestrianized streets, on which motor vehicles are not allowed. It is frequently lined with

public art Public art is art in any Media (arts), media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and phy ...

Historically, the site featured a network of alleys that shaped its urban character. However, the construction of the old convention center imposed a superblock, erasing these features and disrupting the finer grain of the city. During the site's redesign, the alleys were thoughtfully reintroduced to break down the scale, improve walkability, and reconnect with the site's historic fabric.

The Plaza at CityCenter

Between 9th and 10th streets, Palmer Alley runs through a plaza that extends north–south between H and I streets. The plaza features patio seating for several restaurants, fountains, and a video art installation. In designing the plaza, the landscape architects drew inspiration from quilting traditions, specifically the vibrant and improvisational patterns of the Gee’s Bend quilts. As a tribute to Washington, DC’s rich African-American heritage, these patterns informed the layout, weaving cultural memory into the very fabric of the space.

The Park at CityCenter

The northwest corner of CityCenter is a park that regularly hosts events and art installations, including an annual 75-foot Christmas tree, a summer farmers market, and other interactive exhibits. The park features a large fountain, placed with historical intention. In

Pierre Charles L’Enfant Pierre "Peter" Charles L'Enfant (; August 2, 1754June 14, 1825) was a French-American artist, professor, and military engineer. In 1791, L'Enfant designed the baroque-styled plan for the development of Washington, D.C., after it was designated ...

's original plan for Washington, he envisioned a grand fountain at this very location. Honoring that vision, the designers incorporated the fountain into the modern layout. The marble used throughout the park is the same type found at the

Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States, victorious commander-in-chief of the Continen ...

, reinforcing a material link to the city’s monumental core. The park also forms a bow tie shape with its counterpart across the street — a configuration found throughout Washington, DC. These bow tie spaces were part of the L’Enfant Plan from the very beginning, blending geometry, symmetry, and purpose into the city’s fabric.

Tenants

CityCenter is home to many stores and restaurants, as well as offices, apartments, condominiums, and a hotel, fulfilling the planners' goals for tenancy, although the development has been criticized for a lack of foot traffic.

Offices

The law firm of

Covington & Burling Covington & Burling LLP is an American multinational law firm. Known as a white-shoe law firm, it is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and advises clients on transactional, litigation, regulatory, and public policy matters. The firm has addition ...

occupies a majority of the office space at CityCenter, with more than 500 lawyers spread between two buildings. The

American Hospital Association The American Hospital Association (AHA) is a health care industry trade group. It includes nearly 5,000 hospitals and health care providers. The organization, which was founded in Cleveland, Ohio in 1898, with offices in Chicago, Illinois and W ...

also has an office in CityCenter, as does the Qatar Foundation.

Retail

Many high-end retail stores are found in CityCenter, including

Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier SAS, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ...

Dior Christian Dior SE (), commonly known as Dior, is a French Multinational corporation, multinational luxury goods company that is controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH. , Dior controlled around 42% of ...

Hermès Hermès International S.A. ( , ) is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house established in 1837. It specializes in leather goods, silk goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and ready-to-wear. Since the ...

Burberry Burberry Group plc is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry and headquartered in London, England. It designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats, leather accessories, and footwear. It is l ...

Gucci Guccio Gucci S.p.A., doing business as Gucci ( , ), is an Italian Luxury goods, luxury fashion house based in Florence. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and ...

Salvatore Ferragamo Salvatore Ferragamo (5 June 1898 – 7 August 1960) was an Italian shoe designer and the founder of luxury goods high-end retailer Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. An innovative shoe designer, Salvatore Ferragamo established a reputation in the 1930 ...

Hugo Boss Hugo Boss AG (stylized in all caps) is a designer fashion company headquartered in Metzingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company sells clothing, Fashion accessory, accessories, footwear, and Leather, leather goods. Hugo Boss is one of the ...

David Yurman David Yurman is a privately held American jewelry company, founded by David Yurman (born October 12, 1942 in New York City) and Sybil Kleinrock Yurman (born December 10, 1942 in New York City). It is headquartered in New York City. History ...

Loro Piana Loro Piana S.p.A. is an Italian luxury fashion brand specialized in textile manufacturing and ready-to-wear clothing headquartered in Milan, Italy. Since its start as a merchant of cashmere, vicuña, linen and merino fabrics, Loro Piana expa ...

, Morgenthal Frederics,

Kate Spade New York Kate Spade New York (stylized as kate spade NEW YORK) is an Culture of the United States, American fashion house founded in January 1993 by Kate Spade, Kate and Andy Spade. In 2017, the company was purchased by Tapestry, Inc., formerly known a ...

, Akris,

Carolina Herrera Carolina Herrera (born María Carolina Josefina Pacanins y Niño, 8 January 1939) is a Venezuelan Americans, Venezuelan American fashion designer. Known for her personal style, she founded her namesake brand in 1980. Herrera has designed for va ...

Allen Edmonds Allen Edmonds is an American upscale men's shoe company based in Port Washington, Wisconsin. The company was established in Belgium, Wisconsin, in 1922 by Elbert W. Allen as Allen-Spiegal Shoe Company. The company is one of the few companies to ...

, Longchamp,

Arc'teryx Arc'teryx is a Canadian apparel company specializing in outdoor apparel and equipment headquartered in North Vancouver, British Columbia. It focuses on technical apparel for mountaineering and Alpine sports, including related accessories. The com ...

TUMI Tumi ( ''Quechua'' for 'Knife', ''variants'': 'Tome', 'Tume'), is a generic term encompassing the many kinds of sharp tools utilized in pre- and post-colonial eras of the Central Andes region, Tumis were employed for a diverse set of purposes ...

Giorgio Armani Giorgio Armani (; born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer and a billionaire. He first gained renown working for Cerruti 1881. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expanded into music, sport, and luxury hotels. By 200 ...

, Brioni,

Paul Stuart Paul Stuart is a men's luxury clothing brand founded in 1938 in New York City and owned by Mitsui since 2012. The company has four standalone boutiques in the US and one in Japan. Sanyo Shokai has been its sole distributor in Japan since 199 ...

Brunello Cucinelli Brunello Cucinelli (; born 3 September 1953 in Castel Rigone) is an Italian luxury creative director and the executive chairman of his eponymous made in Italy brand, Brunello Cucinelli. He donates 20% of his profits through the Brunello Cucin ...

Jo Malone London Jo Malone London is a British multinational cosmetics company, perfume and scented candle brand, founded by Jo Malone in 1990. It has been owned since 1999 by Estée Lauder. The brand is known for its perfumes, candles, bath products, and roo ...

, VINCE.,

Christian Louboutin Christian Louboutin (; born 7 January 1964) is a French fashion designer. His stiletto footwear incorporates shiny, red-lacquered soles that have become his signature. Initially a freelance designer for fashion houses, he started his shoe salo ...

Bulgari Bulgari (, ; stylized as BVLGARI) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1884 and known for its jewellery, watches, fragrances, accessories, and leather goods. Headquartered in Rome, the company was acquired by the French conglomera ...

, Brietling,

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. It is privately owned by French brothers, Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, through the holding company Chanel Limited, established in 2018 and headquarte ...

, and

Moncler Moncler S.p.A. is an Italian luxury fashion brand specialized in ready-to-wear outerwear headquartered in Milan, Italy. Its core branding includes the Rooster#Terminology, cockerel, "M" monogram, felt appliqué badge, crossed skis and cartoon duc ...

. A

Tesla Tesla most commonly refers to: * Nikola Tesla (1856–1943), a Serbian-American electrical engineer and inventor * Tesla, Inc., an American electric vehicle and clean energy company, formerly Tesla Motors, Inc. * Tesla (unit) (symbol: T), the SI-d ...

dealership opened in 2017. A Tiffany & Co. store opened in March 2019 in the Conrad hotel.

Restaurants

Restaurants at CityCenter include Momofuku CCDC and

Milk Bar A milk bar is an establishment that primarily sells dairy-based foods and beverages, often at affordable prices, and typically provides seating for customers. Their specific form and offerings can vary significantly by country. History The ...

. There is also a DBGB Kitchen & Bar and a Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House, Mediterranean restaurant Fig & Olive, and Italian restaurant and market Centrolina. Smaller cafes include the Fruitive juice bar, Dolcezza Gelato & Coffee and Tatte Bakery & Café. In 2019,

Bryan Voltaggio Bryan Voltaggio (born 1976) is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, and author. He is a Top Chef television series alum; and he was a semi-finalist for the James Beard award. His brother is celebrity chef Michael Voltaggio. He resides in Fre ...

and

Michael Voltaggio Michael Voltaggio (born September 29, 1978) is an American chef, restaurateur, and author. He is a Top Chef television series alum and the winner of season 6. His brother Bryan Voltaggio is also a celebrity chef. He resides in Los Angeles, Califo ...

opened a restaurant called Estuary in the Conrad hotel.

Hotel

The Hilton

hotel opened in 2019 with 360 guest rooms and 32,000 square feet of meeting and event space.

Notable residents

Notable residents at CityCenter include former

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

coach

Scott Brooks Scott William Brooks (born July 31, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the top assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a player, he won an NBA champions ...

, former attorney general

Eric Holder Eric Himpton Holder Jr. (born January 21, 1951) is an American lawyer who served as the 82nd United States attorney general from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Holder was the first African Ameri ...

, and Senator

Claire McCaskill Claire Conner McCaskill (; born July 24, 1953) is an American former politician who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Missouri from 2007 to 2019 and as State Auditor of Missouri, state auditor of Missouri from 1999 to ...

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

aides

Hope Hicks Hope Charlotte Hicks (born October 21, 1988) is an American public relations executive and political advisor who served in President Donald Trump’s administration from 2017 to 2018 and 2020 to 2021. She served as White House director of strat ...

and Stephen Miller also lived in CityCenter.

Planning

First stages of planning

The

on October 2, 1998. Differing plans were suggested for redevelopment of the site of the existing convention center. In 1998, leaders of the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

, Smithsonian Institution, and the

Federal City Council Federal City Council is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes economic development in the city of Washington, D.C., in the United States. Incorporated on September 13, 1954, it is one of the most powerful private groups in the city, a ...

proposed construction of a $1 billion development that would include a hotel, music museum, and retail space.Fehr, Stephen C. "D.C. Site Pushed for Music Museum." ''Washington Post.'' July 26, 2000. In 1999, a D.C. government study proposed constructing a new

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

stadium at the site.Kovaleski, Serge F. and Timberg, Craig. "Wanted: A Place to Play Ball." ''Washington Post.'' May 5, 2002. Anthony A. Williams, Mayor of the District of Columbia, established a task force in July 2000 to advise the city on how to redevelop the Washington Convention Center site. Although the mayor's task force had not issued its report, on November 14, 2000, Williams unveiled a city-wide development plan that proposed constructing a major new public attraction (such as a museum) on the land. The plan also suggested building city-owned parking garages (to alleviate a severe downtown parking problem), reopening I Street NW and 10th Street NW (both of which had been blocked by the old convention center), and constructing 1,000 apartments or condominiums at the site. The following month, Williams announced that the Office of the Deputy Mayor would oversee the redevelopment design effort. By May 2001, city officials were suggesting a development similar to

Yerba Buena Gardens Yerba Buena Gardens is the name for two blocks of public parks located between Third and Fourth, Mission and Folsom Streets in the South of Market (SoMA) neighbourhood of San Francisco, California. The first block bordered by Mission and How ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, or

Faneuil Hall Marketplace Faneuil Hall ( or ; previously ) is a marketplace and meeting hall near the waterfront and Government Center, in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Opened in 1742, it was the site of several speeches by Samuel Adams, James Otis, and others ...

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

.Wilgoren, Debbi. "Center of Something New." ''Washington Post.'' May 13, 2001. The city hoped to open bids regarding the project in 2002. Two months later, Mayor Williams said that his vision for the site included housing, a museum (although not necessarily a music museum), a public park, and a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

.Spinner, Jackie. "D.C. May Let Developer Offer Plan For Old Convention Center Site." ''Washington Post.'' July 2, 2001. Other city officials said at that time that instead of the city specifying the structures to be built on the site, the city might issue a request for proposals (RFP) which would give private developers the opportunity to make recommendations for the site's use. In March 2002, the law firm of

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates (known as Skadden) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational law firm headquartered in New York City. The firm comprises approximately 1,700 lawyers and is the fourth highest ...

signed a letter of intent to take office space in any development that was built.

Obstacles

The development hit its first obstacle in April 2002 when members of the board of directors of the National Capital Revitalization Corporation (a quasi-public corporation established by the city and charged with helping businesses open and expand in the downtown area) opposed using the existing convention center for any other use than as a convention center. A month later, city officials and developers said that rising land prices within the city limits made using the convention center site for a baseball stadium prohibitively expensive. Finally, on May 19, 2002, Mayor Williams revealed the results of his two-year task force study. The task force and Williams recommended the construction of a high-rise apartment or condominium building with 600 to 900 units (20 percent of which would be for low-income people or families); of retail space (which would include retail shops as well as restaurants); a public park or plaza; at least 1,100 underground parking spaces; and additional facilities which might include a new main public library, a hotel, a music museum, an office building, and/or a theatre complex.Irwin, Neil. "On Prime Site, a Complex of Possibilities." ''Washington Post.'' May 20, 2002.Wilgoren, Debbi. "At Convention Center Site, a Convergence Of New Possibilities." ''Washington Post.'' August 22, 2002. Three theatres seating 200, 750, and 2,500 people were envisioned. The task force report constituted a major change in the city's thinking. City planners had originally thought that the site was big enough to contain only a single public attraction, but the task force recommended that the library and museum share exhibit space and be built largely underground so that both could be accommodated. Williams said the task force's vision was to "remake" downtown, so that the project would become as central to Washington, D.C., as the

Inner Harbor The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and landmark in Baltimore, Maryland. It was described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as "the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the world". The Inner Harbo ...

is to

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

Request for proposals

Williams submitted a draft RFP to the

Council of the District of Columbia The Council of the District of Columbia (or simply D.C. Council) is the legislative branch of the government of the District of Columbia. As permitted in the United States Constitution, the district is not part of any U.S. state and is overseen ...

in June 2002, and said his goal was to get the RFP approved and project proposals received by the fall of 2002. The RFP was approved, and the city issued it in August. The RFP contained guidelines which any proposal had to meet. These included 1,000 units of housing, of retail space, more than one theatre (with of space and a total of at least 3,000 seats), open space, and a public library. The RFP permitted construction of an office building and/or hotel only if it made the project economically viable. Since more than a dozen developers had already expressed interest in the project, city officials believed that it would take only nine months to interview applicants, name finalists, and re-interview the finalists. The RFP also specified that, since the city was unwilling to sell the site outright, the successful bidder would be required to enter into an agreement with the city giving the developer exclusive long-term rights to the site. City officials said it would take yet another year to further define the project, engage in a public planning process, and finalize the project. They did not expect construction to begin until 2005. For a time, the entire development effort was threatened by the baseball stadium issue. In September 2002, just a month after the RFP was issued, backers seeking to bring a Major League Baseball team to D.C. as well as some city officials proposed the Washington Convention Center site as one of five possible locations for the construction of a new baseball stadium. It was not until January 30, 2003, that Mayor Williams rejected the convention center as a potential stadium site. In December 2002, seven development proposals were received in response to the RFP. Proposals for the $1 billion project were received by District of Columbia Civic Development (consisting of Millennium Partners, Jonathan Rose Cos., Gould Property Co., and EastBanc Inc.); East End Redevelopment Associates (consisting of Federal Development LLC, Rockefeller Group Development Corp.,

Centex PulteGroup, Inc. is an American residential home-construction company based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. As of 2023, the company is the third-largest home-construction company in the United States based on the number of homes closed. In t ...

, and Summit Properties); Forest City-Jarvis Group (consisting of Forest City Washington and the Jarvis Group); The Georgetown Co.;

Hines Interests Limited Partnership Hines Interests Limited Partnership is an American privately held company that invests in and develops real estate. As of 2023, the company has developed, redeveloped or acquired more than 1,600 properties, comprising over 540 million square fe ...

and Charles E. Smith Residential; Human Vision Partners (consisting of New Vision Properties LLC and Mesirow Stein Development Services Inc.); The Related Cos.,

Boston Properties BXP, Inc. (formerly Boston Properties, Inc.) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust which invests in premier workplaces in Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. As of December 31, 2023, the c ...

, and MacFarlane Urban Realty Co.; and Dickie S. Carter.Lemke, Tim. "Developers Submit Ideas for D.C. Site." ''

Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout Washington, D. ...

.'' December 10, 2002. The city said it hoped to have its review of the proposals and the public planning process completed by June 2003. Finalists would be selected on the basis of which group had successfully completed large, complex projects in the past and which had good working relationships with local officials in previous projects. Some new limitations on the site became publicly known as this time as well. First, the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

, which controlled a parcel of land near the intersections of New York Avenue NW, I Street NW, and 10th Street NW, required that its land be used to reconnect 10th and I Streets. Second, the size of the site was not the originally reported. Instead, the site was just in size. City officials admitted that the National Park Service controlled a parcel along 11th Street NW north of H Street NW. However, D.C. officials said they hoped to convince the agency to allow the site to be developed. On March 29, 2003, the $600 million

Walter E. Washington Convention Center The Walter E. Washington Convention Center is a convention center located in Washington, D.C., owned and operated by the city's convention arm, Events DC. Designed in a joint venture by the Atlanta-based architecture firm Tvsdesign, Washington ...

was officially opened.

Proposal finalists

By April 2003, The Georgetown Co. had withdrawn its proposal and partnered with Hines Interest Limited Partnership/Charles E. Smith Residential.Lemke, Tim. "D.C. Trims List of Construction Hopefuls." ''Washington Times.'' April 17, 2003. Two groups, East End Redevelopment Associates and Human Vision Partners, had been eliminated from contention by the city. District officials said they would meet with the remaining development teams in May, meet with an external advisory panel in June, and pick a winning proposal in late June. They hoped that construction would begin 18 to 24 months later. The city had still not yet decided what to do with the existing convention center. Various individuals and groups had suggested keeping the facility and renovating it. But Mayor Williams demanded that it be torn down and parking lots be built on the site until the RFP process was finished and construction was ready to begin. In May 2003, a minor scandal erupted over a partnership which The Related Cos. made with the

University of the District of Columbia The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is a public historically black land-grant university in Washington, D.C., United States. The only public university in the city, it traces its origins to 1851 and opened in its current form in 1 ...

(UDC). The Related Cos. agreed to allow UDC to establish apprenticeships and educational classes in a number of disciplines (such as construction, cooking, and property management) for UDC students, but only if The Related Cos. won the RFP.Lemke, Tim. "Bidder to Redevelop Site Draws Ire of Rivals." ''Washington Times.'' May 9, 2003. Real estate experts, other companies competing for the RFP, and some D.C. officials expressed concern about the partnership because it involved an agency of the District government. But no action was taken against either The Related Cos. or UDC.

Narrowing down the finalists

On July 3, 2003, District officials narrowed the field of candidates to Hines Interests/Charles E. Smith Residential/The Georgetown Co. and Forest City/Jarvis Co. The two developer groups were chosen as finalists because they were able to finance the project themselves without assistance from the city.Lemke, Tim. "D.C. Nears Decision on Developers." ''Washington Times.'' July 5, 2003. D.C. planning officials said they hoped to select one of the two as the project developer by late August. The finalists were asked to participate in a

charrette A charrette (American pronunciation: /ʃɑːˈrɛt/; French: �aʁɛt, often Anglicized to charette or charet and sometimes called a design charrette, is a collaborative, intense period of design or planning activity. The term was introduced to m ...

over the next six weeks, to allow outside designers, members of the public, and other interested parties to view, comment on, and make improvements to the submitted designs. Approval of the master plan for the site would not occur until late 2004, city planners said, and zoning and other approvals might take another year or more. Nonetheless, they expressed hope that construction might start in late 2005 or early 2006. The city's decision was not without controversy. On August 10, 2003, The Related Cos., arguing that the RFP process had been "arbitrary, capricious and improper", demanded that the city start the process over with clearer criteria and new staff to oversee it.Irwin, Neil. "N.Y. Firm Wants Another Shot at Center Project." ''Washington Post.'' August 11, 2003. ''The Washington Post'', citing unnamed sources close to city officials, said The Related Cos. had been rejected due to their sometimes poor working relationship with local officials in other cities. When the city did not meet its demands, The Related Cos. filed suit in D.C. Superior Court on September 7. A second lawsuit was filed by the company on November 9.Vadum, Matthew. "Contract Loser Sues." ''

The Bond Buyer ''The Bond Buyer'' is a century-old United States daily national trade newspaper based in New York City and focused on covering the municipal bond A municipal bond, commonly known as a muni, is a bond issued by state or local governments, or ...

.'' November 10, 2003. On November 20, the District of Columbia Office of the Corporation Counsel filed a

motion to dismiss In United States law, a motion is a procedural device to bring a limited, contested issue before a court for decision. It is a request to the judge (or judges) to make a decision about the case. Motions may be made at any point in administrativ ...

, arguing that The Related Cos. had offered no legal or factual basis for claiming that the selection process was flawed. On December 18, D.C. Superior Court Judge A. Franklin Burress, Jr., rejected the city's motion and scheduled a preliminary court hearing for January 12, 2004. This hearing was rescheduled for March 14. The March 14 hearing was postponed when the city and the developer entered into negotiations to try to resolve their differences without a trial.Hedgpeth, Dana. "N.Y. Developer, District Negotiate to Settle Lawsuit." ''Washington Post.'' March 23, 2004. On March 26, the city and Hines Interest each agreed to pay $1 million to The Related Cos. immediately, with another $3 million to come from revenue generated by the project.Vadum, Matthew. "District of Columbia: Related Costs." ''The Bond Buyer.'' March 29, 2004.Hedgpeth, Dana. "D.C. Settles With Developer For $5 Million." ''Washington Post.'' March 26, 2004. City council members criticized the settlement, arguing it left the impression that the RFP process was flawed even though the city had admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement.

Decision

In late September 2003, Mayor Williams said he would make a decision about the RFP within a few weeks. At this time, ''The Washington Post'' reported that the land alone was worth $300 million, the public plaza had become "the focal point" of the development, and that the city was pushing for a "splashy new civic building, designed by one of the world's best-known architects." A month later, D.C. officials were predicting that the project would break ground in 2008.Irwin, Neil and Woodlee, Yolanda. "10.3 Acres of Tantalizing Potential in D.C." ''Washington Post.'' October 16, 2003. But the final design of the development was still uncertain, as the Federal City Council renewed its push for a national music museum at the site. There was also an increase in political maneuvering regarding the project. As of October 2003, backers of the Forest City bid included several prominent supporters of Mayor Williams, while advocates of the Hines-Smith Residential bid included wealthy, politically active friends of local D.C. developer Charles E. Smith. On November 6, 2003, Mayor Williams announced that the project had been awarded to the Hines Interests/Archstone/The Georgetown Co. group.Irwin, Neil and Woodlee, Yolana. "Builder Picked for Convention Center Site." ''Washington Post.'' November 6, 2003. The Hines group was chosen because of its track record, its proposal, and because it also had a history of working with minority-owned businesses. The group's financial package was also superior. The city had been willing to use up to $20 million annually in tax revenues generated by the project to help finance construction. But the Hines-led group was able to secure financing without city assistance, a much more favorable financial deal for the District of Columbia. (In a separate report, however, ''

'' reported that it was yet unclear whether the project would require city financial backing, and that individual projects within the development might use city-issued tax-exempt bonds for funding.)Vadum, Matthew. "D.C. Mayor Announces Plan for Old Convention Center Site." ''The Bond Buyer.'' November 7, 2003. The development group also said it would make a cash payment to the city immediately upon approval of the deal and give the city a portion of the profits from the project, a combined income which city officials said was worth $250 million. The winning proposal included of ground level retail space; 600 apartments and 275 condominiums; of office space; a 200 to 300 room

boutique hotel Boutique hotels are small-capacity Hotel, hotels that provide more personalized service than typical hotels. They typically have fewer than a hundred rooms, and are considered more "trendy" and "intimate", often due to their location in urban ar ...

; and a "cultural facility" (whose use was not yet determined) that included a 3,000-seat theater.Holly, Derrill. "Old Convention Hall Could Become Site of Vertical Neighborhood." ''Associated Press.'' November 6, 2003. (At least one report gave the size of the cultural facility as just .) Each of the buildings in the project was 11 stories high, and construction was anticipated to begin in late 2005. Hines executives said construction of the project would indirectly contribute $350 million to the local economy, and when complete the development would generate $15 to $20 million a year in property tax revenues for the city. Two other firms, the Bundy Development Corp. and the Neighborhood Development Co., had also joined the Hines-Archstone group as co-developers. Hines said it had chosen

Foster and Partners Foster and Partners (also Foster + Partners) is a British international architecture firm with its headquarters in London, England. It was founded in 1967 by British architect and designer Norman Foster. The firm has been involved in the desig ...

, a British firm, as the chief architect for the project. The price of the land had yet to be negotiated, and D.C. Council approval of the overall agreement was still needed. However, Mayor Williams proposed spending $13 million to demolish the

Project delays

2003–04

City center parking lot - Washington DC - 2011-08-20 003

On December 20, 2003, Williams submitted legislation to the D.C. City Council proposing to raze the

Washington Convention Center The Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. was a convention center located at 909 H Street NW, occupying the city block bounded by New York Avenue (Washington, D.C.), New York Avenue, 9th Street, H Street, and 11th Street.Wilgoren, Debbi. "Plan for Old Convention Center Clears Controversy." ''Washington Post.'' December 21, 2003. The cost of demolition and parking lot construction was set at $16 million, but the cost could be offset by parking fees. Three months later, in March 2004, the city and the Hines group began negotiating the terms of the redevelopment agreement. Negotiations were expected to conclude in April, with construction now estimated to begin in late in 2007 or early in 2008. In April 2004, however, the D.C. City Council proposed scrapping the redevelopment deal. Local architect Ted Mariani had proposed building a 1,500-room hotel and convention exhibit halls (linked underground to the new convention center) on the site of the old convention center, and convinced several members of the City Council that this would be a better use of the land.Hedgpeth, Dana and Irwin, Neil. "New Proposal Emerges for Old Convention Center." ''Washington Post.'' April 8, 2004. The Williams administration strongly opposed this plan. Over the next month, members of the Williams administration and City Council staff began meeting to Mariani's proposal."Monday Morning." ''Washington Post.'' May 17, 2004. Joe Sternlieb, head of the Downtown D.C. Business Improvement District; James A. Jemison, mayoral planning aide; and city development consultant Ron Kaplan met three times a week for two to three hours each day with council staff to convince them that the Mariani proposal was inappropriate. Mayoral staff said they could agree to a hotel and some meeting space underground, so long as the council approved the development deal by late June. But Council Chair

Linda W. Cropp Linda Washington Cropp (born October 5, 1947) is an American politician from Washington, D.C., the Capital (political), capital of the United States. She was a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the Council of the District of C ...

and Council Member Jack Evans (in whose ward the site was located) both favored the Mariani plan. Cropp said she voted to approve construction of the new convention center only because she had been led to believe that the old convention center would continue to exist and provide exhibit space for the city. On July 15, 2004, the two sides reached an agreement to proceed with the existing Williams-backed plan, so long as it included at least 1,200 housing units and a new city main public library—but not convention exhibit halls, a major hotel, or a music museum.Irwin, Neil and Hedgpeth, Dana. "Library Wins in Current Site Plan." ''Washington Post.'' July 16, 2004. The agreement permitted the construction of private offices or a boutique hotel atop the library building. It also allowed the Hines-led development group to lease the site for 99 years in return for a fixed multimillion-dollar annual rent payment as well as 25 percent of the project's profits. However, some City Council members, the

Washington Convention and Sports Authority Events DC is the official convention, sports and entertainment authority for Washington, D.C.. Events DC is a quasi-public company based that owns and manages the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, CareFirst Arena, RFK Stadium, and Nationals ...

, and the Federal City Council opposed to the agreement. Going a step further, the Washington Convention and Sports Authority (WCSA) commissioned a study of the old convention center site, which it said would be ready in August 2004. The disagreement dragged on into late 2004. The WCSA consultant's report was complete in October 2004. The authority was due to vote on accepting its consultant's report on October 13, but delayed the vote after Mayor Williams asked for more time to negotiate a solution.Hedgpeth, Dana. "Convention Center Board Delays Hotel Vote." ''Washington Post.'' November 5, 2004. The next day, Cropp, supported by the city's hospitality industry, suggested that the old convention center site be used for a $450 million, 1,500-room "convention headquarters hotel" instead of the site (bounded by L Street NW, 9th Street NW, and Massachusetts Avenue NW) favored by the Williams administration. Greg Fazakerley, a local developer and former president of the D.C. Building Industry Association, stepped in at the end of October to assist the two sides in coming to an agreement. The WCSA board delayed a November 4 vote until December. However, it did release its consultant's report, which did not specify a site for construction of the headquarters hotel but did identify six sites to be occupied by hotels of various size as well as financing options for them. On December 3, the WCSA board voted in favor of the Williams site, but said it would continue to study placing a hotel on a triangular plot of land at 901 New York Avenue NW.Hedgpeth, Dana. "Convention Board Backs Mayor on Hotel Site." ''Washington Post.'' December 3, 2004. WCSA said its third option would be to build the hotel on the northeast corner of the old Washington Convention Center site. Although Cropp was unhappy with the WCSA board's action, Williams said the city would move forward on negotiations with the Hines group. William B. Alsup III, head of Washington operations for Hines Interests, said the company could put aside of the site to build a hotel, even though this would mean sacrificing 428 housing units. Although no formal resolution to the dispute had occurred, Hines Interests released new details in February 2005 about what it envisioned building: Just 772 units of condos and apartments, of ground-level retail space, now of office space, and a public library."Monday Morning." ''Washington Post.'' February 7, 2005. With the Federal City Council still pushing for a music museum, the developers said of land would remain unbuilt until the city decided what would occupy that space. By this time, construction was scheduled to begin in 2008 and end in 2010. In early March 2005, in an attempt to resolve the disagreement, Mayor Williams offered to pay for construction of the new city main library out of the city's revenues from the project, and use the remaining revenue to reinvigorate the city library system as a whole.McElhatton, Jim. "Mayor Ties Library, Development." ''Washington Times.'' March 24, 2005. Williams asked that the Council resolve the dispute over the headquarters hotel quickly, and warned that further delay imperiled the 7,500 temporary construction jobs and more than 5,000 permanent jobs the project could create. Linda Cropp

The old Washington Convention Center was imploded on December 18, 2004.Fernandez, Manny. "D.C. Landmark Disappears in a Cloud of Dust." ''Washington Post.'' December 19, 2004. Concrete from the site was recycled and used as a stabilizing layer in the new temporary parking lots later built on the site. The city built a beautified parking lot on the space. Colored glass was embedded in sidewalks criss-crossing the lot; trees and shrubs were planted around the lots; purple-colored street lamps provided nighttime lighting; a wide path of synthetic green carpet, stretched the north–south across the lot, connected the two ends of 10th Street NW; and on either side of the carpet were 12 pairs of

abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a Composition (visual arts), composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ''Abstract art'', ''non-figurative art'', ''non- ...

by local artists mounted on high poles.Stuever, Hank. "Walking on Empty." ''Washington Post.'' June 18, 2006.

2005

Resolution to the dispute came in June 2005, after almost a year's delay. The D.C. City Council Economic Development Committee held a hearing on the issue on April 18, 2005.Hedgpeth, Dana. "Bethesda Community Is Hot Property." ''April 18, 2005. The council expected to hold a final vote approving the original agreement between the city and the Hines-led group in May. However, the additional delay now meant that construction would not begin until 2009 and not end until 2011. But Cropp convinced a majority of the council to put off the scheduled May 4 vote.Hedgpeth, Dana. "D.C. Delays Plans for Old Convention Center Site." ''Washington Post.'' May 4, 2005. She argued that the agreement gave the mayor complete authority over whether to build a hotel on the old convention center site, authority the council should not grant. Williams submitted a revised agreement on May 24. Another vote was scheduled for June 2005. Finally, on June 6, 2005, the D.C. City Council unanimouslyVadum, Matthew. "Old D.C. Convention Center Site Gets Go-Ahead for Redevelopment." ''The Bond Buyer.'' June 8, 2005. voted to approve the deal between the city and the Hines-led developers' group.Hedgpeth, Dana. "Council Gets Authority In Hotel Siting Dispute." ''Washington Post.'' June 7, 2005. The agreement said that of land on the northeast corner of the old convention center site would be set aside, pending council resolution of what to do with the property. Although the plan still included a public park or other space (to be managed by the property manager, not the city), a music museum had been explicitly ruled out by the council in favor of revenue-generating activities. Details of the plan remained unclear. The ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

'' reported that there would now be 1,372 housing units on the site, and that office, retail, and parking space would total . But the finance industry publication ''The Bond Buyer'' said there would be only 772 housing units, and office and retail space alone would total more than ( of retail space and of office space). The publication also said that 2,000 parking spaces were included in the project, and that at least 30 percent of the retail space must be leased to stand-alone rather than chain stores. Construction would begin in 2008, the ''Associated Press'' said. The city would get a 99-year lease, the ''Associated Press'' and ''The Bond Buyer'' reported, but this would generate only about $2 million a year in profit. Another $10 million a year would be generated in income and property taxes.

Finalizing the master plan

Final stage of planning

CityCenterDC - looking west across Gould lot - 2011-08-20

Although the city had finally approved the awarding of the project, most of the details had yet to be decided. City officials said in June 2005 that it would take six to nine months to finalize the master plan. In November 2005, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development and the Hines-led group held its first meeting to receive public input. The planning process took longer than anticipated because it was complicated by additional real estate deals. On January 26, 2005,

Kingdon Gould III Kingdon Gould III (born June 16, 1948) is an American real estate developer, active in the Washington, D.C.-area. He is part of the fifth generation of the Gould family of financiers, philanthropists and diplomats, which includes his father Kingd ...

(a local developer) swapped a lot on the southeast corner of 9th Street NW and Massachusetts Avenue NW for a similar-sized lot at the site of the old convention center.Killian, Erin. "Developer, D.C. Reach Deal on Convention Center Hotel.' ''

Washington Business Journal American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes ''The Business Journals'', which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States with each market ...

.'' January 27, 2006.Hedgpeth, Dana. "D.C. Has Deal for Convention Hotel Site." ''Washington Post.'' August 23, 2005. This land swap was essential to constructing the new convention center "headquarters hotel." The site preferred by Mayor Williams and recommended by his task force was not large enough for the planned hotel, and not contiguous. Gould's lot would create a unified site large enough for the headquarters hotel. The deal began taking shape in August 2005, after the D.C. City Council had approved the awarding of the RFP. The WSCA put a $900,000 down payment on the lot (which included the historic former headquarters of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry and an adjacent small piece of land). The city and Gould engaged in lengthy negotiations over the price of Gould's land, and whether a payment or land swap would be needed. A land swap was agreed to, and the city was able to move ahead with plans to build the

Washington Marriott Marquis Marriott Marquis Washington, DC is a luxury hotel located on Massachusetts Avenue (Washington, D.C.), Massachusetts Avenue NW, in Northwest, Washington, D.C., NW, Washington, D.C., United States. The hotel is connected to the Walter E. Washingt ...

(the 1,430-room "headquarters hotel" long-desired by the city). The Gould land swap deal removed from northeasternmost lot on the old convention center site from the control of the Hines-led group, although it remained subject to the restrictions of the master plan. The land swap still required city council approval. The land swap negotiations had held up resolution of the master plan details, but now Hines Interests officials said they would submit the draft final master plan to the city in the spring of 2005. That $1 billion plan now called for of retail space, of office space (up from in June 2004), 772 apartments and condominiums, and 1,200 parking spaces (down from 2,000 in June 2004). Further changes were made to the development as the master planning process continued. By late May 2006, ''The Washington Post'' architecture critic Benjamin Forgey said, the large public plaza had largely disappeared from the plans. A month later, ''The Washington Post'' described the unnamed project (now scheduled for completion in 2011) as having 772 condo units, of retail space (unchanged from January 2006), of office space (down from since January 2006), 1,900 parking spaces (up from 1,200 in January 2006), an outdoor ice skating rink, and a $187 million library. A briefing for architectural and engineering firms seeking subcontract work from the developers was held in September 2006.

Approval

City officials approved the final master plan on November 20, 2006. The project included 686 housing units (down from 772 in June 2006), of retail space (up from in June 2006), of office space (up from in June 2006), 1,700 underground parking spaces (down from 1,900 in June 2006), and of land for a public library.Natarajan, Prabha. "Master Plan for Old Convention Center Site Gets City Approval." ''Washington Business Journal.'' November 21, 2006. Twenty percent of the condominiums would be priced for low-income people. The public park had not disappeared (as previously reported), but just were set aside for what was now called "Central Plaza". Tenth Street NW was reopened, a narrowed I Street NW was reopened between 9th and 10th Streets NW, and 30 percent of the retail space was set aside for non-chain stores. Two condominium buildings occupied the corner of 9th and H Streets NW, while two larger apartment buildings occupied the corner of 10th and H Streets NW. A north–south running open-air plaza occupied the space between them. Two office buildings occupied the south end of the block between 10th and 11th Streets NW, while an open-air public park with fountain was on the north end. A wide, covered "pedestrian street" ran east–west between the buildings on both blocks.Dietsch, Deborah K. "Modernism's March on Washington." ''Washington Times.'' September 8, 2007. Foster and Partners oversaw the design of the development, while the local firm of Shalom Baranes Associates was the lead architect. The ''Washington Business Journal'' and ''The Washington Times'' reported the project's total cost as $650 million, but ''The Washington Post'' pegged it at $630 million. City officials estimated that the development would create more than 7,500 temporary construction jobsHedgpeth, Dana. "New Look at Old Convention Center." ''Washington Post.'' November 27, 2006. and 5,200 permanent jobs, and bring in $30 million annually in income, sales, and property tax revenues.Ramstack, Tom. "WCC Site to Be Put to Mixed Use." ''Washington Times.'' November 23, 2006. Construction was set to begin in late 2008 and conclude by mid-2011. The city had yet to decide what to do with its remaining parcel, which occupied the west end of the triangular block bordering New York Avenue NW between 9th and 10th Streets NW, but city officials were still pushing for a public library on the spot. The 99-year lease the city signed with Hines-Archstone in 2006 expressed the intent of both parties to seek the following kind and number of retailers for the project: five restaurants, 10 food markets (general and/or speciality), and 14 cafés.

=Preliminary design

= In April 2007, the Hines-led development group submitted its preliminary design schematics to the city for approval.Natarajan, Prabha. "Design Plans Set for Former D.C. Convention Center Site." ''Washington Business Journal.'' April 9, 2007. The submission focused on the redevelopment of the park on the northwestern corner of the site, the reopening of 10th and I Streets NW, and the six parcels of land for the office buildings and residential housing. All buildings were designed to meet existing zoning regulations. Approval of the schematics and signing of the lease for the land were anticipated to occur in May 2007, so that construction could begin that fall. The schematics showed that 464 residential units would be apartments, and 222 units would be condominiums. Each building was 11 or 12 stories tall, and sheathed in glass and steel.Lengel, Allan. "'Unique Retailers' Planned at Old Convention Center." ''Washington Post.'' April 23, 2007. Further details about the preliminary design emerged two weeks later. ''The Washington Post'' reported that the northwestern park was now slightly larger at , office space had soared to (up from in November 2006), and only 1,640 underground parking spaces were planned (down from 1,700 in November 2006). The number of housing units had fallen to 665 from 686 in November 2006, which included 211 condos ranging in price from $700,000 to $1.4 million. Retail space had also shrunk, to (from in November 2006). Four of the buildings had retail on three stories, while the other two had retail on just two. Gould's plans for the northeast corner of the site were still unsettled, but Hines and Archstone executives said it was well-suited for office space and a boutique hotel.

=Facade

= The look of the new buildings also was made public at this time. Foster and Partners designed both office and both condominium buildings, while Shalom Baranes designed the apartment buildings. All the buildings were "streamlined in glass and metal". The office buildings were clad in a double layer of glass and metal designed to move to reflect sunlight. The condo buildings had glass curtain walls, and balconies extended uninterrupted across the facade (although metal grilles separated each unit's balcony from the next to create some privacy). Vertical slabs of

precast concrete Precast concrete is a construction product produced by casting concrete in a reusable molding (process), mold or "form" which is then cured in a controlled environment, transported to the construction site and maneuvered into place; examples i ...

extended vertically up the facade to help break up the monotonous glass wall. The apartment buildings (by lead architect Robert M. Sponseller) also featured glass curtain walls, but the balconies (which did not extend across the facade) were clad in

terra cotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based Vitrification#Ceramics, non-vitreous ceramicOED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used ...

and the corners of the buildings were covered in glazed tile in a rhythmic patterns reminiscent of 22 West (a luxury condominium located at 22nd and M Streets NW and completed in 2008). Setbacks were used on the upper floors along the pedestrian interior spaces.Dietsch, Deborah K. "Mixed-Use Modernism." ''Washington Times.'' December 22, 2007. The "pedestrian street" (nicknamed "9 1/2 Street" by the architects) was to be paved in granite, with each retail front jutting into the street at different depths and adorned with varying signage. The goal was to mimic a street which had been built at different times and in different architectural styles, without completely losing a uniform architectural style that would unify the storefronts visually. The narrowness of the pedestrian area was intended to create a more human-scale urban experience similar to that of New York City. The interior plaza between the condominiums and apartment buildings was shown with a fountain in the center. ''The Washington Post'' reported that public reaction to Shalom Baranes' design of the structures tended to be negative. Local

Advisory Neighborhood Commission Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) are bodies of local government in the District of Columbia, the capital city of the United Statesdistrict. The ANC system was created in 1974 through a referendum (73 percent voted "yes") in the District of ...

member Alexander Padro told the press, "It's got nothing to it. It's a lost opportunity. It's a shock to see them come up with a bunch of glass boxes instead of an impressive architectural statement." Padro was strongly critical of the open plazas, pointing out that similar spaces in the city did not function as intended but were "skateboard havens and homeless encampments." Deborah Dietsch, architectural critic for ''The Washington Times'', described the condominiums as "disappointing", oppressive, out of place, and recalling "1960s-era apartment blocks". She thought the apartment building designs were "fresher". Dietsch also worried that public spaces, designed by the

landscape architecture Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioural, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic design and general engineering of various structures for constructio ...

firm of Gustafson Guthrie Nichol, would be too flat, too hard, and "more severe than serene." But ''The Washington Post'' architectural critic Philip Kennicott praised "9 1/2 Street," calling it "the most distinctive feature" of the redevelopment plan.Kennicott, Philip. "Architecture and the Ability to Draw People In." ''Washington Post.'' March 30, 2008.

The site

On November 1, 2007, the land swap deal with developer Gould (first signed in January 2005) was finally approved.Lazo, Alejandro. "D.C. Land Deal Clears Way For Convention Center Hotel." ''Washington Post.'' November 2, 2007. Although the City Council had signed off on the deal in June 2005, the city took another 25 months to change local zoning regulations so that Gould was exempted from building housing on his new site (as required by the agreement). Gould said he still had not decided what should be built there. The approval meant Gould could not begin considering what project to place on his land. The city, too, remained undecided about what to do with its site adjacent to Gould's parcel.O'Connell, Jonathan. "Parcel Remains Unsold at Old Convention Center Site." ''Washington Business Journal.'' November 5, 2007. City officials said that if they decided to not build anything on the parcel, the Hines-led development group had the right to negotiate for a long-term lease for its use. The developers were not so undecided. They were negotiating to purchase outright of land at the northwest corner of H and 9th Streets NW, and reported that specialty retail stores and supermarkets had already expressed interest in leasing the ground-floor retail there. The delays in deciding the fate of both parcels of land meant that the project was now not due for completion until January 2012. On December 17, 2007, D.C. Mayor

(who was elected in November 2006 and took office in January 2007), and the Hines-led development group signed a final $850 million agreement giving Hines-Archstone final control over the old convention center site.O'Connell, Jonathan. "City, Developers Agree on Financing Plan for Old Convention Site." ''Washington Business Journal.'' December 17, 2007. Hines-Archstone leased the land beneath the office and apartment buildings for $500,000 a year for 99 years, but purchased the land beneath the condominiums. Retail space in the final agreement was set at and office space at (both unchanged from April 2007), although now housing units numbered 760 (up from 665 in April). The lease agreement required that 30 percent of the retail space be set aside for businesses with fewer than six locations nationwide.Lazo, Alejandro. "Building D.C.'s New 'Heart and Soul'." ''Washington Post.'' December 18, 2007. The developers committed to spending about $55 million to make 134 (17.6 percent) of the housing units affordable to people with low incomes, $48 million to make improvements to infrastructure (water, sewer, electricity, streets), $14 million to provide entertainment in the development's public spaces, and $55 million for miscellaneous improvements. The city would receive about $28.5 million annually in rent, as well as 25 percent of all profits above certain specified levels. The city remained undecided about what to do with its parcel, while Hines-Archstone said they would build a

big-box store A big-box store, a hyperstore, a supercenter, a superstore, or a megastore is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain of stores. The term sometimes also refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store. The ...

on the parcel if it became available. City officials said they hoped to solicit proposals for their parcel in spring 2008. Hines-Archstone said construction would begin on the apartment, condominium, and office buildings in January 2009, with the first buildings ready for occupancy in 2011. The project still had no official name, but both Fenty and Hines-Archstone officials used the term "city center". In late December 2007, ''The Washington Times'' reported that construction on the project would begin in 2009 and end in 2011. On December 24, the ''Washington Business Journal'' said that plans to build a new central library on the city-owned parcel on the development's north side "had died."O'Connell, Jonathan. "Library Not Part of Plans for Convention Center Site." ''Washington Business Journal.'' December 24, 2007. The paper reported that the city was now likely to sell the parcel to Hines-Archstone, and that a decision would be made in the first three months of 2008. With the master plan and architectural design details nearly complete, the

National Capital Planning Commission The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) is a United States government, U.S. government executive branch agency that provides Urban planning, planning guidance for Washington, D.C., and the surrounding National Capital Region. Through its pl ...

(NCPC) began reviewing the development. The NCPC has planning authority over federally owned land in the metropolitan D.C. region, and provides advice to the District of Columbia in land use decisions. The NCPC was briefed on the convention center development project on March 6, 2008, and approved final site plans for the northwest park and reopening of 10th and I Streets NW on April 3. The commission expressed its concern with "9 1/2 Street," concluding it went against the city's existing pattern of wide streets.

Naming

On May 11, 2008, the ''Washington Business Journal'' said the developers had finally settled on CityCenterDC as the project's name.Gaynair, Gillian. "DC to Lease Final Old Convention Center Parcel to Hines and Archstone." ''Washington Business Journal.'' May 12, 2008. The newspaper also said that the District of Columbia and Hines-Archstone had agreed to a 99-year lease of the city's parcel on the site's northern edge for the construction of a 400-room luxury hotel and of retail space.Schwartzman, Paul. "Downtown D.C. Project to Include Posh Hotel." ''Washington Post.'' May 13, 2008. The cost of the building would be $150 million, and the retail space would occupy the first and second floors of the hotel (with the possibility of an underground retail level as well). The price of the lease was not set, as this depended on what retailers agreed to occupy the structure. The development group said it was looking for a "large format retailer" such as

Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and a seco ...

Bloomingdale's Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain founded in 1861 by Joseph Bloomingdale and Lyman Bloomingdale. It was acquired by Federated Department Stores in 1930, which purchased the Macy's department store chain in 1994, ...

, and hoped to announce the retail space occupant within six months. Hines-Archstone said they now hoped to now break ground in the second quarter of 2009, with a completion date of 2011.

Temporary tennis stadium

Before construction began at the site, a temporary stadium was erected to serve as the home court for the

Washington Kastles The Washington Kastles was one of eight franchises that compete in World TeamTennis. Founded in 2008 and based in Washington, D.C., the Kastles won the WTT championship six times, tied for a league record. The team was named for Kastle Systems, ...

World TeamTennis World TeamTennis (WTT) was a mixed-gender professional tennis league played with a team format in the United States, which was founded in 1973. The league's season normally took place in the summer months. Players from the ATP and WTA would ...

for the 2008 through 2010 seasons. The stadium was called Kastles Stadium at CityCenterDC. The Kastles, an

expansion team An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, hosted and won the 2009 league championship on the site.

Financing

As of May 2008, Hines-Archstone had not sought financing for its projects, even though credit markets were tightening due to the

late-2000s recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.

. Hines-Archstone began seeking financing in September, but funds were proving difficult to obtain. Archstone was partially owned by

Lehman Brothers Lehman Brothers Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1850. Before filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Merril ...

,Lazo, Alejandro. "D.C. Deals Relied On Lehman Funding." ''Washington Post.'' September 22, 2008. which declared bankruptcy on September 15, 2008. Archstone said the investment lender's bankruptcy would not impact CityCenterDC, and that it had access to sources of financing other than Lehman Brothers. However, it admitted that the ongoing recession was making it difficult to find that money. By early December, Hines-Archstone had still not obtained the $500 million in financing it needed, and decided to postpone any further efforts until 2009.Schwartzman, Paul and Hedgpeth, Dana. "Building Slowdown Turns Grand Visions Into Vapor." ''Washington Post.'' December 2, 2008. Groundbreaking, previously set for January 2009, was put off until July 2009 and possibly December 2009. By March 2009, financing had still not been put in place. Hines-Archstone officials said they would have to talk to twice as many investors as usual before financing could be found.Hedgpeth, Dana. "Cranes Are Ready, Financing Isn't." ''Washington Post.'' March 5, 2009. The lack of financing began to worry contractors. Firms such as the structural engineering company

Thornton Tomasetti Thornton Tomasetti is an American science and engineering consulting firm headquartered in New York City, United States. It operates globally and employs over 1,500 people. It was formerly known as the Thornton-Tomasetti Group, Thornton Tomasett ...

, consulting engineering firm TOLK, Inc., and Shalom Baranes Associates, among others, said they would be forced to lay off employees if the project did not start soon. Financing finally emerged in fall 2010. On October 20, D.C. Council member Jack Evans announced that officials with Hines Interests and the Jarvis Company had told him that they had obtained financing but did not specify the source.Krouse, Sarah and Neibauer, Michael. "Hines Plans April Groundbreaking on CityCenter." ''Washington Business Journal.'' October 21, 2010. Hines Interests declined to identify the investor at that time, while D.C. officials said it was a "foreign entity" which would finance the entire $750 million to $950 million cost alone. Hines-Archstone officials said that they were also going to move ahead even though they did not yet have major tenants signed up for space in the buildings. Although the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom had signed a letter of intent to occupy space in the office buildings back in March 2002, the firm pulled out in July 2010.

Construction

CityCenterDC - Clark-Smoot Joint Venture - 2011-08-20

Groundbreaking

On October 21, 2010, Hines-Archstone said it would break ground on April 4, 2011. Instead of constructing buildings one at a time, the Hines-led group said that the apartment, condominium, and office buildings would be built at the same time. The northern parcel (containing the large-format retailer and 400-room hotel) would be built later. Clark Construction Group and the Sherman R. Smoot Co., large construction companies located in D.C., formed a joint venture named Clark/Smoot to provide construction services to the development. Clark/Smoot began soliciting bids for subcontractors on October 10, 2010, and said they would close this process by February or March 2011. Financing and development needs were drawing new participants in the project as well. The ''Washington Business Journal'' said that Triden Development Group and The Mayhood Co. had both become partners in the development. The cost of the project was now pegged at $950 million. Ground on the project was formally broken on April 4 (although workers had actually broken ground 10 days earlier). D.C. officials told the press that the unidentified investor in the project was the

Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA; ) is Qatar's sovereign wealth fund. The QIA was founded by the State of Qatar in 2005 to strengthen the country's economy by diversifying into new asset classes. In November 2024, the QIA had an estimated $526 ...

, a company controlled by the

Qatar Investment Authority The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA; ) is Qatar's sovereign wealth fund. The QIA was founded by the State of Qatar in 2005 to strengthen the country's economy by diversifying into new asset classes. In November 2024, the QIA had an estimated $526 ...

, the government of

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

sovereign wealth fund A sovereign wealth fund (SWF), or sovereign investment fund, is a state-owned investment fund that invests in real and financial assets such as stocks, Bond (finance), bonds, real estate, precious metals, or in alternative investments such as ...

. Barwa Bank, a Qatari bank, assisted in the financing. The total invested was $620 million, and made Qatari Diar the development's principal owner. It was Qatari Diar's first investment in the United States, and officials of the organization said they considered the deal the most important in their $60 billion portfolio.Howell, Jr., Tom. "CityCenterDC a 'Piece of the Puzzle' Downtown." ''Washington Times.'' April 5, 2011. Since the CityCenterDC investment, the Qatar Investment Authority recently stated its intentions to invest $10 billion in U.S. infrastructure projects, in addition to previous announcements that it would invest $35 billion between 2016 and 2021. Ali Bin Fahad Al-Hajri, the Qatari ambassador to the United States, and

Joseph LeBaron Joseph Evan LeBaron (born September 3, 1947) is the former United States ambassador to the State of Qatar (July 18, 2008 – July 29, 2011) and to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (September 1, 2003 – November 22, 2007). In September 2011, L ...

, the

United States Ambassador to Qatar The United States ambassador to Qatar is the official representative of the government of the United States to the government of Qatar. Ambassadors See also * Qatar – United States relations *Foreign relations of Qatar *Ambassadors of the U ...

, were present for the groundbreaking. Hines-Archstone officials said American firms were too reluctant to invest in the project during the recession, which forced the company to look globally for a financier. Newly elected D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray said the project would create an estimated 1,700 temporary construction jobs and 3,700 permanent jobs, while bringing in $29.8 million annually in taxes and generating $9.4 million in annual sales taxes. Construction on the main phase of the development would conclude in 2014, local press reported, while construction of the retail and hotel building on the northern parcel would not be complete until 2015. More than 100 subcontractors had been hired. Aspects of the development again were revised again at the time of the groundbreaking. Office space had risen to (from in December 2007), retail space had dropped to (from in December 2007), and the number of housing units had fallen to 674 (from 760 in December 2007).O'Connell, Jonathan. "Mixed-Use Project Is Coda for Downtown D.C. Revival." ''Washington Post.'' April 5, 2011. This included 216 condominiums (about 32 percent of all housing units, the same as the last time a mix of units was reported in April 2007). Hines-Archstone officials said the cost of a condominium would be $750,000 to $900,000, with marketing of these units to begin in April 2012.Krouse, Sarah. "PN Hoffman Buys 14th St. Verizon Building." ''Washington Business Journal.'' April 6, 2011. Ninety-two of the 459 apartment units were priced for low-income residents, an increase in the percentage of low-income units since it was last reported in 2006. Although the number of parking spaces was not reported, the developers said there would be four underground parking levels. Hines-Archstone said it would seek

LEED for Neighborhood Development LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND), where "LEED" stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a United States–based rating system that integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism, and green building into a national ...

certification.

Problems arise

CityCenter DC - construction 06 - 2011-12-30

On June 21, 2011, ''The New York Times'' reported that the project would be largely complete by late 2013. The developers were pursuing high-end retailers like

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Comput ...

to lease space in the development. They were not, however, willing to allow banks to lease space, because they had low foot traffic and were not open at night, although other reports contend this decision was made primarily to satisfy Qatari Diar's requirement of adherence to Sharia, or Islamic law. Some individuals and media sources expressed concern over the Qatari involvement. Because Qatari Diar was involved, the project was required to adhere to the restrictions of

Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

, or Islamic law. This included a ban on collecting interest. Not only did Qatari Diar provide cash (not interest-bearing loans) for the project,DePillis, Lydia. "The Prophet Motive." ''Washington City Paper.'' July 8, 2011. banks were not initially permitted as tenants. There were concerns that the sale of alcohol, pork, or tobacco as well as businesses such as gambling, hotels, movie theaters, and nude entertainment would also be prohibited. The Hines-Archstone group said it had never intended to allow banks, gambling, or liquor stores, and although it was seeking a

wine bar A wine bar is a tavern-like business focusing on selling wine, rather than liquor or beer. A typical feature of many wine bars is a wide selection of wines available by the glass. Some wine bars are profiled on wines of a certain type of origin, ...

(or similar business) as a tenant the Qataris said their interpretation of Sharia permitted such an establishment. The Qataris also said restaurants would be able to serve liquor and pork, because the sale of such items was not a restaurant's primary business.

Automated teller machine An automated teller machine (ATM) is an electronic telecommunications device that enables customers of financial institutions to perform financial transactions, such as cash withdrawals, deposits, funds transfers, balance inquiries or account ...

s would also be permitted, and the agreement between Hines-Archstone and Qatari Diar did not bar a bank as a tenant in the future. Concern over the Qatari role in CityCenterDC was expressed by the conservative

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

Center for Security Policy The Center for Security Policy (CSP) is a US far-right, anti-Muslim, Washington, D.C.–based think tank. The founder and former president of the organization is Frank J. Gaffney Jr., who now serves as the group's executive chairman. The c ...

and by

Pamela Geller Pamela Geller (born 1958) is an American anti-Muslim, far-right political activist, blogger and commentator. Geller promoted birther conspiracy theories about President Barack Obama, saying that he was born in Kenya and that he is a Muslim. ...

, author of the popular conservative blog Atlas Shrugs, both of whom believed that Islamic law was being imposed on Americans without their consent. Conservative concern over the project was also reported in the ''

Washington City Paper The ''Washington City Paper'' is a U.S. alternative weekly newspaper serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area since 1981. The ''City Paper'' is distributed on Thursdays; its average circulation in 2006 was 85,588. The paper's editorial ...

''. In June 2011, a major disagreement over federal prevailing-wage law broke out regarding the project. The dispute involved a petition filed in 2009 with the

United States Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemp ...

(DOL) by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council of Carpenters, a regional union belonging to the

United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, often simply the United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC), was formed in 1881 by Peter J. McGuire and Gustav Luebkert. It has become one of the largest trade unions in the United State ...

. The union claimed that because the city agreed to increase taxes to support CityCenterDC and a public park and city-subsidized affordable housing is included in the development, the project triggered the provisions of the federal Davis–Bacon Act—which requires that

prevailing wage In United States government contracting, a prevailing wage is defined as the hourly wage, usual benefits and overtime, paid to the majority of workers, laborers, and mechanics within a particular area. This is usually the union wage. Prevailing ...

s be paid on public works projects.DeBonis, Mike and O’Connell, Jonathan. "D.C. to Fight Labor Department Ruling Requiring ‘Prevailing Wage’ Rates for Downtown Project." ''Washington Post''. September 9, 2011.
Accessed 2011-09-13. The

Wage and Hour Division The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the United States Department of Labor is the Federal government of the United States, federal office responsible for enforcing federal labor laws. The Division was formed with the enactment of the Fair Labor St ...

rejected the petition in August 2010, but the union appealed and won a ruling in June 2011 applying prevailing wages to the project. The Wage and Hour Division ruling did not require the project to hire union workers, but would have the effect of making unionized contractors more competitive. The city and Hines/Archstone appealed to a DOL review board have the ruling overturned, arguing that it would increase costs by $20 million and compromise or bring to a halt major city-funded building projects at the

Southwest Waterfront The Southwest Waterfront is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C. (Southwest), Southwest Washington, D.C. The Southwest quadrant is the smallest of Washington's four Address (geography)#Quadrants, quadrants, and the Southwest Waterfront is one of on ...

, the campus of

St. Elizabeths Hospital St. Elizabeths Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast Washington, D.C. operated by the District of Columbia Department of Mental Health. The hospital opened in 1855 under the name Government Hospital for th ...

, and the former

Walter Reed Army Medical Center The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), officially known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951, was the United States Army, U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in Washington, D.C., it served more ...

campus. The Wage and Hour Division said the city would be responsible for the wage increase, while the city said Hines/Archstone would need to pay for it. Local labor unions and the

AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...

opposed the city's decision to appeal (which had Mayor Gray's personal approval). ''The Washington Post'' editorialized strongly against DOL's June 2011 decision.

Phase I completion and opening

By late 2013, the construction of the first buildings in Phase I was complete, with tenants moving in to their apartments in December. In spring 2014, retail stores began opening. An electronic art installation was unveiled at a ceremony with Mayor Vincent C. Gray in June 2014. The office buildings opened later that year, with the largest tenant moving in December 2014. By summer 2015, most of the development was completed and the restaurant and retail tenants were open for business.

Phase II

In February 2013,

Hilton Worldwide Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. is an American multinational hospitality company that manages and franchises a broad portfolio of hotels, resorts, and timeshare properties. Founded by Conrad Hilton in May 1919, the company is now led by Chris ...

said it was in talks with CityCenterDC developers to open a 370-room Conrad Hotel at 925 New York Avenue, NW as the second phase of the six-building complex.O'Connell, Jonathan. "Hilton in Talks to Open Hotel at CityCenterDC." ''Washington Post.'' February 13, 2013. In early summer of 2014, an agreement was finalized for the construction of a Conrad Hotel. Construction on the luxury hotel broke ground in mid-2016, which marks the seventh total building developed in the Hines-Qatari partnership. Qatari Diar Americas’ chief executive officer Fabien Toscano stated that this is a significant milestone for future generations to come, as it is "a destination designed to enhance the experience of everyone who stays and visits, and to inspire the way they choose to work, live and play".

The Gould space

In October 2012, Kingston Gould III announced that he would construct an office tower on the empty northeast lot adjacent to CityCenterDC. 900 New York Avenue NW, proposed to face New York Avenue NW and 9th Street NW, would have of office space and 13 stories. Gould said Kendall/Heaton Associates was the lead architectural firm, with design input from the firm of

Pickard Chilton Pickard is a surname, an Anglicised version of Picard, originally meaning a person from Picardy, a historical region and cultural area of France. Notable people with the surname include: * Al Pickard (1895–1975), Canadian ice hockey administra ...

. The Atelier Ten firm would assist in making the building sustainable, and the Seattle-based landscape architectural firm of Gustafson Guthrie Nichol would handle interior and exterior landscaping. The building would be "Class A" office space, offering high-end amenities, a top-floor room providing views of the city, And a 13-story garden atrium. The facade would be glass, and there would be extensive interior and exterior landscaping. Two months later, Gould said financing would be provided by Oxford Properties Group (a subsidiary of the giant pension fund OMERS Worldwide), and was likely to break ground in 2013.

Concern over Qatari Diar ownership

Sharia law allegations

Some individuals and media sources expressed concern over the Qatari involvement. Because Qatari Diar was a major stake owner, it practiced heavy say in the various tenants and uses permitted at the entire development, and the project was required to adhere to the restrictions of

in finance which requires no interest be charged and as such Qatar invested equity only and did not provide a loan. There were concerns that the sale of alcohol, pork, or tobacco as well as businesses such as gambling, hotels, movie theaters, and nude entertainment would also be prohibited. The Hines-Archstone group said it had never intended to allow banks, gambling, or liquor stores, and although it was seeking a

(or similar business) as a tenant. The Hines-Archstone group also stated that restaurants would be able to serve liquor, but that it would not be seeking tenants such as liquor stores whose primary business was the sale of alcohol. Automated teller machines would also be permitted, and the agreement between Hines-Archstone and Qatari Diar did not bar a bank as a tenant in the future. ''The Washington Post'' noted that city officials confirmed that the exclusion of banks and bars in compliance with Islamic law was, in fact, a condition of the partnership agreement, and Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) stated "you had to make a choice, either no development or development with certain caveats" also noting that they had preferred to not have banks or bars in the development as it didn't suit their vision of the neighborhood around the project. The mixed messages continued when Hines’ executives said that the "sharia-compliance" structure would have little to no bearing on the project. The Qatari role in CityCenterDC was criticized by the conservative

as being what it called a "form of Islamic imperialism."

Islamic cultural center and Qatar Foundation International Headquarters

During construction of the development, ''The Washington Post'' reported that, in addition to primary ownership in the project, not-for-profit Qatar Foundation International (QFI) would open a large 15,188-square foot cultural center in one of the office buildings. The center would be "designed to increase knowledge and understanding of Arabic language and culture in the Americas", and its name would be "Al Bayt", which means "home" in Arabic. QFI's major donor is Qatar Foundation, founded by members of the Qatari royal family, the

House of Thani The House of Thani () is the ruling family of Qatar, with origins tracing back to the Adnanite Banu Tamim tribe. Today Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and his mother Moza bint Nassir lead the house. History and structure The Al Thani family can be ...

. In addition to the cultural center, ''The National'' reported that the

Qatar Foundation The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development () is a state-led non-profit organization in Qatar, founded in 1995 by then-List of emirs of Qatar, emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his second wife Moza bint Nasser Al-Miss ...

is developing a website for the learning of the Arabic language, as it has invested "at least $4.5m this year

013 013 is a music venue in Tilburg, the Netherlands. The venue opened in 1998 and replaced the ''Noorderligt'', the ''Bat Cave'' and the ''MuziekKantenWinkel''. 013 is the largest popular music venue in the southern Netherlands. There are two concer ...

on support for Arabic language classes in US schools". The new center at 800 10th Street NW will also serve as QFI's office headquarters.

References

Bibliography

*Owen, David. ''Green Metropolis: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less Are Keys to Sustainability.'' New York: Riverhead Books, 2009. *Trancik, Roger. ''Finding Lost Space: Theories of Urban Design.'' New York: Wiley, 1986.

External links

CityCenterDC official Web site
{{DC Malls Residential condominiums in Washington, D.C. Apartment buildings in Washington, D.C. Hotels in Washington, D.C. History of Washington, D.C. Foster and Partners buildings Economy of Washington, D.C.