D.C. officials and the team behind the long-planned overhaul of the Frank D. Reeves Center told the D.C. Council on Friday that the hulking municipal building at 14th and U streets will not be leveled all at once. Instead, it will be taken apart and rebuilt in phases, a strategy they say will let the city slowly move services out while crews turn portions of the site into housing, arts space, a hotel and a new national headquarters for the NAACP.
Phasing Details Unveiled At D.C. Council
During a D.C. Council hearing Friday, city staff and the Reeves CMC Venture team laid out a step-by-step plan that keeps parts of the existing Reeves Center operating while other sections are demolished and rebuilt, according to Washington Business Journal. The approach is meant to cut down on service disruptions by shifting municipal offices in waves, although officials acknowledged that precise dates and construction sequencing are still being worked out.
Team Pick And Project Scope
The Reeves CMC Venture group, led by CSG Urban Partners with MRP Realty and Capri Investment Group, was tapped by the Bowser administration in 2023 to steer the site’s transformation under an EquityRFP that aims to advance inclusive development, according to the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. Their winning proposal calls for a mixed-use complex that combines municipal office space, a hotel, market-rate and affordable housing, and a range of cultural and community-focused uses.
Arts, Dining And Housing In The Mix
The plan leans heavily into arts and culture. It includes space for an Alvin Ailey American Dance School, a Washington Jazz Arts Institute and a comedy club backed by D.C. native Dave Chappelle, and the team has said Food Network chef Carla Hall is expected to open a restaurant on the site, as reported by Axios. Renderings also show a public plaza and amphitheater alongside hundreds of residential units and community spaces, elements the project team highlighted on its design site, according to Michael Marshall Design.
Relocations And Municipal Logistics
The U.S. Postal Service has already signaled it is moving the Reeves Center Station after the building’s landlord declined to renew the lease ahead of redevelopment, the agency said in a 2024 notice, according to USPS. The district, meanwhile, has been lining up phased departures for municipal staff and sensitive operations as part of the broader plan, consistent with earlier project materials from the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development.
Community Equity And Timing
The Reeves CMC proposal includes affordability commitments, with roughly 30% of units set aside as affordable and a portion reserved for extremely low-income households, along with a pledge to maintain cultural anchors and public space, according to Michael Marshall Design. Community groups have been pressing for more concrete details on displacement protections and local hiring plans as the project inches toward permitting.
Next Steps And Approvals
Officials told the Council that the phased blueprint is designed to keep service interruptions in check while the administration nails down leases, relocation logistics and construction sequencing, and they noted that the plan still needs Council approval and additional sign-offs from agencies, according to Washington Business Journal. Earlier coverage reported that the mayor’s office had hoped to push the project to a shovel-ready stage within about a year, but those timelines have shifted as the team responds to community feedback and works through the practical details, per Axios.
The phased strategy adds a new twist to the years-long effort to reenergize the U Street corridor’s "Black Broadway" while keeping key city services available during construction. Upcoming ANC meetings and Council briefings are expected to give neighbors a clearer sense of the construction schedule and where city operations will land during each step of the overhaul.
