Plans for two long-dormant development sites next to the Waterfront Metro have taken a sharp detour, with the western lot now teed up for townhomes instead of the large apartment towers neighbors were told to expect. The pivot upends a long-stalled piece of the Wharf-era buildout and is already stirring debate among nearby residents, market vendors and elected officials. For people who treated the open space as a neighborhood hangout, it also raises an immediate question: where do the farmers market and summer events go now?
New Deal Swaps High-Rises For Rows Of Townhomes
According to Washington Business Journal, a new development agreement with the District would retool the 425 M Street SW parcel for townhomes rather than the multifamily tower that had been on the books. The report notes that the change reflects freshly negotiated terms between the city and the developer that switch up how the site is supposed to be used.
A Long, Stop-Start History
The two parcels at 375 and 425 M Street SW have been through several lives on paper. They were first approved years ago for office buildings, then later, through a PUD process, for twin 12-story mixed-use apartment buildings totaling about 612 units. Marketing materials for the sites outline an earlier plan with roughly 303 units on one lot and 309 on the other, plus ground-floor retail, according to a property flyer posted by Berkadia.
Sale, Fence Fight And Ticking Approvals
The lots changed hands in December 2025, when Transwestern Development Co. bought them for roughly $6.5 million apiece. Soon after closing, the new owner briefly cut off access and floated plans to fence the site, spooking neighbors who had grown used to the space as a community hub. Bisnow reported that the property’s second-stage PUD approval had already been extended multiple times and that the entitlement clock is now a near-term issue for getting anything built. In a sharply worded letter, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6D warned that, “Such actions by Transwestern would fundamentally harm the fabric of the Southwest Community,” highlighting local anxiety about losing the market and open space.
Neighbors Push For More Community Control
Local activists and neighborhood groups have for years pressed for a community-centered outcome on the two lots, including ideas to transfer the land to a Douglass Community Land Trust. They argue the site should lock in benefits for Southwest residents rather than just deliver another set of high-end homes. Local reporting in The Southwester documents the scramble among vendors and neighbors who say the long-running farmers market is a lifeline for fresh food access and a key source of public programming in the neighborhood.
What Comes Next
Developers and District officials now have to translate the revised deal into actual plans that can clear the Office of Planning and the Zoning Commission. The developer has previously told industry outlets it was “evaluating potential development plans,” and any move toward townhomes will still have to run the usual gauntlet of design review, public meetings and likely tweaks to earlier PUD conditions, according to the zoning docket at the Office of Planning. Residents and vendor groups say they are watching the calendar closely for community briefings and filing deadlines that will signal when shovels might actually hit the ground.
