I wrote about a proposed second phase to Fort Totten Square a few times last year. The development would be built on land across the street from the nearly completed first phase. Part of the land is owned by Lowe Enterprises and part of the land is owned by the District. Originally, JBG and Lowe proposed to build more apartments with ground floor retail.

Previous Fort Totten Square Phase II rendering

Now, they are proposing to partner with EYA to build 170 multi-story townhomes with approximately 27,000 square feet of ground floor retail. Twenty percent of the homes would be set aside as below market rate affordable homes.

Because part of the land is still owned by the District, the same process we described before (surplus process) still needs to happen. The mayor’s office must declare the land surplus and hold a public hearing. Then the council will hold a hearing and vote on whether to approve disposition of the land. Interested residents will have an opportunity to testify and comment on whether they believe the land should be reserved for public use rather than sold to the developers.

Surplus property site

Early consensus seems to support townhomes over more apartments. It is still early in the process though and we have already seen this project go through fits and starts in different administrations, so we will have to wait a few months to see what happens with the negotiations.