Our organization advocates for walkable, bikeable, inclusive, and transit-oriented communities as the most sustainable and equitable way for the Washington, DC region to grow and provide opportunities for all.

We have been working in the District of Columbia for over 28 years. We have been reviewing the proposal and were drafting this letter highlighting our concerns and recommendations when the news came out today that Chair Mendelson has the outlines of an improved deal. Without having the details of Chair Mendelson’s proposal before us, we will share the following in the hope that we can achieve the best deal possible for the District and its residents.

Prioritize an inclusive, vibrant community at RFK – with or without a stadium

CSG urges the District to prioritize the creation of an inclusive, vibrant community on the RFK Stadium site, including housing options for all, sustainable transportation choices, and community amenities – whether or not there is a professional sports stadium incorporated into the development. 

The administration’s proposal gives away too much, exaggerates economic benefits

Mayor Bowser’s proposed stadium and site development agreement with the Washington Commanders would give unprecedented public subsidies, control of development rights, and tax revenues away to the team. We appreciate the work of Chair Mendelson to reach agreement on an amended deal that directs some revenues and development control back to DC. CSG agrees that a regional sports stadium should be located in an accessible site with good public transit, walking and biking access and that the RFK site can fulfill those prerequisites; however, local and state governments also need to be good stewards of public land and funds. 

Incorporate these critical elements as a modified stadium agreement is considered: 

We ask the DC Council to incorporate these elements to ensure that a deal benefits DC residents and supports adopted District housing, planning and transportation goals:

1. Ensure housing is built without delay in the Riverfront and Plaza Districts where the team has development rights
   • Establish controls, milestones, and clawbacks to ensure housing, affordable housing and supportive neighborhood retail and services are built in a timely manner.
   • We are glad to see that the amended agreement by Chair Mendelson includes deadlines for completion of nonstadium uses with penalties. We look forward to seeing more details on this and hope that it ensures timely housing and mixed-use development.
   • The Mayor’s deal did not provide any guarantees that the sports team will develop the adjacent sites for mixed-use development that supports city goals. Under that agreement, the Commanders could indefinitely use these as “temporary” surface parking.
2. Require all residential development at the site follow the affordable housing requirements of DC’s public land disposition law
   • These include a 30% set aside of affordable housing at 30% and 50% median family income (MFI) for rental, and 80% MFI for ownership units in perpetuity (Code of the District of Columbia § 10–801), leveraging the land value as the first source of subsidy.
   • Land should be leased with covenants for affordability requirements.
3. Replace parking subsidies with expanded public transit, walking and biking
   • The District of Columbia would spend over $350 million to build the largest parking garages in the city under the current deal, structures that would loom over the Kingman Park neighborhood.
   • Most of these funds should instead be used to improve transit, walking and biking access to and within the new neighborhood and stadium.
   • Specific improvements should include:
     • Metrorail station and service improvements. 
     • Bus priority lanes on H Street NE.
     • Improved pedestrian and bicycle facilities on the Benning and East Capital Street bridges to improve access from areas east of the river. 
   • We appreciate the redirection of $600M from the sports facility fee to upgrading the Stadium-Armory Station – and we believe that the District could gain greater savings – and needed investment in its public transportation system – by not subsidizing parking garages that will largely sit empty most of the year.
4. Redirect more public revenues back to the District through revenue sharing agreement
   • We appreciate Chair Mendelson’s negotiation for some shares of revenues to come back to DC. But we think that the District can do better than receiving $779M spread out over 30 years given the large total subsidy. More revenue should be shared with the District beginning right after the first $500 million in debt is paid off.
5. Require a strong performance-based Transportation Demand Management Plan
   • The TDM plan should include performance-based metrics to shift more trips to transit, walking, and biking, consistent with the targets of the District’s adopted MoveDC plan.

6. Protect and improve public recreation access and community amenities 
   • Protect and ensure the continuation of existing community recreational and other uses on the RFK site, both during construction and after. These include parks, recreation, and sports facilities as well as uses such as the farmers market.
   • Expand The Fields recreation facilities, building on their high demand. 
   • Per the Comprehensive Plan, improvements should include the creation and maintenance of a pedestrian and cyclist shoreline access path and well-designed public spaces.

We urge the Council to ensure that DC residents will benefit from an RFK development plan and commitments that include housing options for all, sustainable transportation choices, and community amenities – whether or not there is a professional sports stadium incorporated into the development.