Summary
On January 11, 2021, Wardman Hotel Owner LLC filed for bankruptcy, officially closing its Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel and presenting a rare opportunity: Using DC’s housing toolbox, the District should purchase and convert the hotel’s 16-acre campus of more than 1,000 hotel rooms and 290,000 square feet of event space into hundreds of units of deeply affordable housing (including family-sized units), cooperatives, community land trusts, public green space, and commercial space. A conversion of the Wardman could include reopening portions of the hotel and must incorporate the interests of the Marriott Hotel workers, many of whom are out of jobs and about a third of whom went without severance packages as a result of the hotel closure.
Converting hotels into affordable housing is gaining steam around the country amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Converting hotels into housing can be done at roughly half the price of new construction and much more quickly. Turning the Wardman Park hotel into housing is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan text and maps as the area is already zoned for moderate- to high-density residential.
DATA
About the Property
Address: 2660 Woodley Road NW (Square, Suffix, Lot: 2132 0849)
Owner: Wardman Hotel Owner LLC (address: 4445 Willard Ave Ste 400, Chevy Chase, MD 20815-4641), affiliate of Pacific Life Insurance Co.
Opened in 1918 during the influenza pandemic
Dimensions
16-acre campus
195,000 sq ft of event space
95,000 sq ft of exhibit space
1000+ hotel rooms
Location
0.1 mi from Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan metro
0.1 mi from L2 bus stop
0.2 mi from Circulator bus stop
0.2 mi from 96 bus stop
0.2 mi from access to Rock Creek Park and entrance to Beach Drive
0.5 mi from access to National Zoo
Comprehensive Plan
Area Element: Rock Creek West (p. 1)
Future Land Use Map (FLUM) designation: Residential medium density (RMED) and residential high density (RHD)
Generalized Policy Map (GPM) designation: GPM designates the Wardman property a Neighborhood Conservation Area. Main Street Mixed Use Corridor at Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan metro.
Small Area Plan
Zoning
All zoning info here
Zone District
Zoning Cases
Goulston & Storrs filed two PUDs and map amendments (Woodley Park I, ZC Case No. 16-14; Woodley Park II, ZC Case No. 16-15) for this property in June 2016. They withdrew the applications in May 2017 (Woodley Park I, Case No. 16-14) and September 2016 (Woodley Park II, Case No. 16-15).
Other Zoning Commission and Board of Zoning Adjustment cases here.
The Vision
New affordable housing campus with workforce development, childcare, space for Oyster Bilingual Elementary School & other amenities, integrated into the Woodley Park neighborhood, new public/private partnership of government & community.
The Ask
Mayor, Council work for District buy property at bankruptcy/condemnation; meet affordable housing goals, prevent Black displacement, fulfill Mayor’s “vision for having more affordable units in more neighborhoods in the city,” ideal project for city budget.
The Caveat
We want to be clear that we are NOT suggesting that money be taken from wards that deal with chronic underinvestment and put into Ward 3. The pie is big enough (and can even be made bigger) to allow for both acquisition and redevelopment of the Wardman AND continued investment in Wards 1, 5, 6, 7, and 8.
The Grassroots Group
Wardman Hotel Strategy Team (WHST): members from Woodley Park, Ward 3, citywide, work with Ward 3 Housing Justice Working Group.
Outreach
City officials
Mayor Bowser and her staff
Council members,
Developers
Financial experts
Architects
Neighbors
We invite all to walk-around of property.
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