The Capitol Riverfront area of southeast DC is one that has been neglected for the last few decades, in large part because of the construction of the Southeast-Southwest Freeway that cut the waterfront off from the rest of the Capitol Hill neighborhood. In recent years, however, the lack of available affordable real estate in Capitol Hill itself plus the consolidation of many jobs from surrounding areas to the Navy Yard facility in the middle of the Capitol Riverfront as part of the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure initiative led to renewed interest in the Riverfront.

In 2006, redevelopment plans for the area were kickstarted when it was announced that the Washington Nationals baseball team would be building their new stadium in the Capitol Riverfront area; development in the area really took off in 2007 when the DC City Council created the Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District, which has helped catalyze plans to transform what was until relatively recently something of a wasteland into what is hoped to soon be a thriving mixture of retail, office, and residential space, with many green features including multiple LEED-gold buildings and plans for extensive greenspace.

Local blogger Jacqueline Dupree has done a great job of documenting the progress in the neighborhood; here are some “then-and-now” pictures showing how abandoned buildings have been given new life.

And as this map from the Capitol Riverfront BID (PDF) shows, the development that has already happened is just a small portion of the planned development for the area.

The Capitol Riverfront BID has also done a great job of giving people a reason to start coming to the neighborhood even while the development is ongoing, including regular events such as outdoor movies as well as hosting the 2009 edition of Artomatic, an annual 5-week-long multimedia arts festival.

Some caution is needed before buying in the Capitol Riverfront area, of course–as with most “up-and-coming” neighborhoods, there is no guarantee that this one will definitely cross that “tipping point” and become a new destination neighborhood, especially since it got its start so late in the process as compared to other neighborhoods that were able to ride the crest of a booming real estate market. For buyers with a longer (5-10 year) timeframe to hold a property, though, and who are interested in what might end up being a culturally thriving area, though, the riverfront is definitely an area worth considering.

Interested in potentially purchasing something in the Capitol Riverfront? Let us know and we’d be glad to help you learn about the available options there.

Possibly related posts (automatically generated):

1. Sustainable Real Estate Roundup
2. More on the Anacostia Waterfront