I wonder if Mayor Fenty hadn't dissolved the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative in 2007, merging it into another city agency, if development would have happened faster?

Anacostia in better days.

The Washington Post reports on a press conference in Anacostia, the most economically lagging area in DC, where the Mayor discussed improvements in the area, in association with a new building for the Department of Housing and Community Development, which was already there, in a not so old building ("After decades of disinvestment, D.C.’s Anacostia welcomes new developments").

Did Fenty's dissolution of a focused Anacostia community development corporation, the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative ("Bill targets Anacostia Corp.," Roll Call) lead to more than a decade of delays in improvements there?

In some ways yes--there would have been a focused initiative.  In some ways no--because developers won't really go to Anacostia until most of the best opportunities have been "used up" elsewhere in the city.

Notably, most of the newest developments are city properties--the new DCHD building and a building for the Department of Health.  The businesses described as opening have social and justice motivations, not so much business-based ones.

The reality is that government buildings don't generate a lot of spillover business development, as I discussed in another entry.  And from an efficiency standpoint they should be more centrally located (see Central Place Theory).  From the previous entry:

Reunion Square will will include the city's new Department of Health headquarters, a 120-room hotel, a 132-unit affordable senior building, another 481 residential units, a new home for the Anacostia Playhouse, and 140,000 square feet of retail.  Note that 140,000 sf. of retail space is insane.

Office development/limited multiplier effect.  The Post reports, "DC Health moves to Anacostia with high hopes for community impact," about a new revitalization effort by the city, bringing the Department of Health and its 600 employees to Anacostia.  From the article:

Administration officials see the influx of workers as an economic boost and part of a broader effort to scale up critical health infrastructure in a place where life expectancy and health outcomes lag behind neighborhoods to the west. While the department doesn’t provide direct medical services on-site, DC Health does focus on making federal dollars work for city residents, funding nonprofits and community groups working with people who need public health resources.

... The city is paying about $1 million per month to lease space in the 250,000 square feet building owned by Four Points, LLC, according to the Department of General Services. The city will continue to pay $1.46 million per month at North Capitol Street, which will be renovated to make space for other D.C. government offices, DGS said. 

The parts of the building open to the public are on the ground floor where Vital Records and Licensing office staff will help with birth and death certificates and licenses for health professionals including nurses, pharmacists and dentists, and barber and beauty shops, although most of those tasks can be completed online. 

Note these are two very different issues, health outcomes and revitalization.  And as far as health outcomes go, I outlined a brilliant approach ("Ordinary versus Extraordinary Planning around the rebuilding of the United Medical Center in Southeast Washington DC | Part One: Rearticulating the system of health and wellness care East of the River," 2018) that the city ignored.

I've written about relocation of DC government agencies over the years as a misguided economic development strategy ("The Reeves Center Myth Revisited," 2011, "Office Buildings Won't Save Anacostia," 2005).  It's not that the idea is bad per se, just from a numbers standpoint it doesn't have much effect, and comes at the expense of transit efficiency.  Especially in secondary and tertiary business districts.

First, office workers don't support much retail.  The old rule of thumb was1.5 sf. per person on convenience goods (think CVS) and 3.5 sf. per person on quick service food (sandwich shops, etc.).  So 600 workers = 3,000 sf., of retail support which is a couple storefronts.  

Second, work from home further minimizes the impact  Third, so does e-commerce.  It's hard now to seed retail around office development because of this.  

Third, while I haven't seen studies on DC government workers per se, a definitive study on federal workers in the L'Enfant Plaza area found about 65% of workers brought their lunch--which is why the food options there are so paltry.

In short, not a solution.

WRT the larger number of total retail space in the Reunion Square project, again old, not taking into effect e commerce effects--so many companies now are shutting stores, is that the average resident supports 7.5 sf. of retail.  You need at least 20,000 residents with decent incomes to support that amount of retail.  Still, Reunion Square looks like an important addition to the community and its rebuilding efforts.

I have written a lot about ways to accelerate improvement "East of the River":

-- "Revisiting the 11th Street Bridge Park project as an opportunity rather than a folly: a new revitalization agenda for East of the River, DC," 2024
-- "Capital One Arena, Wizards and Capitals may move to Alexandria | Why not the RFK campus?," 2023
-- "DC's 11th Street Bridge Park project," 2022
-- "The Anacostia River and considering the bridges as a unit and as a premier element of public art and civic architecture," 2014
-- "DC has a big "Garden Festival" opportunity in the Anacostia River," 2014
-- "A world class water/environmental education center at Poplar Point as another opportunity for Anacostia River programming (+ move the Anacostia Community Museum next door)," 2014
-- "Saving the South Capitol Bridge as an exclusive pedestrian and and bicycle bridge," 2014
 -- "Wanted: A comprehensive plan for the "Anacostia River East" corridor," 2012