Phase 1 of The Wharf in Washington, DC’s Southwest Waterfront breaks ground
The design vision for The Wharf is founded on principles of reconnecting the city to its waterfront, providing DC residents with a world-class public destination for year-round use, and restoring Washington as a port city with a rich maritime history. The project will see 680 hotel rooms, including an InterContinental Hotel.
The Wharf will offer residents and visitors a series of grand and varied places while maintaining an intimate, urban feel, replete with residential, commercial, hospitality, dining and entertainment programmes. The activated ground level will lend great variety to both imminent and future developments, becoming a prime destination. Small lots are being constructed along the water’s edge in order to preserve panoramic views of the waterfront and Washington Channel from multiple vantage points.
Stan Eckstut FAIA, Principal of EE&K, a Perkins Eastman company, who is leading the project’s design team commented: “We’re proud to be helping return the city back to where it began, with mixed uses and high density all activating one of the world’s premier maritime destinations. Designing The Wharf is about creating places where people want to live and visit, bringing the human scale to a large-scale development. It’s a pedestrian-oriented, water-oriented, and transit-oriented development all in one.”
Perkins Eastman is serving as Master Planner, Design Architect and Architect of Record for the public realm, infrastructure and buildings in two of the initial parcels. Phase 1 alone comprises 24 acres of land, more than 50 acres of waterfront, and a building area of more than 1.9 million gross square foot. The team is also designing the buildings for Parcels 2 and 3A, which includes two residential towers totalling 300 units, a 200,000ft2 office building, a 150,000ft2 music entertainment venue, 25,000ft2 retail space and 15,000ft2 upper-floor entertainment space.
