DCist post: "McMillan, DC most cursed development project, explained"

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JAN 27, 2:54 PM

McMillan, D.C.’s Most Cursed Development Project, Explained

by Rachel Kurzius

A series of legal hurdles this month have stymied the long-planned, long-plagued redevelopment of the McMillan Sand Filtration Site. But for anyone who has been following this situation, the idea that the courts have dealt a blow to the project is not new. The city’s ongoing attempts to build on top of the 25 acres of land are a never-ending saga of fits and starts that go back more than a decade, and bring out some of the most heated local commentary around. But if there’s one thing that the project’s vocal fans and even more vocal opponents can agree on, it’s that this is among the most protracted, cursed projects in recent D.C. history. So what, exactly, is going on at McMillan, and why is it so controversial?

                

Okay, I’ll bite. What’s McMillan?

The 25-acre site right by Washington Hospital Center sits at the edge of D.C.’s Northwest quadrant, and is bordered by First Street NW, Michigan Avenue NW, North Capitol Street, and Channing Street. It was once part of the much larger McMillan Reservoir and Filtration Plant, a 92-acre plot of land built in the early 20th century as part of the City Beautiful reform movement and the McMillan Plan. The site became the first large-scale system in D.C. designed to purify the city’s water amid typhoid outbreaks. It used sand to filter the water, a process that happened in huge underground catacombs. Above ground, the sand bins resemble large silos situated alongside brick structures and concrete walls.

                                     

The entire 92-acre property was referred to as McMillan Park, according to a 2010 historic preservation report, and American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead, Jr. created a design plan, much of which was implemented between 1907 and 1919. The specific 25-acre parcel was industrial in nature, but residents could amble around a landscaped perimeter walk. However, that changed during World War II, when the U.S. Army built a fence around the property and restricted public access over concerns that the water supply could be poisoned. To this day, the area remains fenced off.

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