page_title: CityCenterDC
section_title: Final stage of planning
hierarchical_section_title: CityCenterDC / Planning / Finalizing the master plan / Final stage of planning
caption_attribution_description: English: Looking west across the northeast parcel of the CityCenterDC redevelopment project in Washington, D.C., in the United States in August 2011. This portion of the project is owned by local developer Kingdon Gould III, and title to the lot was transferred to him on November 1, 2007, in exchange for a parcel of land he owned a few blocks to the north (on which the city intended lease to a developer for the construction of a large convention center hotel). Gould remained undecided about what to construct on his parcel, and it remained in use as a surface parking lot as of August 2011 even as construction on the rest of the project began.
context_page_description: CityCenterDC is a mixed-use development consisting of two condominium buildings, two rental apartment buildings, two office buildings, a luxury hotel, and public park in downtown Washington, D.C. It encompasses 2,000,000 square feet and covers more than five city blocks. The $950 million development began construction on April 4, 2011, on the site of the former Washington Convention Center—a 10.2-acre site bounded by New York Avenue NW, 9th Street NW, H Street NW, and 11th Street NW. Most of the development was completed and open for business by summer 2015. The luxury hotel Conrad Washington, DC, opened in February 2019.
  The development is one of the largest 21st-century downtown projects in the United States, and the largest urban development on the East Coast of the United States until the December 2012 groundbreaking of Manhattan's Hudson Yards. It has been described as "a modern-day Rockefeller Center" by Hector Falconer at the New York Times. Washington Post architectural critic Steven Pearlstein, writing in 2003, said the project will "reshape" downtown D.C.
context_section_description: Although the city had finally approved the awarding of the project, most of the details had yet to be decided. City officials said in June 2005 that it would take six to nine months to finalize the master plan. In November 2005, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development and the Hines-led group held its first meeting to receive public input.
  The planning process took longer than anticipated because it was complicated by additional real estate deals. On January 26, 2005, Kingdon Gould III (a local developer) swapped a 1.5 acres (0.61 ha) lot on the southeast corner of 9th Street NW and Massachusetts Avenue NW for a similar-sized lot at the site of the old convention center. This land swap was essential to constructing the new convention center "headquarters hotel."  The site preferred by Mayor Williams and recommended by his task force was not large enough for the planned hotel, and not contiguous. Gould's lot would create a unified site large enough for the headquarters hotel. The deal began taking shape in August 2005, after the D.C. City Council had approved the awarding of the RFP. The WSCA put a $900,000 down payment on the lot (which included the historic former headquarters of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry and an adjacent small piece of land). The city and Gould engaged in lengthy negotiations over the price of Gould's land, and whether a payment or land swap would be needed. A land swap was agreed to, and the city was able to move ahead with plans to build the Washington Marriott Marquis (the 1,430-room "headquarters hotel" long-desired by the city). The Gould land swap deal removed from northeastern-most lot on the old convention center site from the control of the Hines-led group, although it remained subject to the restrictions of the master plan. The land swap still required city council approval.
  The land swap negotiations had held up resolution of the master plan details, but now Hines Interests officials said they would submit the draft final master plan to the city in the spring of 2005. That $1 billion plan now called for (275,000 square feet (25,500 m²) of retail space, 400,000 square feet (37,000 m²) of office space (up from 300,000 square feet (28,000 m²) in June 2004), 772 apartments and condominiums, and 1,200 parking spaces (down from 2,000 in June 2004). Further changes were made to the development as the master planning process continued. By late May 2006, Washington Post architecture critic Benjamin Forgey said, the large public plaza had largely disappeared from the plans. A month later, the Washington Post described the unnamed project (now scheduled for completion in 2011) as having 772 condo units, 275,000 square feet (25,500 m²) of retail space (unchanged from January 2006), 300,000 square feet (28,000 m²) of office space (down from 100,000 square feet (9,300 m²) since January 2006), 1,900 parking spaces (up from 1,200 in January 2006), an outdoor ice skating rink, and a $187 million library. A briefing for architectural and engineering firms seeking subcontract work from the developers was held in September 2006.
caption: The northeast corner of the old convention center site was transferred to developer Kingdon Gould III in November 2007. As of August 2011, no decision had been made about what to build on this land.
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