The District’s draft master plan for the RFK Stadium Campus attempts to answer a question Washington has been asking for decades: What should replace the acres of asphalt and fenced-off land around the old stadium site?
The answer, in the plan released June 30, is not only a football stadium. It is an entire new riverfront neighborhood with housing, retail, hotels, recreation, parks, a sportsplex and a restored edge along the Anacostia River. The 180-acre site would be organized into six districts, each with a different role in the long-term buildout of the campus.
The new Commanders Stadium would anchor the Stadium District. But planners describe the broader campus as a “365-day” place meant to thrive outside of a football game. The plan calls for 5,000 to 6,500 homes, at least 30% of them affordable, along with 6-8 million square feet of mixed-use development. District officials said the project could generate about 14,000 construction jobs and 2,000 permanent jobs.
The Framework
Brian Hanlon, director of the District’s Department of Buildings and lead RFK project executive, said during a June 30 webinar that the plan would be “more than a stadium development” and “more than a gateway to the city.” He described it as a new neighborhood linking Wards 6 and 7, bringing jobs and housing while opening the Anacostia waterfront to the public.
Six districts are meant to transform the site from stadium parking lots to urban neighborhoods:
1. The Stadium District would include the stadium, entry plaza and related event spaces.
2. The Plaza District would be a mixed-use entertainment and retail area closest to transit and game-day activity.
3. The Riverfront District would put housing, restaurants, commercial uses and public access along the water.
4. Kingman Commons, north of C Street and along Oklahoma Avenue, is envisioned as a largely residential and recreational area tied to the sportsplex and nearby fields.
5. The Recreation District would preserve and organize athletic fields and community open space.
6. The Anacostia Commons would create a 30-acre natural riparian zone with trails, landscaping and water access.
Office of Planning officials said the master plan is not a construction document but a framework that will guide zoning, building heights, street layouts, park design and future development proposals. That distinction matters because many of the details residents care about most remain unsettled. The plan shows where housing, parks and commercial uses could go, but it does not decide which grocer might open, what medical services would be provided, what amenities the sportsplex would contain or exactly when every part of the campus would be built.
During the webinar, planners said a neighborhood needs assessment showed demand for fresh food, medical services, drugstores and other community-serving retail, especially after the closure of the Safeway on Maryland Avenue NE last May. They identified the Plaza District and Kingman Commons as possible locations for a grocer because both are close to existing neighborhoods and could serve a broader community. But officials described those uses as opportunities created by the plan, not as secured commitments.
The same is true for recreation. The plan preserves the fields at RFK and identifies a recreation district of about 27 acres, but the sportsplex is still being conceptualized. Officials said they are reviewing recreational needs nearby and citywide to determine what would best serve District athletes. At a July 1 DC Council roundtable, Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen (D) suggested that one area designated as passive park space could instead be used for another field configuration, noting that existing fields are already heavily used.
Public Feedback
The public feedback summarized by the District shows residents want the campus to feel less like an event zone and more like a neighborhood. Participants prioritized a riverfront walk, farmers market, intergenerational open spaces, athletic facilities, shade, native landscaping and preservation of heritage trees and natural habitats. They also asked for buildings that scale down toward existing neighborhoods, preserve sunlight and river views and blend into the Anacostia waterfront rather than creating a wall between the river and the rest of the city.
Residents also pushed for everyday amenities. The District said it heard repeated calls for community-serving retail, small-business opportunities, arts and culture space, food access and local retail. In focus groups and public comments, participants also asked for stronger sustainability standards, cooling features, better connections east of the river and anti-displacement strategies so nearby families can remain in place as investment rises around them.
For some Kingman Park residents, the plan is promising but still incomplete. In an interview, Kingman Park resident Alexis Pazmino said it was “hard to know what we’re commenting on” because important technical studies and implementation decisions are still pending.
Transportation is one of those unresolved subjects. The plan gestures toward a transit-oriented campus and a less car-dependent development pattern, but the traffic analysis, game-day operations, neighborhood parking protections and some transit details are being worked through separately by the District Department of Transportation, Metro and the project team. Those questions affect whether the plan can deliver the neighborhood it promises, but they are not the only open questions.
The site has to be rezoned prior to construction. Officials said the District expects to refine the plan after public comment, transmit it to the DC Council later this year and then pursue zoning text and map amendments in 2027. That process would determine the legal rules for height, density and allowed uses across the campus. Future development would have to follow that zoning unless exceptions are obtained.
The District opened a 45-day public comment period on June 30, running through Aug. 14. Submit comments online at www.publicinput.com/rfkmasterplan, via email to the project team at OP.RFKMasterPlan@dc.gov, through ANC resolutions or at public hearings: Aug. 1, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at St. Coletta of Greater Washington (1901 Independence Ave. SE); or Aug. 8 from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Dorothy I. Height/Benning Library (3935 Benning Rd. NE).
The RFK master plan offers a sweeping picture of a neighborhood where parking lots become homes, fields, shops, shaded walks and public waterfront. Its ambition is also the source of the questions now before residents and councilmembers. The document describes what the District wants the campus to become. But whether it feels like a real neighborhood, who benefits, what gets built first and what is pushed until later ‒ those decisions are yet to be made.
The Public Can Comment at a RFK public hearing Aug. 1, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at St. Coletta of Greater Washington (1901 Independence Avenue, SE).
