Barry Farm Redevelopment Plan

Sheridan Station

Sheridan Station

The goal of the Barry Farm redevelopment plan is to improve the residents’ quality of life by addressing both the physical architecture and human capital of the community. Shaped by the residents, community stakeholders, city agencies, and public officials, the plan aims to protect and expand affordable housing, empower families with the tools to become self-sufficient, and preserve existing community assets and provide for those needed. The redevelopment plan serves as a road map for the creation of a socially and economically integrated community with new housing, roads, public facilities, and community amenities.

In 2006, the DC Council approved the Barry Farm Redevelopment Plan.  Consistent with the New Communities Initiative, the goal of the redevelopment effort is to transform the public housing development into a mixed-income, mixed-use community.

The ambitious development plan spans multiple phases, calling for approximately 1,100 units by completion.  There are 444 existing public housing rental units currently included in the plan – including 432 public housing units at Barry Farm and 12 units adjacent to Barry Farm known as Wade Apartments.  The plan calls for one-for-one replacement of the existing units to ensure that there is no net loss of existing subsidized units in the neighborhood.  To date, three development projects have delivered units or are currently under construction totaling 346 units (100 replacement units and 246 affordable units).

To assist with the District and DC Housing Authority’s mission to revitalize Barry Farm, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded the DC Housing Authority a Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant for Barry Farm. The Choice Planning Grant will serve as a tool to help achieve the goals towards the Barry Farm redevelopment. Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grants support the development of comprehensive neighborhood revitalization plans which focus on directing resources to address three core goals: Housing, People, and Neighborhoods. For more information on HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods Program, click here. www.hud.gov/cn

The Choice Neighborhood Planning Grant for Barry Farm provides resources to support the revitalization plan.  As the recipient of the Choice Planning Grant, the DC Housing Authority is engaging residents and community stakeholders in a planning process that includes the creation of a Steering Committee and three sub-committees to address the People, Housing, and Neighborhood components.  Residents and community stakeholders are encouraged to participate in the planning process.  For more information on the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative or to get involved with a committee, please contact Chelsea Liedstrand at cliedstrand@dchousing.org.

The Barry Farm development team is led by Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) and A&R Companies.  POAH and A&R are working with the residents, the DC Housing Authority and the District to update the 2006 Revitalization Plan and development of the Choice Neighborhood Transformation Plan.

 

Zoning

Due to the proposed changes to density, infrastructure, and housing typology for the site, the Barry Farm redevelopment plan is required to go through a PUD, or Planned Unit Development, which is a public process administered by the Zoning Commission. In the Fall of 2014, the Zoning Commission approved the proposed action for the stage one Barry Farm redevelopment plan. A final order is expected to be issued by the Commission by the end of 2014.

 

NCI Community Amenities

As part of the redevelopment plan adopted by DC Council in 2006, community amenities including retail, office space, and a new recreation center with ample green space will be developed.

The Excel Academy Public Charter School opened at the former Birney Elementary School site. Founded in August 2007, the Excel Academy opened its doors in 2008 as the District’s first all-girls public charter school.

The new Barry Farm Recreation Center is currently under construction. The new state-of-the-art facility will feature an indoor swimming pool, gymnasium, basketball court with bleachers, multi-purpose field, senior room, arts and crafts room, teen room, game room, kitchenette and parking garage. The recreation center will be located at 1230 Sumner Road, the same site of the  former recreation center. The pool will be open in December 2014, while the rest of the Recreation Center is expected to be ready in the Spring of 2015.

 

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