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Washington DCUnion Station, Amtrak, the Federal Railroad Administration and the Union Station Redevelopment Corp. have joined efforts to expand and modernize Union Station, the landmark transit hub and Amtrak’s second-busiest location. The $10 billion projects as currently envisioned, include a new east-west train hall and a new passenger concourse. The updated design plans will be presented to the commission in July.

Rubell Museum

The contemporary Rubell Museum in Miami will open a new venue in Washington, DC in October 2022. Located less than a mile from the National Mall, the Rubell Museum DC takes over the former Cardozo Elementary and Randall Junior High School, a historically Black public school in Southwest DC listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The museum will feature exhibitions of works by American and international artists drawn from the Rubell’s collection of paintings, sculptures, videos and photographs. The museum will house more than 7,400 works by more than 1,000 artists as well as galleries, a bookstore and a cafe.

11th Street Bridge Park

Washington, DC’s first elevated public park will be built on the piers of the old 11th Street Bridge spanning the Anacostia River. Visitors and locals will enjoy an amphitheatre, picnic gardens, interactive art and waterfalls among many other attractions and events that help create a public gathering space. DC-based artists Martha Jackson Jarvis and her daughter, Njena Surae Jarvis, have been commissioned for a piece of artwork entitled “Anacostia’s Sunrise/Sunset Portals.” The portal’s artwork is the largest of five total that will be part of the 11th Street Bridge Park’s opening in 2025.

National Museum of Women the Arts
The world’s only major museum solely dedicated to championing women artists recently closed to the public for a two-year renovation of its historic building. It’s slated to reopen in 2023. The building’s first full renovation since 1987, the $66 million project preserves the structure’s history while transforming its interior spaces. The improved guest experience includes some exterior restoration.

The Stacks

Located in Southwest DC’s Buzzard Point, The Stacks is a transformative six+ acre development that encompasses two city blocks bounded by V Street, T Street, and First and Second streets SW. The two-million-square-foot, mixed-use development will redefine residential living on DC’s Southwest Waterfront. The Stacks will offer panoramic views overlooking the confluence of the Anacostia and Potomac rivers, Reagan National Airport and Virginia. The Stacks will include 2,000 residences, 80,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, two hotels and a 15,000-square-foot park. Construction in the first phase is expected to begin in 2022.

The Wharf – Phase 2

Phase two of the Southwest Waterfront development is scheduled to open later this year, adding more luxe residences, 547,000 square feet of office space, a Pendry Hotel with 131 rooms, new restaurants, a 1.5-acre park at the Marshall Park Landing, 233 boat slips at the Wharf Marina, 95,000 square feet of retail space and two garages with over 1,000 parking spaces. The new restaurants slated for the area include Phillippe Chow’s Beijing-style restaurant, Luck Buns, Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls and Bartaco.

Western Market

Located across the site from the original Western Market, which was built in 1802 as one of the three marketplaces in Pierre L’Enfant’s plan for Washington, DC, the new 12,300-square-foot food hall brings more than a dozen local eateries to the Foggy Bottom neighbourhood. Current vendors include Arepa Zone, Capo Italian Deli, Falafel Inc., Mason’s Lobster Rolls, Nim Ali, Onkei, Rawish and Roaming Rooster. New vendors come online each month.

Union Market

A wave of new tenants has signed lease agreements for Union Market, expanding the 45-acre area with three new restaurants from New York, including Pastis, Minetta Tavern and Maman, a French bakery chain. Seven new shops include a furniture store, a wedding dress shop and an eyeglass retailer.

National Mall

New Smithsonian Museums

The Smithsonian Institution recently updated the National Capital Planning Commission as they evaluate sites for two museums-the National Museum of American Latino and the American Women’s History Museum. Host sites being considered are concentrated near Pennsylvania Avenue NW or the vicinity of L’Enfant Plaza SW, which the National Capital Planning Commission terms the “Southwest Ecodistrict.” The site selections are expected to be completed by the end of 2022.

National Air and Space Museum

The design process has begun for a Jeff Bezos-funded addition that will add a 50,000-square-foot learning centre to the museum. The centre will replace the restaurant space on the east terrace of the museum at 600 Independence Avenue SW. Demolition work will begin this spring, with construction starting in 2024. The Bezos Center will house programs and activities related to innovation and careers in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. It will include a ground-floor restaurant, second-floor space for programs, and a third-floor terrace (with space for 150 people) with views of the National Mall and the U.S. Capitol. The Smithsonian is also looking into an outdoor astronomy park on the eastern edge of the site.

Lincoln Memorial Rehabilitation

The National Park Service has nearly completed a $25 million renovation of the 100-year-old memorial, adding new services and design to enhance the visitor experience. The renovation includes the rehabilitation of the undercroft portion of the Lincoln Memorial where visitors will now be able to view the foundations that anchor the memorial bedrock and see graffiti of the construction workers who built it in the early 20th century. The improved existing visitor services on the mezzanine level have expanded restrooms, improved accessibility, expanded visitor interpretation spaces and exhibits and expanded NPS support and service space. The memorial’s centennial celebration is in May.

Korean War Veterans Memorial

The National Park Service and the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation are nearing completion of the construction on the Wall of Remembrance, the permanent home to the names of over 36,000 American servicemen and 7,100 Korean Augmentation to the United States Army (KATUSA) who gave their lives defending the people of South Korea. The Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall of Remembrance Dedication Ceremony is on July 27, 2022.

National World War I Memorial

The U.S. World War One Centennial Commission finished construction on a dedicated U.S. WWI Memorial. The memorial commemorates the 100th anniversary of the war’s end and honours its 4.7 million servicemen and women. Located across The Willard InterContinental Hotel, the memorial’s 58.5-foot (about 17.8 meters) bronze sculpture will be the highest free-standing bronze sculpture in the Western hemisphere and is expected to be complete in 2023.

U.S. Park Police Horse Stables and Education Center

The Trust for the National Mall along with the National Park Service is creating a state-of-the-art, environmentally sustainable horse stable for the U.S. Park Police Horse Mounted Patrol Unit. Located near the Lincoln Memorial, the project includes 14 new stalls for the horses, a medical paddock, covered shelters, a heated wash ad tack room and an office building with meeting space. A new visitor and education centre will welcome the public to meet the horses and learn about their history on the National Mall. The project will also create new pathways to connect the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial directly to the National Mall.

Airports

Dulles Metrorail Project – Silver Line

Construction is nearing completion on the Dulles Corridor Metrorail project by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), connecting Washington Dulles International Airport to downtown DC. Operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the 11-mile extension, which includes 11 new stations, is now in a testing phase that’s expected to last 90 days with an anticipated opening of later this year. MWAA has recently approved a plan for a $675 million concourses. Construction begins in 2023 with anticipated completion by 2026.  The 400,000 square-foot, 14-gate concourse will include new retail and dining options, more seating, airline lounges and other amenities. It also improves the backend operations for servicing planes and moving baggage. Plans call for building it on top of the current Aerotrain station, which would also create shorter walking times. Officials hope to build it to the eco-friendly LEED Silver standard.