CONDOS, RESTAURANTS AND BARS BEGIN THEIR QUEUE AT NEW BALLPARK

If you think the lines for beer and hotdogs at RFK are long, you should see the queue of development companies lining up to develop the 50-acre Southwest waterfront now that the the baseball stadium has been greenlighted.

Seventeen companies from throughout the Washington region, New York, Chicago and Baltimore responded to the Anacostia Waterfront Corp.'s request for expressions of interest, said the Anacostia Development Corp.

AWC is the testing developer interest in the site, where it plans to transform a string of low-slung clubs and restaurants along the Washington Channel into a $500 million maritime-themed housing and retail district, said the WashBizJour.

AWC has left itself the option to select a developer or a series of development teams based on the content of the submissions, but officials say they could also issue a formal request for proposals. AWC used the same selection process to choose developers for an entertainment district around the planned baseball stadium.

Potential developers include: Akridge, Carr Enterprises, the JBG Cos., Republic Properties, Trammell Crow Residential, Western Development, John Buck Co. of Chicago, The Cordish Co. of Baltimore and New York-based Related Cos.

The long list in our mind proves that the stadium is/will be a sucess in driving development. There is no way the list would have been as long or as well-respected if it were not for the baseball stadium.