By James Wright, Special to the AFRO, jwright@afro.com

The residents of Deanwood, one of the hottest neighborhoods in the District of Columbia in Northeast, are excited about the planned upgrading of its Metro Station.

A hearing conducted by Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) leaders and staff on the plans for a joint development at the Deanwood Metro Station was held on June 20 at the Deanwood Recreation Center.

The Deanwood Metro Station will lose its parking lot in favor of residential units and retail outlets, under the current plan. (Courtesy Photo)

Thirty people attended the hearing that was presided over by Clarence Crawford, who is a Metro board representative from Prince George’s County. Nina Albert, who is Metro’s managing director for real estate and parking, explained what is happening at the Deanwood Station.

“We are proposing replacing the parking lot with a mixed-use development of retail and residential units,” Albert said. “Metro will select the developer and the developer will work with the public on a community vision of the project.”

The Deanwood Metro Station has six bus bays, a Kiss & Ride lot, 194 parking spaces and averages 1,242 weekday Metro riders. The station has the third lowest ridership in the 91-station system.

The plan, according to Albert is to have 160 residential units working with 10,000 square feet. There will be no changes in the bus bays, Kiss & Ride lot and Metro Station entrance.

The survey revealed that 70 parkers used the station daily.

The station is in one of the most desired real estate destination for new homebuyers in the country, according to the real estate firm Redfin. While Albert didn’t talk about the booming real estate market in Deanwood, she said that Metro can help it come up.

“The goal is to boost the ridership and we can do that through development,” she said.

Antawan Holmes is the chairman of the 7C advisory neighborhood commission and approves of the development.

“I support this development because the parking lot has been under-utilized for years,” Holmes said.

Brenda Rothwell is a resident of Fairmount Heights, Md., and uses the Deanwood Station for her transportation needs and is supportive of the development.

“The parking lot has had a lot of problems because of crime and carjacking,” Rothwell said. “That is why there has been a reduction in its usage for several years. I think that the development is a wonderful idea because it will improve the area.”

Jimell Sanders, a resident of Deanwood, said the development will bring needed entities to the community.

“We lack amenities because we are a food and banking desert,” she said. “This development can bring those things that we need here and I hope it includes people of various incomes.”

Christine Phillips said Sanders was right on the amenities.

“We don’t want any Popeye’s, Wendy’s and liquor stores here,” Phillips said. “We have plenty of disposable income here. Plus, Deanwood and Ward 7 have enough low-income housing.”

Albert explained the next steps in the approving of the project. She said in early August, there will be a draft and a Metro staff report prepared and at the end of August, the draft process will close.

On Sept. 11, Albert said, the Metro staff will make a presentation to the board and on Sept. 27, the board is set to approve the staff’s recommendations. Albert also noted that the District of Columbia government will have to approve the project, too.