Historic mall redesign will be uphill battle, experts say

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Proponents of a plan for the most significant overhaul of the National Mall in more that a hundred years face a long and trying process to get it implemented, some experts say.

Two years in the making, the National Capital Framework Plan proposes to revamp the Mall and surrounding areas with more parks and shops, better transportation and less 1960s-era concrete. It recommends replacing offices such as the FBI’s J. Edgar Hoover monolith and the Department of Energy’s Forrestal Building, which shroud 10th Street, and creating attractive street vistas with cleaner design, trees and flowers.

Experts say the recently released plan would require decades of effort — and unprecedented cooperation and funding from affected corporations, nonprofits and government agencies — to become reality.

“Washington is full of plans that have never been realized,” said Jane Freundel Levey, a historian with Cultural Tourism D.C.

The proposal includes streamlining roads, adding a Metro station near the Jefferson Memorial, developing the waterfront along the Potomac River and Washington Channel, providing for new memorial space, and adding modern architecture and street-level shops. The idea is to mix how city dwellers and visitors eat, work, shop, reside, sightsee and relax without forcing travel, while simultaneously arranging attractions and traffic to make travel inviting.

The last overhaul of the city on this scale came from Sen. James McMillan’s commission in 1902, Levey said. Before that, city officials were guided by the District’s original 1791 design by Pierre L’Enfant.

Local planners are enthusiastic, said Richard Reinhard, deputy executive director of the Downtown Business Improvement District, but their design will “require a large amount of money and a lot of people working together to get it done.”

“Some recommendations can be implemented in several years, but with buildings and infrastructure, it’s as they need to be replaced,” Elizabeth Miller, project manager for the National Capital Planning Commission, told The Examiner. “But we need to start thinking about these things now.”

The NCPC unanimously approved a 90-day public review period Thursday for the redesign.

To see the plan, visit ncpc.gov. The commission will host an open house and discussion on the plan July 22 from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. It is necessary to RSVP to attend. Check the Web site for more information.

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