Mayor Bowser Transmits 180-Acre RFK Master Plan to D.C. Council as WMATA Plans Stadium-Armory Overhaul

Executive Transmittal of Generational 180-Acre RFK Stadium Master Plan

WASHINGTON, District of Columbia — In a transformative milestone for the District's eastern waterfront, Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Office of Planning formally transmitted the final 180-acre RFK Campus Master Plan to the Council of the District of Columbia in October 2026. The comprehensive redevelopment blueprint converts the long-vacant riverfront parcel along the Anacostia River into a mixed-use sports and residential destination, creating between 5,500 and 6,500 new residential homes, with a legally binding requirement designating at least 30 percent as permanently affordable housing.

Anchored by a modernized 65,000-seat multi-purpose domed stadium, the master plan features six interconnected community districts, public recreation wetlands, commercial dining pavilions, and civic gathering plazas, preserving over 30 percent of the total footprint as permanently protected open parkland.

WMATA Advances Multi-Million-Dollar Stadium-Armory Station Capacity Expansion

To establish a transit-first operational foundation, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) progressed 30 percent preliminary engineering designs for extensive capacity renovations at the existing Stadium-Armory Metro station. Rather than constructing a cost-prohibitive standalone station, WMATA is designing widened platform entrances, high-capacity escalators, redundant elevator shafts, and upgraded mezzanine corridors capable of smoothly processing tens of thousands of event visitors along the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines.

Concurrently, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) finalized routing concepts for a dedicated-lane 'Gold Line' Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor, establishing rapid express transit links connecting the RFK campus directly to Union Station.

Council Hearings Address Ward 7 and Kingman Park Community Priorities

D.C. Council committee leaders initiated structured public hearings to integrate feedback from adjacent Ward 7 and Kingman Park neighborhoods. Civic discussions centered on legally binding community benefits agreements, local union labor provisions, traffic mitigation along C Street NE, and environmental protections safeguarding Kingman Island and the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail.