Met branch Trail Real Estate Report
DCmud, the urban real estate digest of Washington, DC, recently had three posts of direct interest to the Metropolitan Branch Trail. First was one announcing that Greyhound may pull out of its present site and sell its building on First Street NE.
“The property is on the market, Greyhound is interested in selling and consolidating to Union Station,” said Elizabeth Price, President of the NoMa BID.
Greyhound, however, maintains that we should not get our hopes up. Spokesman Eric Wesley wouldn’t give a timeline or any details about how it would merge into Union Station, and maintained that nothing has been finalized.
Which could explain the Intermodal Transportation Center planning. The Met Branch plan as it now exists is to run from the railroad tracks above L street (where the stairs are now) along a ramp parallel to L Street to the corner of 1st and L. From there it would run past the Greyhound property along 1st Street. It's now possible that the trail could continue along the tracks over L and K to that weird triangle between the tracks, K and 1st St NE. (or other possible configurations). At worst this should be a non-issue and at best it could be a real plus.
They also reported on a DC plan for development around the Brookland/CUA Metro Station. The Met Branch is presently planned to run under Michigan, across the "vacant CUA property" just south of that street, then either under or at grade across Monroe and then on road along 8th Street. The small Area Plan is the result of community input and it has the trail crossing Michigan and then connecting to an extended 8th Street that continues from John McCormack Road (see picture below, the blue line west of the tracks).
The draft report has recommended bike improvements that include 1) bike lanes along Monroe and the north section of 12th, 2) the trail and 3) some bike parking. The draft had two concept plans one with the trail going over Michigan and onto 8th (to allow for a deck over the railroad tracks) and the other taking it under Michigan and connecting to an extended, but dead end, 8th.
Finally they had a post on the resumption of Met Branch Trail construction.
In his announcement this morning, Mayor Fenty stated that the District had reached an agreement with PEPCO to donate property adjacent to the CSX railroad lines, land currently worth (they are telling the IRS) $3.3m.
Officials involved with the project project that design work will begin immediately, with construction to start hopefully by year end. With this latest acquisition, the MBT still has numerous issues to work through at the Ft. Totten Metro station, including a land acquisition from WMATA.
One last bit comes from GGW who dug up the plan for the Columbus Circle rebuild. It doesn't show the Bike Station (though it does show the plaza on which it will sit) but it does show the Met Branch trail along 1st Street north of Mass Ave.





















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