FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Scott Kratz
SKratz@thearcdc.org
(202) 669-0951
Washington D.C. Launches a Nationwide Design Competition to
Create New Park on Old Bridge over the Anacostia River
Washington, D.C. — March 12, 2014 Building Bridges Across the River at THEARC in collaboration with the D.C.
Office of Planning launches a nation-wide design competition to create the 11th Street Bridge Park, transforming an old
freeway bridge into a new civic space over the Anacostia River. As the old 11 th Street river bridges that connect
Washington, D.C.’s Capitol Hill and historic Anacostia neighborhoods have been replaced, this aged infrastructure will be
transformed into the city’s first elevated park: a new venue for healthy recreation, environmental education and the arts.
The 11th Street Bridge Park will accomplish four goals: connect two diverse communities, re-engage residents with the
Anacostia River, improve public health and become an anchor for economic development.
A Community Led Project: Building Bridges Across the River at THEARC staff have led nearly 200 meetings with church
leaders, business owners, and residents from across the city soliciting programming concepts for this new space. These
community-generated ideas include: environmental education center; performance area; urban agriculture; accessible and
multi-generational playspace; café; and kayak / canoe launches on the river below. These ideas are incorporated into the
design competition asking architects and landscape architects from across the country to turn these concepts into reality.
“I think the bridge is going to bring a lot of people together who normally don’t cross paths.” Tendani Mplubusi-El, Ward
8 artist and resident
“The bridge is the ideal location for a great new District attraction—it connects neighborhoods and commercial destinations
and highlights the Anacostia River, one of D.C.’s most treasured cultural and natural resources,” said Rosalynn Hughey,
Interim Director of the DC Office of Planning.
“The creation of vibrant public spaces is so critical to effective urban revitalization,” said Deborah Ratner Salzberg,
president of Forest City Washington, master developer of the nearby waterfront urban mixed-use redevelopment project
known as The Yards. “The adaptive reuse 11th Street Bridge Park project will result in yet another very valuable asset for
connecting the community in this area of the District.”
The 11th Street Bridge Park design competition jury is comprised of experts from across the country representing the fields
of landscape architecture, architecture, urban design, community engagement and public health.
The jury includes:
 Howard Frumkin, M.D., Dr.P.H. Dean, School of Public Health, University of Washington
 Toni L. Griffin, AIA, Founding Director of the J. Max Bond Center for the Just City, Spitzer School of
Architecture, City College of New York
 Carol Mayer Reed, FASLA, Partner in Charge of Landscape Architecture and Urban Design, Mayer/Reed
 Michaele Pride, AIA, NOMA, Associate Dean for Public Outreach and Engagement, School of Architecture and
Planning, University of New Mexico
 Harry Robinson III, FAIA, AICP, NOMA, Dean Emeritus and Professor of Urban Design, School of
Architecture and Design, Howard University
 Patricia Zingsheim, AIA, CPM, Associate Director of Revitalization and Design, D.C. Office of Planning
(Alternate Juror)

Donald J. Stastny FAIA, FAICP, FCIP, Design Competition Advisor
Additionally, a “Design Oversight Committee” comprised of experts from across the city representing the arts,
environmental, design, recreation and health communities will review the design competition program brief and provide
pivotal feedback to the jury during the nine month-long process.
WHAT: Nationwide Design Competition Call for Entries to Landscape Architects and Architects
WHEN: Launches Thursday, March 20, 2014
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit www.bridgepark.org
Competition Fact Sheet
 Stage 1 – March 20, 2014. Call for entries open to United States based designers. Design leads comprised of a
landscape architect and architect submit qualifications and essay describing their design approach to be reviewed
by jury members and Design Oversight Committee. Jury interviews top six to eight landscape architect / architect
teams.
 Stage 2 - Jury selects four design teams who at this point will have been required to identify a structural engineer
and lighting designer as part of their team. Each team provided $25,000 stipend to create full design renderings to
be juried and evaluated for cost and constructability. Renderings to be publicly displayed in an exhibition at the
District Architecture Center and on the 11th Street Bridge Park’s website for public comment.
 Stage 3 - Jury selects design team and concept design for the 11 th Street Bridge Park.
Additional Facts about the 11th Street Bridge Park
76,000 residents live within two miles of the future 11 th Street Bridge Park
11th Street Bridge Park length: approximately 900 feet, the length of three football fields
Estimated cost of construction: $25 million
Earliest opening date: 2017 / 2018
About the 11th Street Bridge Park
As the old 11th Street river bridges that connect Washington, D.C.’s Capitol Hill and historic Anacostia neighborhoods are
being replaced, the District government and a local nonprofit organization, Building Bridges Across the River at THEARC,
will transform the aged infrastructure into the city’s first elevated park: a new venue for healthy recreation, environmental
education and the arts.
The 11th Street Bridge Park will span the capital’s cityscape – a soaring structure that will engage the local community and
bring residents together from across the city. We are proposing to create a place unlike any other in Washington, D.C. – one
that supports the community’s physical, environmental and economic health. To date, staff have raised over $500,000 as
part of a larger $1 million pre-capital campaign goal.
About Building Bridges Across the River at THEARC – The 11th Street Bridge Park is a project of the Town Hall
Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC), a $27 million, 110,000 square-foot campus located east of the Anacostia
River in Washington, D.C.'s Ward 8. The mission of THEARC is to improve the quality of life for residents of Washington
D.C.’s East of the River community, a key goal of the future 11 th Street Bridge Park. THEARC is a home away from home
for the many underserved children and adults of East of the River, enabling them to participate in dance classes, music
instruction, fine arts, academics, continuing education, mentoring, tutoring, recreation, medical and dental care, and other
services at a substantially reduced cost or no cost at all. On-site non-profit partners include Washington Ballet, Levine
School of Music, Children’s Medical Center and eight other organizations.
###