Mayor Muriel Bowser and city planners submitted the final master plan for the 180-acre RFK Stadium campus to the D.C. Council on Thursday, advancing a mixed-use development projected to generate $4 billion in tax revenue over 30 years and create up to 6,500 apartments.
The city’s planning office and Mayor Muriel Bowser submitted the final draft for the sprawling Anacostia River site to the D.C. Council on Thursday, pushing the massive project closer to realization. Set to transform the former stadium grounds, the development plan maps out space for over 1,200 hotel rooms, approximately 287,000 square feet of retail, and roughly 76 acres of park and open space alongside thousands of residential units.
D.C. Council members are scheduled to hold a roundtable to discuss the report on Sept. 30, followed by a vote in the coming weeks to officially adopt the land use plan. Once cleared by the council, the blueprint moves to the Office of Zoning. Department of Buildings Director Brian J. Hanlon explained at a Thursday news conference that the zoning phase will establish the character, the heights, the densities, and the shapes of a lot of development sites.
Economic Impact and Local Commitments for the Commanders Campus
City officials are banking on the new 65,000-seat stadium and surrounding campus to revitalize the local economy, which has lagged since a wave of federal layoffs last year. Mayor Bowser called the endeavor will be the largest economic development project in the history of Washington, D.C.,
adding that it will help us right our economy,
during Thursday’s announcement.
According to the official report, the multi-year construction and development cycle will produce 30,000 temporary construction jobs and 2,000 permanent positions. The plan also carves out more than 1,600 affordable housing units—amounting to at least 30 percent of the total residential footprint, according to Mayor Bowser. Planners have incorporated measures to prioritize local hiring for construction crews and reserve retail spaces specifically for neighborhood businesses.
The updated proposal reflects adjustments made after reviewing more than 3,100 public comments submitted during a mandatory 45-day window. Office of Planning Director Anita Cozart emphasized that the latest revisions focus heavily on daily community life rather than just game days.
“We’ve made sure in this revised version to really emphasize the everyday experience. Yes, the game day experience is certainly very important and unique. But the everyday experience is equally as important, and we heard that loud and clear through our engagement.”
Anita Cozart, Director of the Office of Planning
Transit Integration, Parking, and Traffic Management
Transportation infrastructure forms a core pillar of the campus blueprint. While the updated proposal stops short of adding a second entrance to the Stadium-Armory Metro station, WMATA plans to expand the existing mezzanine and entrance while stepping up service frequencies during major events and game days. Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation is designing a dedicated rapid transit bus lane system known as the Gold Line, which will link the campus to Union Station via center lanes on the H Street and Benning Road NE corridor.
Walking and cycling routes receive significant upgrades under the framework. The street layout prioritizes wider sidewalks, protected bicycle facilities, safer crossings, and improved transit access to support safe, convenient, and efficient travel for all modes,
according to the master plan. Existing Anacostia River bike trails will also be modernized and linked directly into the campus network.
To control vehicle congestion, the master plan introduces a Traffic Operations and Parking Plan aimed at insulating residential side streets from event traffic. Cozart noted that Audi Field utilizes a comparable procedure during matches. The campus design features two large parking garages capable of holding a combined 6,000 vehicles, with public access permitted on non-event days.
Stadium Timeline and Next Legislative Steps
With the master plan formally submitted, momentum is building toward final approval. Cozart urged the D.C. Council during Thursday’s briefing to act swiftly so the framework can secure adoption before the conclusion of the year. Additional design specifics and environmental findings will emerge in the spring once the District and the National Park Service finalize a comprehensive environmental impact study.
The surrounding community will take shape incrementally as the stadium itself goes up. The venue, designed to accommodate more than 70,000 fans, features a unified seating bowl and specialized roof architecture intended to maximize acoustic impact, with the team projecting an opening date in 2030.
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