DC's 180-Acre Commanders Stadium Plan Adds Housing and a Grocery Store
DC's 180-acre Commanders stadium development plan includes affordable housing and a grocery store. Here's what the proposal means for Ward 8 and Southeast DC.
In brief
Washington DC's proposed 180-acre development tied to a new Washington Commanders NFL stadium is designed as a full mixed-use district — not just a football venue. The plan includes residential housing and at least one grocery store alongside the stadium, targeting the long-underserved RFK Campus corridor in Southeast DC. City leaders are billing it as a generational economic opportunity, though affordability guarantees remain under negotiation.
🏟️ KEY TAKEAWAYS
DC's Commanders stadium development plan spans 180 acres on the former RFK Campus site in Southeast Washington.
The mixed-use proposal includes residential housing units and a grocery store — addressing a documented food desert in Ward 7 and Ward 8.
Community benefits, affordable housing percentages, and infrastructure investment commitments are still being negotiated between the District and the Commanders ownership group.
Congress returned control of the federally owned RFK land to the District in 2024, unlocking the development timeline.
Advocates warn that without binding affordability mandates, the project risks displacing existing low-income residents rather than serving them.
What DC Is Actually Proposing at the RFK Campus
The District's plan envisions the 180-acre RFK Campus — federal land along the Anacostia River near the Stadium-Armory Metro station — as a transformational mixed-use neighborhood anchored by a new NFL stadium for the Washington Commanders. According to city planning documents and statements from Mayor Muriel Bowser's office, the development would layer housing, retail, green space, and community amenities around the stadium footprint.
The inclusion of a grocery store carries specific symbolic and material weight in this geography. Ward 7 and Ward 8, the two predominantly Black wards east of the Anacostia River, have been classified as food deserts by the CDC and District health officials for decades. Adding a grocery anchor to this development is not incidental — it is a direct response to years of community advocacy demanding that any major investment in this corridor actually serve existing residents.
The Commanders, now owned by Josh Harris and a group that purchased the franchise in 2023, have been lobbying aggressively to return the team to the District after decades at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland. The RFK site is the leading candidate, though proposals for Virginia locations in Alexandria and along the Route 1 corridor competed for the franchise's attention through 2025.
The RFK Land Transfer and the Political Path That Got Here
The legal and political groundwork for this project required an act of Congress. For years, the RFK site sat idle because the land is federally owned and was governed by a lease that restricted its use. In 2024, Congress passed legislation returning control of the approximately 190-acre parcel to the District of Columbia government, clearing the single biggest structural obstacle to redevelopment.
That transfer, championed by DC's non-voting House delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, was years in the making. Norton framed the RFK land return as an economic justice issue as much as a sports issue — arguing that the District deserved to capitalize on one of the last large undeveloped parcels inside the city limits.
Mayor Bowser has made the stadium project a signature second-term priority, and the DC Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) is leading negotiations with the Commanders ownership group. The District has not yet published a finalized community benefits agreement, which is the document that would legally bind the developer to affordability floors, local hiring requirements, and infrastructure commitments.
Housing advocates in Southeast DC are watching this project with a mixture of cautious optimism and hard-won skepticism. Large stadium-anchored developments have a documented national track record of generating displacement pressure in surrounding neighborhoods — driving up land values and rents faster than affordable unit construction can absorb the shock.
The District's own Comprehensive Plan calls for a minimum of 30 percent affordable units in major mixed-income developments, but enforcement has been inconsistent across major projects from NoMa to the Wharf. Ward 8 Council Member Trayon White and community organizations including the Anacostia Riverkeeper have publicly called for binding affordability commitments, local hire provisions covering at least 51 percent of construction jobs, and direct investment in Ward 7 and Ward 8 infrastructure as non-negotiable conditions of District support.
The Commanders' ownership group has signaled willingness to negotiate but has not committed to specific affordability percentages in public statements. That gap — between community demands and developer commitments — is where this project will either deliver on its promise or repeat the patterns DC residents east of the river have seen before.
This development is not just a stadium deal — it is a test of whether Washington DC can execute on equitable development at scale. The RFK corridor sits at the intersection of the District's most persistent inequities: the east-west divide across the Anacostia River that separates some of the city's wealthiest neighborhoods from some of its most disinvested. Bringing an NFL franchise, grocery access, and thousands of housing units to this corridor could genuinely move that needle.
But DC has been promised transformational development before. The Anacostia Waterfront Initiative launched in the early 2000s with similar ambitions. Twenty-plus years later, portions of that vision remain unrealized. For the tens of thousands of residents in Wards 7 and 8 who have watched other parts of the city boom — Capitol Riverfront, NoMa, Shaw, the 14th Street corridor — the Commanders deal represents either a real turning point or another chapter in a familiar story.
Politically, Mayor Bowser's ability to close this deal with strong community benefits will define part of her legacy. The DC Council will ultimately vote on any stadium financing package, and members representing wards east of the river will face direct constituent pressure to demand more than promises. According to The Washington Post, the economic projections for the development run into the billions over a 30-year horizon — figures that make the affordability fight even more consequential, because the stakes of getting it wrong are equally large.
What the Numbers Say — and What's Still Missing
The 180-acre footprint is one of the largest single development sites in DC history. By comparison, the Wharf development on the Southwest waterfront covers approximately 24 acres across two phases. City officials have projected the Commanders project could generate tens of thousands of jobs and billions in tax revenue over multiple decades, though independent fiscal analyses have not yet been made public.
Three numbers matter most as this project advances: the percentage of housing units required to be affordable at or below 60 percent of Area Median Income (AMI); the total public subsidy commitment from the District; and the timeline for community benefits delivery relative to stadium construction. On all three, specific figures are still being negotiated as of early 2026.
Track the broader development landscape shaping DC's next decade in our DC Power Index.
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FAQ: DC Commanders Stadium Development
Q: Where will the new Commanders stadium be built in DC? A: The leading site is the former RFK Campus, a roughly 180-acre parcel along the Anacostia River near the Stadium-Armory Metro station in Southeast Washington, DC. Congress returned control of the federally owned land to the District in 2024.
Q: Will the Commanders stadium development include affordable housing? A: The DC plan includes housing as part of a mixed-use development, but specific affordability percentages have not been finalized. Community advocates are pushing for at least 30 percent of units to be affordable under the District's Comprehensive Plan guidelines.
Q: Why is a grocery store part of the Commanders stadium plan? A: Ward 7 and Ward 8 in Southeast and East Washington have long been classified as food deserts with limited supermarket access. Including a grocery store in the development directly addresses a community need that advocates have raised for years as a condition of their support.
Q: Who owns the Washington Commanders now? A: The Washington Commanders are owned by a group led by Josh Harris, who purchased the franchise in 2023 from longtime owner Dan Snyder.
Q: When could the new DC Commanders stadium open? A: No official opening date has been set. Community benefits negotiations, environmental review, and DC Council approval of any financing package must occur before construction timelines are confirmed. Industry observers estimate the earliest realistic opening falls in the early 2030s.
Q: What is the RFK Campus and why was it unused? A: The RFK Campus is the site of the former Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, which hosted the Commanders (then Redskins) until 1996. The land is federally owned, which legally restricted the District from redeveloping it without congressional action — a barrier that was finally removed in 2024.
The bottom line: DC's 180-acre Commanders stadium plan is the most ambitious single development proposal in the District in a generation. The mixed-use vision — housing, grocery, retail, green space, and an NFL stadium at the RFK Campus — could transform the east-of-the-river corridor in ways advocates have demanded for decades. The critical variables are affordability commitments, public subsidy structure, and community benefits guarantees. Watch the DC Council debate, the community benefits agreement negotiations, and the Commanders' public posture toward Ward 7 and Ward 8 residents. Those three threads will determine whether this project rewrites Southeast DC's story — or just adds another stadium to it.
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT: The DC Council's first formal hearing on stadium financing is expected in the coming months. Mayor Bowser's DMPED office is anticipated to release a draft community benefits framework before summer 2026. Meanwhile, watch whether Commanders ownership makes a public affordability commitment before Council members representing Wards 7 and 8 force the issue. That moment — if and when it comes — will signal whether this deal is headed for a clean vote or a protracted political fight.
Reporting drawn from: Washington Examiner. Washington DC Magazine provides original analysis, DC-specific context, and editorial perspective beyond the source material.This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by WDCM editorial staff. Washington DC Magazine is committed to accuracy, transparency, and editorial integrity. If you believe any information in this article requires correction, please contact editor@washingtondcmagazine.com.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
