A Developer in the District Courting D.C. United?

Well, here we go again.  There is more D.C United stadium news coming out, but this time it has specifics (in the District) for the first time since the Poplar Point collapse.  The Washington Post is reporting that there are two specific sites at which D.C. United is looking.

The first is at Buzzards Point in Southwest:

The site is owned by developer called Akridge, and it runs from V St. to R. St. and from Second to First. This site is near the Nationals ballpark, and could hopefully take advantage of some of their parking.  Its about 8-10 blocks away from the Navy Yard metro station. This is a little farther than the Stadium/Armory metro station is to RFK, but not by much.  This development group is apparently in a similar situation as D.C. United: they bought the land for $75 million in 2005 and have been trying to attract people to build on it since then.  A marriage of convenience could benefit both Akridge and United. The one problem is that the site looks a little thin; would they actually be able to fit a stadium in there?

The other site is at Capital City Market in Northeast, near the intersection of Florida and New York.

The most interesting part about this site is that the developer, Bruce Baschuk, apparently approached D.C. United to ask them to consider this site for their stadium.  He is quoted as saying “We certainly have approached the leadership of D.C. United about considering it.”  While it would take more redevelopment than the Buzzards Point site, I am definitely encouraged by developers approaching United with sites in the District.  Its also very close to the New York/Florida/Gallaudet University metro stop.

While obviously there is nothing solid here, it is encouraging to hear specific sites mentioned and developers courting United.  It is also nice to hear this right after the Baltimore feasibility study has some saying that D.C. United is about to become Baltimore United.  Could this possibly have leaked in order to calm skittish fans? It is not outside the realm of possibility.  All I am taking from this report is that Kevin Payne really is doing hard work on trying to find the team a stadium inside the District and that all hope is not yet lost.