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Data Center Development in High-Risk Areas: Opportunity or Challenge?

Data centers are the critical infrastructure underpinning the digital age, and even a brief outage can have massive ripple effects. That’s why their developers have historically avoided disaster-prone cities like Houston and Miami.

But with an estimated $7T in data center construction needed by 2030 to keep pace with computing demand and a shortage of available power in major hubs — plus a growing need for data centers to be located near population centers — that is starting to change.

Bisnow/created with assistance from ChatGPT

Houston had 57 megawatts of data centers under construction during the first half of this year, triple what was being built just six months prior, according to JLL’s midyear data center report. That would increase the region’s existing data center capacity by nearly 40%.

In Miami, there were no data centers under construction last year, but that changed in March when information services giant Iron Mountain broke ground on MIA-1, its first Miami data center, with 16 MW of capacity.

The projects are coming despite a projected 256% increase in damage risk to data center infrastructure from climate change by 2100, according to an analysis of 8,868 data centers by Cross Dependency Initiative.

“As climate change becomes real and more port entry, urbanized campuses become reality, climate change increasingly threatens the external systems and the government functions that data centers rely on,” said Adrian Conforti, a senior managing director overseeing data center development for Cushman & Wakefield.

The rise in generative artificial intelligence and expected larger-than-ever demand for inference, or “last-mile,” data centers mean more will have to be built near all major population centers, no matter the risk.

“What if no roads are built somewhere?” said Josh Forman, a Miami-based digital infrastructure attorney with Greenberg Traurig. “That’s what this is. At its core, it’s the infrastructure that’s underpinning the digital ecosystem.”

Another 24 MW data center broke ground in Houston last month, and insiders say Houston’s data center market is primed for even more growth due to access to alternative power sources, a deregulated energy market and a strong population center.

But climate change keeps driving up temperatures and increasing the intensity and frequency of damaging natural disasters. There was a 180% increase in the number of billion-dollar weather events from 2013 to 2023.

This forces developers to pragmatically consider climate risks during construction and development, which can add 15% to 20% to the cost, Conforti said.

Building For Resilience

The threat of hurricanes has been the main factor holding back Houston from becoming more of a data center hub, said Allan Schurr, chief commercial officer for Enchanted Rock, an alternative energy and power generation provider.

The largest data center market in the country is Northern Virginia, with 5,574 MW of inventory and 1,067 MW under construction.

“Northern Virginia is huge for the data center market, and they just have less risk of catastrophic events,” said Greg Sherman, director of engineering for Houston at architecture firm HOK.

The fastest-growing market is Atlanta, which has 1,072 MW of inventory and 1,112 MW under construction. Dallas-Fort Worth closely follows with 1,539 MW of inventory and 1,083 MW under construction.

Like Atlanta and Virginia, DFW benefits from significant distance from the Gulf Coast, but it is experiencing power constraints that are pushing developers toward Houston, JLL researchers said.

“Building techniques today can completely protect those kinds of operators from the risks that would historically have caused them to go elsewhere,” Schurr said.

Utility infrastructure and regulatory approval are the main obstacles to data center development, Conforti said. Houston’s unique combination of advantages positions it to capture a substantial data center market share, he said.

One of the developers taking a chance on building digital infrastructure in Houston is VivaVerse Solutions, which is developing a $2B project with a 774K SF data center at the former Compaq Computer campus northwest of Houston. The project, known as Viva Center, is transforming the campus into a facility specifically for AI and high-performance-computing workloads, VivaVerse President Freddy Vaca said.

In general, building in the Houston area requires extra consideration of environmental elements.

“A lot more engineering goes into it,” Vaca said.

Because Compaq built the campus in the 1980s to be self-sustaining with its own power and water sources, as well as large-weight-bearing floors, it lends itself to a resilient upgrade, Vaca said.

The campus flooded multiple times, including during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, so the developers are engineering flood mitigation on top of Harris County’s efforts. Viva Center will put mission-critical infrastructure on 10-foot raised platforms and fortify buildings with 6-foot concrete flood walls, Vaca said.

Sherman said HOK often integrates elevation and power redundancy into designs for mission-critical facilities.

The engineers use concrete pad elevation for smaller buildings in flood plains. They also regrade around larger-scale buildings, redirecting the water to lessen the flood risk for the facility and require less elevation.

Power redundancy typically comes with two underground power lines connected to different substations, in case one fails.

“You don’t want to take them overhead,” Sherman said. “Because whenever that derecho came through my neighborhood last year, all the overhead power lines got knocked down.”

Demand In High-Risk Markets

Data center development is exploding due to a rise in generative AI, requiring hyperscale AI training centers like the $500B Stargate development from ChatGPT creator OpenAI.

Along with massive AI training centers, there will be increased demand for inference data centers to be deployed in smaller facilities near major metro areas or specific end users.

Latency, or the amount of time it takes data to travel from a data center to an end user, is critical for inference use cases like an AI model detecting fraud for a financial firm. Instant detection requires computing near where most of the transactions happen, meaning fast-growing states and metros like Floridaand Houston will be target markets.

Generative AI is driving a 165% increase in power demand from data centers by 2030. This puts power availability at the top of the list for data center site selection.

“Everyone is looking for power anywhere,” Schurr said.

Houston benefits from being part of the state’s deregulated electricity market, and its utility provider, CenterPoint Energy, plans to invest $53B into energy infrastructure and resilience over the next decade.

Houston also benefits from having a significant number of natural gas pipelines and alternative energy companies, like solar and wind, opening up options for data center operators.

“It’s a perfect place for entrepreneurialism of this type, where the technology is just changing all the time,” Vaca said.

Houston may eventually attract some hyperscale data centers due to its planned electricity infrastructure improvements, but it will capture a share of inference data centers due to its large population, Schurr said.

The same will be true in Miami, where the cost to transport data from areas like Texas or Atlanta is prohibitive.

“If AI continues to take off like people are saying, there will be smaller inference data centers here in Miami,” Greenberg Traurig’s Forman said. “There have to be, whether it’s retrofitting the current ones or finding ways to build new ones.”

But without meaningful mitigation, the most resilient data center could face catastrophic failure, Conforti said.

“Even if a facility is designed to withstand flood and storm conditions, if the grid fails or the generators cut off or the staff cannot access the site, you have a major emergency power problem,” he said.

Climate change will continue to warm temperatures and intensify weather patterns. Coastal sea levels will rise about a foot, and flood risk could increase 26% by 2050.

“So that becomes a bigger consideration 15, 20, 25 years down the road,” Conforti said.

Living Room of Dawu Village

Chaozhou, China

/Tide brings home nostalgia
No matter how far one trvaels, this will always be home/

In Chaozhou, banyan trees with ush branches and leaves can be found in almost every village, providing shelter for the local villagers away from wind and rain and a natural gathering spot for neighbors, a playground for children, and an indelible nostalgia in a localer’s heart.

Many people picture their hometown associated with white walls and gray bricks, busy villagers, and elderly people in front of their home alone, the same as to Mr. Wu Qingliang, the founder of Nippon Paint who donated money to build The Songchang Kindergarten in 1980s upon his return to China. With regards to the safety of the building and stability of a school, the kindergarten has been disused for a long time. Hence, Mr. Wu and his family entrusted “Dream Home” to transform the abandoned kindergarten into a public center which serves the entire village residents.

/Extend the shade under the banyan tree
Provide shelters for the villagers every day and night/

The design concept for Living Room of Dawu Village draws from shades of banyan trees.
The original site was a quadrangle courtyard with a two-story teaching building, a one-story building with auxiliary rooms for teachers on one side. The entire school building is placed under a tall banyan tree of 300 hundred year old. “After witnessing this banyan tree, we had an inspiration that people in the village liked to gather under the tree for various activities such as chatting, eating, drinking tea, and enjoying natural breeze. This tree has become the soul of social interaction for the village. Therefore, the core ideal of renovation is to open up the entire courtyard, simulating a huge shade of trees “, said by Gu Yi, when he recalled his direct inspiration of the design a year ago.

The space starts from the 300 year old banyan tree and extends outwards by dismantling a few walls and regenerate in advanced steel and wood structures to build a borderless communal center. Adhering to this design philosophy, the architect reorganized the original two-story teaching building by demolishing the public toilets near the river and the auxiliary rooms into corridors. An interesting curve extends from the platform on the first floor to connect with the second floor, creating a three-dimensional space resembling a bleacher, forming performing experience of people sitting under the banyan tree.

Text description provided by the architects. The Evening Sky Residence is a vineyard home in the foothills of McMinnville, Oregon. The house is placed in a natural clearing at the vineyard’s highest point, sited to overlook the Willamette Valley to the East and the Coastal Mountain Range to the West. The architecture’s linearity, contextualized materials, and indoor-outdoor living create a place that is inviting and timeless. Interiors promote a warm minimalism, with elevated finishes and tailored moments responding to the clients’ vision. Views from the residence connect those who reside here with their vines and the surrounding landscape, composing a daily life that is deeply intertwined with the working vineyard and Oregon wine country.

The road to the Evening Sky Residence winds its way up a gentle slope through mature evergreens. As the driveway reaches the top of the ridge, the trees open to reveal a refined, cedar-clad home, vines, and views. The house’s form is simple, with two perpendicular, single-story volumes intersecting at one end. The main volume contains the living and sleeping quarters, and the second volume contains the garage, gym, and breezeway. To reach the main entry to the home, one walks along a long, linear path that, in a year or two, once they have been planted and matured, will be framed by vines, immersing the approach in the vineyard. Ahead, a flat roof plane appears to float above the main volume, clerestory windows hinting at the view beyond the house’s subtle entry. The path parts a concrete retaining wall lined with lavender frequented by the vineyard’s bees and pollinators, and a welcoming front door beckons.

Upon entering, floor-to-ceiling windows unveil the view of the valley, and a custom-made bench in the entryway overlooks a tranquil Koi pond on the other side of the glass. The entryway bisects the quiet wing and the active wing of the home. The active wing is an open concept great room with the kitchen, dining, and living spaces, and an outdoor covered patio well-suited for entertaining. 12-foot ceilings and three walls of windows create a space that is bright and airy and connected to the surrounding landscape. A board-formed concrete fireplace anchors one end of the great room, a sleek and modern kitchen the other. The architecture and interior design integrate seamlessly, with linearity, cantilevering planes, and a restrained material palette of concrete, steel, glass, and cedar applied throughout. Concrete floors and the cedar ceiling flow uninterrupted from the interior to exterior, a gesture informed by the clients’ desire for an indoor-outdoor lifestyle.

The quiet wing includes a primary suite, two guest bedrooms, a wine cellar, an office, a mudroom, laundry, and access to the breezeway, gym, and garage. The bedrooms are organized along the facade facing the valley view, while the service spaces are placed along the entry side of the house for privacy and to shield the interior from the harsh evening sun in the summer. The primary suite is furthest from the active wing, serving as a quiet retreat for the residents. The interior is washed in natural light from floor-to-ceiling windows. Handblown glass pendants illuminate bedside tables. Materials used in the bathroom, like the pebble flooring, are reminiscent of a spa, as are integrated amenities like the steam shower.

“Tremendous enthusiasm” among architects for Zohran Mamdani

Ben Dreith

Architects have expressed optimism over the recent election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City, citing his campaign’s focus on housing and the environment.

“There is tremendous enthusiasm within the architecture and design community for change and new opportunities in our city,” said AIA New York executive director Jesse Lazar.

“We look forward to working with mayor-elect Mamdani to advance goals we have long championed and that he has also emphasized, including increasing housing production and affordability, strengthening our collective commitment to resilience and decarbonization, and improving and expanding our public transportation and public spaces.”

Zohran Mamdani is the mayor-elect of New York City

A member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), the 34-year old state assemblyman from Queens Mamdani won the election 5 November, beating former New York governor Andrew Cuomo.

His focus on affordability and improving the city’s housing stock has caught the attention of many architects in the city, along with the passage of several city propositions on Tuesday designed to speed up the approval of construction projects in the city, especially housing.

The campaign made commitments to build as many as 200,000 new units over the next 10 years.

New York architect and Columbia professor Laurie Hawkinson echoed the excitement and emphasised the need for architects to help to translate the new administration’s goals into the built environment.

“Very excited and optimistic”

“I am very, very excited and optimistic (and architects are, of course, eternal optimists) about Zohran Mamdani’s election as our new mayor,” Hawkinson told Dezeen.

“In the public realm, it is the job of architects, landscape architects and designers to translate the goals and ideas into built projects and infrastructural opportunities in challenging and innovative ways while engaging with long-term issues of climate change and the impact of a changed environment,” she continued.

“I am very excited about working with and for this new administration.”

Mamdani aims to continue the climate agenda begun by previous administrations, already in motion.

His platform includes renovating 500 schools “with renewable energy infrastructure” and replacing asphalt school yards with green space.

Pratt associate professor and founding director of the Center of Climate Adaptation, David Erdman, said he expects a focus on ongoing initiatives, such as the planned Climate Exchange for Governors Island and the Department of Environmental Protection.

“Win spotlights the need for innovative housing models”

These issues are more “buried” according to Erdman, but are of importance to the architecture community as the city transitions to more sustainable building.

“I think that the win spotlights the need for innovative housing models, and I would say more specifically, ones that mix generations and understand themselves as a type of infrastructure, not only social and economic, but they can give back to the broader community, maybe in ways that haven’t been talked about so much in New York,” he said.

In Erdman’s conception, building a more resilient, self-sufficient city will also work towards lowering costs.

“We could be less dependent on Upstate water reservoirs,” Erdman told Dezeen.

“If you want to keep water and energy prices down, one really great way to do that is to use decentralised campus-based infrastructure. Housing would be a smart way to do that.”

Mamdani also received the endorsement of New York state’s governor, an important factor for architects who are working with multiple levels of government, a commonality in large infrastructure initiatives.

Architect and founder of WXY Studio Claire Weisz said that the openness of the governor to work with Mamdani should be encouraging to architects.

“I think some of our most important projects are City and State – from transit to our beaches and housing,” she told Dezeen.

“We are not only a city but a region,” she continued. “The most engaging and innovative approaches come from interagency and public /private collaboration, and this is especially important on housing and infrastructure.”

Mamdani will take the helm of the city government in January 2026.

Top photo by Iwan Baan.

Plan to demolish two skyscrapers at Detroit’s Renaissance Center moves forward

Ben Dreith20 November 2025

Detroit developer Bedrock has announced a new round of funding for a controversial scheme to redevelop the John Portman-designed Renaissance Center, with new renderings of the project.

Bedrock announced that Detroit’s Downtown Development Authority (DDA) had committed $75 million to the project, which will see the demolition of two out of seven skyscrapers in the 1970s complex.

The redevelopment scheme includes demolishing the two skyscrapers closest to the waterfront and reducing the size of the ground-level podium that connects the skyscrapers.

Bedrock said that the project will reactivate what it views as an underutilised site, comparing the potential to other waterfront urban revitalisations in Chicago and New York.

“Bedrock and General Motors’ vision will transform the Renaissance Center from a largely empty, obsolete complex into a vibrant, mixed-use destination – complete with new housing, a revitalized hotel and conference center, activated public spaces, and a publicly accessible observation deck,” said the developer.

“Today’s sea of empty surface lots will give way to the goal of creating the best, family-friendly waterfront district in the nation – Detroit’s own version of Chicago’s Navy Pier or New York City’s Chelsea Piers.”

At the time of its completion, the Renaissance Center was one of the largest private developments in the world, anchored by the central 727-foot-tall (221.5 metres tall) skyscraper

The complex has been used as a headquarters for the automotive company General Motors since 1996, but the company recently announced plans to relocate its operations to the Hudson’s skyscraper in the heart of downtown Detroit.

At the time, General Motors said it might demolish the whole of the Renaissance Center if it did not receive public funds for the redevelopment, which drew outrage from the local community. The plan would have been one of the most extensive skyscraper demolitions in history.

Last year, University of Michigan associate professor of architecture Craig Wilkins told Dezeen that the building’s importance to the city is mostly “symbolic”.

“It’s a structure that people recognize as part of Detroit, to a certain degree,” he said, adding that it is not being used to its full potential. “Renaissance has always been this symbol of possibility, but I’m not sure, sure, [it] has been embraced as a beloved aspect or asset.”

Wilkins echoed other critiques at the time, calling the expectation of public funds “cynical”.

“I can’t see the public benefit for it,” he said. “Detroit doesn’t need any more empty space.”

According to Bedrock, DDA’s contribution to the project will be mostly geared towards the public-facing aspects, “including a new pedestrian promenade from Jefferson Avenue to the riverfront, new public plazas, and new pedestrian and vehicular access to the Renaissance Center and riverfront”.

The funding will also contribute to the demolition of the “notoriously confusing podium […] reversing the flawed historic decision to make the Renaissance Center a fortress-like ‘city within a city'”.

Bedrock has taken part in a number of other redevelopment plans in Detroit, including the 23-building City Modern development.

adjaye-designed studio museum in harlem opens as new home for black art and culture

studio museum: a lighthouse on 125th street

The Studio Museum in Harlem officially opens its purpose-built new home to the public on Saturday, November 15th. Today, November 6th, designboom attended a preview of the building and heard presentations from Studio Museum team Thelma Golden and Raymond J. McGuire, along with architects Pascale Sablan and Erin Flynn.

From the moment visitors approach the new museum on West 125th Street in New York, the design signals the meeting of its mission with its urban context. The project replaces the earlier commercial structure adapted in 1982 for the institution, and marks the first time the museum has had a home created expressly for its program.

Raymond J. McGuire, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Studio Museum in Harlem, describes the spirit of the museum and its programming:‘This building says to the world, Harlem matters. Black art matters. Black institutions matter.

‘It will stand as a lighthouse on 125th Street. A space where creativity and community meet, where young people can see themselves reflected, and orders of African descent can continue to shape our history. This new chapter was not inevitable. It was earned through decades of vision, stewardship and belief.’

exterior view of the Studio Museum in Harlem’s new building, 2025. courtesy Studio Museum in Harlem. photo: © Albert Vecerka/Esto

architect pascale sablan draws from the streets of harlem

The Studio Museum in Harlem intentionally draws from the ‘street, the stage, the sanctuary, and the stoop.’ Across the city, these are familiar typologies of gathering, expression and belonging. Architect Pascale Sablan of Adjaye Associatesechoed this when she said: ‘It is our hope that every surface, every light-filled space, and every moment of this building will speak to you of this mission.’ The museum occupies the same footprint as the earlier museum but is re-imagined for the twenty-first century.

At street level a double-height window opens the museum to the sidewalk: visitors can sense daylight passing through the gallery interior, while the broad frontage activates the pedestrian flow of Harlem. The facade, composed of dark-grey precast concrete with sand-blasted and polished finishes, interleaves glass and bronze-toned curtain wall with vertical fins. This material palette references the masonry architecture of the neighborhood while giving the building a refined presence.

exterior view of the Studio Museum in Harlem’s new building, 2025. courtesy Studio Museum in Harlem. photo: © Albert Vecerka/Esto

a museum as a ‘reverse stoop’

Inside, the ‘reverse stoop’ greets visitors as a stepped area leading downward from the street into the museum lobby. The architects describe this gesture as an invitation to connect. It’s a spatial threshold that brings visitors from the city into the institution with little impedance.

The Studio Museum in Harlem offers 82,000 square feet of interior space, which represents an increase of more than fifty percent in exhibition area and almost sixty percent more public spaces. The gallery volumes are laid out across multiple floors: second and third floors host exhibition galleries and the education center; the fourth floor accommodates studios for the Artist-in-Residence program and a reading room; the fifth floor offers flexible event space; the roof terrace on the sixth floor opens toward sweeping views of Harlem and beyond.

Vertical circulation is anchored by a monumental stair clad in terrazzo, located in the central vertical gallery and connecting the lower level to the fourth floor. Corridor galleries and stairs from the fourth floor to the roof are executed in precast concrete with satin-brass railings, aligning material consistency throughout the building.

exterior view of the Studio Museum in Harlem’s new building, featuring David Hammons’s Untitled flag (2004), 2025. courtesy Studio Museum in Harlem. photo: © Albert Vecerka/Esto

Public spaces are designed to feel porous. The café at the lower level, the welcome centre, the lecture and performance hall, retail, and project spaces are all intertwined with exhibition areas. The design teams emphasized accessibility, with two elevators (one shared visitor and freight) and barrier-free routes throughout. Thelma Golden, Ford Foundation Director and Chief Curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem, notes: ‘this building is a reflection of all that‘ — the institution’s mission, the community’s energy, the artists’ aspirations.

In her remarks at the preview event, Erin Flynn, RA, LEED AP, Partner, Cooper Robertson, emphasizes: ‘we aim to cultivate a sense of engagement among the many different users of the building… Whether someone is discovering the art, participating in educational programs, creating in the artist studios, or simply enjoying a coffee.’

Daylight filters from skylights and double-height spaces deep into the building. The gallery in the third floor includes a barrel-vaulted double-height space to accommodate large-scale works. Educational workshops and studios are positioned adjoining the gallery spaces so that production and display co-exist. Four art niches on the street facade provide places for outdoor sculpture and installations.

The roof terrace, whose gardens are curated by landscape design firm Studio Zewde, offers planting around the perimeter and views across Harlem’s skyline. It allows events and informal gatherings to take place in open air as an extension of the gallery into the city.

During the presentation, Golden asks attendees: ‘Think about what it took for us to get here… our resilience, our longevity, our continuing relevance in this moment.’

‘From the Studio: Fifty-Eight Years of Artists in Residence’ (installation view) in the Museum’s artist in Residence Studios, 2025. courtesy Studio Museum in Harlem. photo: © Albert Vecerka/Esto

More than a landmark work of architecture, the Studio Museum’s new home in Harlem is a commitment to an expanded program. The exhibition spaces, the studios for artists in residence, the educational workshops, the rooftop terrace, all aim to widen the museum’s role in the neighborhood and beyond. The building is designed to host temporary exhibition spaces, a permanent collection, public programming, and spaces for community engagement.

Santiago Calatrava arranges Belgian station around “monumental bridge”

Starr Charles28 October 2025

Swathes of glass and steel make up the sinuous exterior of the new Gare de Mons station in Belgium, which has been designed by Swiss-Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.

Located along the international Paris to Brussels train line in Mons, the station‘s sculptural structure is organised around a raised gallery volume that stretches 165 metres across the site.

Conceptualised by Calatrava as a “monumental bridge”, its volume traverses a series of 350-metre-long platforms and bus stops that extend outwards from the gallery’s underside.

Overhead view of Gare de Mons — Santiago Calatrava has completed the Gare de Mons station in Belgium

Calatrava won the competition for the existing station’s redevelopment in 2006. It serves as a link between a previously disconnected residential area to the north and the historic quarter to the south, while also introducing new facilities like offices, underground parking and retail space to the site.

“This project transcends the challenges of constructing a new railway station,” Calatrava said.

“Conceived as a monumental bridge spanning the tracks, it has ignited a profound transformation in its surrounding areas,” he added.

Entrance to Belgium station by Santiago Calatrava — An expansive bridge forms the station’s centrepiece

Externally, the station’s flowing glass and steel form is crowned with a sloping roof that rises to a peak.

Glass canopies extend from the gallery roof at both its north and south entrances to shelter central staircases flanked by escalators that lead up to the station’s interior.

Within the station, the structure’s large triangular truss structure is left exposed, with curved, glass entrances to platforms, shops and other facilities framed by its structural curves.

An operable skylight lined with wooden supports runs along the gallery’s peak to both draw daylight and ventilation through the space.

Additional wooden details add warmth to the internal facades and are complemented by blue limestone flooring.

“The central gallery is fully enclosed and insulated, ensuring a comfortable temperature during the colder months,” Calatrava said.

Gallery interior at Gare de Mons by Santiago Calatrava — A skylight draws light and air through the station

Visitors can descend to the platform from the central space via stairs, escalators and elevators.

Sheltered beneath roofs extending from the central volume are seven passenger tracks, along with 29 bus stops and taxi stands complete with built-in wooden benches.

River Center Branch Library / Schwartz/Silver Architects + WHLC Architecture

Text description provided by the architects. The River Center Branch is a technology-rich downtown public library that celebrates its distinctive regional climate, proximity to the Mississippi River, and the unique local community.

Downtown Baton Rouge has recently seen an economic revival, yet forty percent of the city’s residents still live at or below the poverty line. With the Library following a pay-as-you-go strategy, fiscal responsibility was a major project driver, and the design and budget required comprehensive public vetting and full community support. The program was developed with an emphasis on technology, the broadest possible service menu, and the goal of providing facilities that would allow teens and adults to use the library to explore new interests and access information and training in ways that could help set them up for success.

The Largest Development Coming to U Street Moves Forward

Plans for the largest development on the boards for DC’s U Street Corridor are continuing to move forward.

Eastbanc and Jamestown have filed a planned unit development (PUD) with DC’s Zoning Commission for a development with a variety of different property types surrounding the U Street Metro at 13th and U Street NW (map).

The development will consist of 117-143 new residential units, between 55-67 hotel rooms, 15 alley townhomes, and approximately 6,780 square feet of retail. The three-bedroom townhomes will border the historic alley known as Temperance Avenue. Shalom Baranes is the architect.

At least 15% of the units in the large residential building will be devoted to Inclusionary Zoning units set aside for households earning up to 60% of median family income. A portion of Temperance Avenue between the two rows of Townhomes will be converted into a pedestrian walkway open to the public, and the development team has a plan to redesign and significantly upgrade the west entrance of the Metro station.

Can Anacostia Build a Bridge Without Displacing Its People?

A decade in the works, the 11th Street Bridge Park in Washington, D.C., has yet to be built. But it could be a model for how to create public space while lessening the effects of gentrification.

I. What’s the purpose of a park?

In 2016, Faruq Bey moved into a one-bedroom apartment in a red brick rowhouse in Washington, D.C. A Cleveland native, Mr. Bey first came to the city to study theater at Howard University. He left after college and bounced around, but he missed the city. When a job running a black box theater at the Anacostia Arts Center came his way, he jumped at it. The nonprofit that ran the arts center rented out several affordable apartments in the neighborhood in southeast Washington, and Mr. Bey settled into one. He painted accent walls — sky blue in the living room, periwinkle in the kitchen. He could imagine staying a while.

Mr. Bey loved Anacostia. It felt like a small town nestled in a big city. Like Mr. Bey, most of the people who lived there were Black, and he relished the feeling of walking out the door and into a Black community. He took his dog on long walks in the park that ran in a narrow ribbon along the Anacostia River. He’d walk down the waterfront trail and across a new four-lane bridge at 11th Street, lingering to enjoy the breeze and the view from the wide pedestrian walkway or the overlooks built on the piers of an old highway that had once spanned the river.