Georgetown Waterfront Park Reaches Funding Target

AFTER NEARLY THIRTY YEARS of planning, the Georgetown Waterfront Park has finally met its fundraising goal of $9 million needed to go forward with construction.

The future park, located between 31st Street NW and Key Bridge and south of K Street NW, received $4.5 million from the Centennial Challenge, combined with $3.5 million from the District of Columbia and $1 million in private donations, according to National Park Service spokesman Bill Line.

Although plans for the park have been set for some time, Line said that the two-phase construction project will not be fully complete for another 18 months. Line said construction of the first phase of the park will be completed "in the vicinity of Labor Day"; the second phase is expected in January or February of 2010.

The first phase, pictured in a rendering above, will feature shade and flowering trees a river-front promenade and a labyrinth for reflection and contemplation, according to a press release. That portion of the park will be located between 34th Street and Wisconsin Avenue NW.

The second phase, located between Wisconsin Avenue and 31st Street NW, will be the centerpiece of the park, according to the park service. That area, to be called "The Plaza," is expected to include a fountain, a pergola laced with flowering vines for shaded park benches and river stairs with seating for watching boat races.

When it's finished, the park will complete 225 miles of parkland along the Potomac River's shoreline and will become the largest park created in D.C. since the completion of Constitution Gardens on the National Mall in 1976, the park service says.

Image courtesy Wallace, Roberts & Todd