Baltimore skyline from Federal Hill by BeyondDC licensed under Creative Commons.

Baltimore receives HUD approval for second chance at $6.4 million reimbursement

Baltimore city officials missed deadlines and fumbled administrative rules regulating the use of HUD funding for housing services, causing the city to miss out on approximately $10 million in reimbursements for fiscal year 2020. But now HUD is giving the city a second chance to seek reimbursement for $6.4 million. (This article is behind a paywall).  (Hallie Miller / Baltimore Banner)  

Zoning commission to review plans for large residential project near RFK stadium

Donatelli Development and partners submitted plans for a 500-unit residential project near RFK stadium (Reservation 13) which head to a Zoning Commission hearing on March 11. The proposal includes an eight- or nine-story residential building and a mixed-use structure with 144 apartments and retail space. Frontier Development, which was picked for another section of the area, has plans for 1,000 rental units, an extended-stay hotel, retail spaces, and a central park named after Relisha Rudd.  (Urban Turf)  

Environmental restoration project closes DC’s Kingman Island for a week

Kingman Island in DC is temporarily closed this week as part of a long-term environmental restoration project. Previously used as a dumping ground, the 40-acre island is undergoing cleanup. A contractor is removing hazardous material. The next phases in the project are to remove invasive plants, plant, and reseed native ones, and eventually build an outdoor education center and new trails.  (Jacob Fenston / DCist)  

Baltimore nears $15.2 million deal to acquire two hotels for transitional housing

After a search initiated nearly three years ago to address housing challenges exacerbated by the pandemic, Baltimore is on the verge of finalizing a $15.2 million deal to purchase two hotels, a Holiday Inn Express and a Sleep Inn, to provide housing for those in dire need of shelter.  The deal will include a management agreement with the seller for the first nine months of operation. The Board of Estimates is set to consider the deal next week. (This article is behind a paywall).  (Emily Opilo / Baltimore Sun)  

Crystal City apartment towers reach construction milestone, and expect to be complete in Spring 2025

Developer JBG Smith and project manager Balfour Beatty marked a construction milestone as the final beam was placed atop the 25-story West and 19-story East towers in Crystal City. The towers, expected to be completed by spring 2025, will provide 775 units and will be near the in-progress second entrance to the Crystal City Metro station, a new Virginia Railway Express station expected to be completed in 2026, and a future pedestrian bridge that will link Crystal City to National Airport.  (James Jarvis / ARLNow)  

Fairfax County refines bicycle parking standards

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors expressed support for updating bicycle parking guidelines to ensure consistency across the county’s transportation policies. Introduced as part of the “Parking Reimagined” initiative in September, the current guidelines are being refined to address discrepancies with 2014 standards and to include specific details for visitor and long-term parking, wayfinding signage, rack spacing, security measures, and other amenities.   (Fatimah Waseem / FFXNow)  

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