Greater Greater Washington: Plans to build parks in NoMa just took a big step forward

The foundation that plans park development in NoMa just bought its first piece of land. That means progress for the booming neighborhood, where it’s been tough to get an ambitious park plan off the ground. Read more.

D.C. is considered among the best cities in the country for parks, with more than 20 percent of land in city bounds designated as park land. But NoMa — a D.C. neighborhood near Union Station now teeming with apartment buildings — doesn’t have any official parks. Read more.

A piece of land originally intended for condos will become NoMa’s first park, according to the NoMa Parks Foundation. The lot at 3rd and L St. NE will serve residents “and their 4-legged friends,” says Robin Eve-Jasper of the NoMa Business Improvement District. Read more.

D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray has earmarked $490,000 to help develop a network of public parks in NoMa and pledged the support of the District’s planning department to oversee the next stage in the process.

With the funds, the planning department could soon issue a request for proposals to firms to come up with design plans for miniparks throughout the Northeast D.C. business district. The District will be working closely with the NoMa Business Improvement District, which came up with a $50 million parks plan earlier this year that will serve as a blueprint for the planning department’s efforts.

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Developers and planners of the District’s NoMa neighborhood, behind Union Station, are enjoying an incredible wave of construction but have long wrung their hands over the area’s lack of green space.

Officials from the District government and the NoMa Business Improvement District have looked for ways of accumulating enough land to build a large central park. But with so much of the neighborhood already pegged for development, the BID’s new president, Robin-Eve Jasper, decided to push for a network of smaller places for public gatherings, dog walks, relaxation, playgrounds and limited recreation.

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