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 Canal Park has been in the planning and design stages for several years. In the late 1990s, the WC Smith Company invested in the Near Southeast neighborhood (now Capitol Riverfront), which at the time consisted of vacant lots, warehouses, bars, widely scattered sub-standard single family homes, many of which were abandoned, and deteriorated public housing. Spurred by a nascent plan for redevelopment of the Anacostia Waterfront, the Smith Company envisioned a new vibrant community and proposed to the city’s Office of Planning that the Canal Blocks be turned into a new park replete with water features and activities recalling the canal’s heritage. The company helped form a non-profit entity, CPDA, to raise funds for the new park. Subsequently, CPDA and the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation (AWC) jointly hosted a design competition for Canal Park in 2004. After the design competition award, AWC moved forward with design development and CPDA ceased activities. The District eliminated AWC in 2007, and its projects were absorbed into the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development ("DMPED"). Subsequently, in October 2008, DMPED entered into a license agreement with CPDA to redesign the park based on new stakeholder program requirements and to complete its construction.  |
