Washington, D.C.<\/strong> \u2014 Affordable housing advocates say last week’s ANC 1B\u2019s 6\u20133 vote (video here<\/a>) endorsing a controversial land use framework of “Gentle Density” offers an early signal of how these same U Street Commissioners<\/a> may approach one of the NW’s most consequential upcoming land-use decisions: The future redevelopment of 1617 U Street NW<\/a><\/strong>, a large, publicly owned site within ANC 1B.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Unwavering loyalty to Greater Greater Washington’s market-driven land use ideas may likely mean these same Commissioners may not explore more creative and proven decommodified housing production solutions,\u00a0<\/em>like social housing,\u00a0that could <\/em>be implemented at 1617 U Street,”<\/em> said Marcy Logan, volunteer with Save DC Public Land.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n A majority of 1B Commissioners voting in favor of “Gentle Density<\/a><\/strong>” were endorsed by Greater Greater Washington during the 2024 ANC elections<\/a>. ANC-1B Chair, Miguel Trinidade-Deramo<\/strong>, vying for the GGW-stamp of support for his 2026-run for Ward 1 Councilmember<\/a>, said he was “proud<\/a>” to support the resolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (2-acres; Police and Firestations; DMPED website<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n In contrast to decommodified housing production solutions — such as Social Housing<\/a> — the “Gentle Density<\/a><\/strong>\u201d land use framework being championed by Greater Greater Washington<\/a> in conjunction with the American Enterprise Institute<\/a> would allow higher-density residential development to occur by-right<\/u><\/em><\/strong> in areas currently zoned for single-family housing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In plain zoning terms<\/a><\/strong>, gentle density eliminates R1 and R2 zoning districts citywide (possibly R3 as well), allowing single-family homes to be replaced by market-rate multi-unit buildings as a matter of right, no-strings attached<\/u><\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This means, if adopted by city planners, the proposal would not include affordability requirements, guarantees for family-sized units, or displacement protections, and would significantly reduce the advisory role of ANCs in neighborhood development decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n R1 and R2 zones are concentrated in Wards 4, 5, 7, and 8<\/strong><\/a>; none are located within ANC 1B.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n At the ANC 1B meeting<\/a>, residents and ANC representatives from Wards 7 and other parts of the city spoke in opposition to “Gentle Density,<\/a><\/strong>” warning that the policy could accelerate displacement in neighborhoods already facing housing instability:<\/p>\n\n\n\n GGW is known for promoting a more one-dimensional, by-right, market-driven approach<\/strong> to housing production and land use policy, such as Gentle Density and other supply-side zoning reforms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n GGW rarely, if ever, champions decommodified housing solutions<\/strong> such as social housing on public land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is why affordable housing advocates warn that without intentional engagement on social housing, GGW-endorsed Commissioners may default to market-driven redevelopment and status-quo privatization<\/strong> regarding future outcomes at 1617 U Street, narrowing redevelopment options before community-centered approaches are fully considered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local groups and more than 1,000 residents have signed a petition<\/a><\/strong> seeking the city do something different at 1617 U Street — not privatization but rather implementing solutions to repair the displacement harms of the past while avoiding perpetuation of that harm going forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The 2-acre public site at 1617 U Street, NW, which includes the Third District police station and Engine Company 9, represents a rare opportunity to deliver housing that is permanently affordable, tenant-centered and under municipal-control for the benefit of the public good.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Save DC Public Land has published a resource with links to explore what Social Housing<\/a><\/strong> is and could be at 1617 U Street, NW.\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Density,"\u00a0Putting](\"https:\/\/savedcpublicland.org\/the1617project\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-from-2026-02-09-12-24-08.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n1617 U Street NW<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"(2-acres;](\"https:\/\/ci3.googleusercontent.com\/meips\/ADKq_NbyOgXI6ErjbEVvces_JTmeJlF_y1uo60VoQoiX2eBPGjJu0KHbypDuiKi9Onyci1Y_YORDUTgAIHit3ITI-9B2qPy6f35KKzrg-4kFWGYODohasN1xFBehwAuXodGO0qf9mj3bSS3082a1EV9FJyAg4iVWn6Z3-44=s0-d-e1-ft#https:\/\/savedcpublicland.org\/the1617project\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/YOURLAND_1617-1024x518-1.jpg\")
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\n\n\n\nMARKET-DRIVEN & DECOMMODIFIED PATHS TO HOUSING PRODUCTION<\/u><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
![\"GGW-Endorsed](\"https:\/\/savedcpublicland.org\/the1617project\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-from-2026-02-02-13-45-55.png\")
\n\n\n\nOPEN DISSENT TO MARKET-DRIVEN “NO-STRINGS” REAL ESTATE POLICY<\/u><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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<\/li>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nPOTENTIAL LOYALTY TO GGW LAND USE IDEAS MAY RISK SOCIAL HOUSING PILOT AT 1617 U STREET<\/u><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
![signed a petition<\/a><\/strong> seeking the city do something different at 1617 U Street — not privatization but rather implementing solutions to repair the displacement harms of the past while avoiding perpetuation of that harm going forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThe 2-acre public site at 1617 U Street, NW, which includes the Third District police station and Engine Company 9, represents a rare opportunity to deliver housing that is permanently affordable, tenant-centered and under municipal-control for the benefit of the public good.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nSave DC Public Land has published a resource with links to explore what Social Housing<\/a><\/strong> is and could be at 1617 U Street, NW.###<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nPress contact:<\/strong>Debby HanrahanSave DC Public Landdebby@savedcpublicland.org<\/a>202-462-2054<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Press AlertFebruary 9, 2026 GGW-Endorsed ANC-1B Commissioners Back “Gentle Density,” Harsh Consequences Washington, D.C. \u2014 Affordable housing advocates say last week’s ANC 1B\u2019s 6\u20133 vote (video here) endorsing a controversial land use framework of “Gentle Density” offers an early signal of how these same U Street Commissioners may approach one of the NW’s most consequential […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5698,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-1617u"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/savedcpublicland.org\/the1617project\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-from-2026-02-09-12-48-50.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/savedcpublicland.org\/the1617project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/savedcpublicland.org\/the1617project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/savedcpublicland.org\/the1617project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savedcpublicland.org\/the1617project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savedcpublicland.org\/the1617project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5704"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/savedcpublicland.org\/the1617project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5716,"href":"https:\/\/savedcpublicland.org\/the1617project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5704\/revisions\/5716"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savedcpublicland.org\/the1617project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/savedcpublicland.org\/the1617project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savedcpublicland.org\/the1617project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savedcpublicland.org\/the1617project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"https:\/\/savedcpublicland.org\/the1617project\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/petition-e1682645764616.png\"){kind=link}