Reimagining Friendship Heights

Report Summary: ULI Washington hosted a virtual TAP in partnership with the DC Office of Planning, WMATA, and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments from April 19 to 23, 2021. The TAP examined Friendship Heights, once a leading regional destination for luxury retail, which had experienced a major disruption in its market position, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. ULI Washington was tasked with evaluating existing land use, transit assets and access, opportunities to increase housing options, and providing cohesive design and public realm recommendations. The Panel identified immediate, short-term, and medium-term opportunities for action in Friendship Heights for pedestrian-scale streetscape and public space activation, bus facility and thoroughfare quality, and local business outreach. In addition to exploring urban design proposals like relocating the Western Bus Garage and reconfiguring public and community spaces, the Panel also provided examples of Best Practices across the region for partnerships, programs, and funding structures for increasing equity and economic opportunity that could benefit the study area.