With eyes on Washington's new stadium opening in 2030, Commanders.com is sitting down with key actors and decision-makers involved in the historic project. Known for its "Human by Design" philosophy, New York-based design practice Perkins Eastman was founded on the belief that design has the power to enhance people's lives. The firm has been instrumental in shaping the new stadium site's mixed-use development master plan, considering how to best enhance the value of and access to the area for residents and improve the integration of the site with surrounding neighborhoods.
Leading the charge at the RFK site for PE is Principal Barbara Mullenex. With highlights on her resume that include The Wharf, she brings 30 years of experience and a strong dedication to Washington, D.C. to the Commanders new stadium project.
Q: What was the most exciting or intriguing part of this project as Perkins Eastman decided to come on board?
A: "I think for me and my team, it was what this could mean for the city. Having lived here for my whole career, I'd gone to games at RFK, I'd seen what it was, and it had become a continually crumbling, unfortunate, sad part of the city. It's such an important fulcrum regionally; it's really this physical heart connecting the Arboretum and the Capitol Crescent Trail, the Fort Circle parks, connecting down to the Potomac -- just this location that has never fully been realized.
The RFK project happened at a time when D.C. needed something to be positive about. I've told people that working on this, this is kind of my love letter to the District of Columbia. I think back to this great, D.C.-famous document called the Anacostia Waterfront Commission created in 2003 when Tony Williams (1999-2007) was mayor. It was about developing everything along the Anacostia Waterfront, from the Wharf to Navy Yard to Buzzard Point, and the last piece of it was RFK. So, it [the restoring of the RFK site] is really part of this big story for the city."
Q: What makes Perkins Eastman stand out as an urban design firm?
A: "I think it's a deep understanding of urbanism and what's possible. We understand the city very well. We understand the interests that come from a lot of sides, including the community, the mayor, the council and how you create something that works for everybody.
One of the most important decisions we made at the very beginning was to reuse all the infrastructure that we could. We made the decision of, 'We have to work with this infrastructure because this is there.' And 'If we want this to happen, we have to be practical about making it happen."
Q: How are you thinking about a year-round destination when you work on the master plan?
A: "One of the things we always said at The Wharf was, 'It has to work on a cold rainy day in February.' The Wharf was going to work during cherry blossoms, you didn't have to do anything during that time, but how do you get people there on a cold winter day? And I am always stunned, amazed and thrilled when I go there at random times during the year, and it's so active.
The way to activate this neighborhood around RFK is to make it a place that people want to go to on a cold rainy day. In that setting, the stadium becomes kind of like a backdrop, kind of like the Lincoln Memorial. There have to be connections from the neighborhood, through the site, around the stadium to all these amenities so that you kind of use the stadium as a place to orient yourself and then discover all these other things. These other things have to be at the scale and kinds of places people want to be."
Q: How would you describe the stadium site on the roughly 355 days a year where there isn't a Commanders home game?
A: "It will be really activated as a community hub for the Capitol Hill neighborhood. People need outdoor space, and it's going to be a great desination for families. It's going to have more amenities that people in Capitol Hill and Ward 7 can enjoy every day, like grocery stores, restaurants, places for children to play. Maybe you say, 'Hey, let's ride our bike over to the Wharf, get a coffee. There's a great bike shop there. We could walk along the river, maybe grab a kayak. Or 'Hey, we get to walk around the stadium. That's really cool.' You'll have all these things for people to do and imagine."
Q: In what ways are you bringing the community into your work?
A: "One of the things we started with is making a list of all the community groups that we could find and started listening to what their concerns are. We've had lots of community meetings, and I think we have a good track record of getting community agreement and community support for things. I learned a lot from [D.C. real estate developer] Monty Hoffman at The Wharf -- I think they had something like 600 community meetings. Learning what's important to residents, local businesses, churches, the community garden folks…and that goes back to our firm being so embedded in D.C. We understand the city. Sometimes we fly in somewhere and we bring a fresh perspective, but there's something about the granularity about knowing, say, the history of the skate park people that makes a difference."
Q: What's it been like working with the Commanders team on this project?
A: "It is really a remarkable team. I have never been on a project where the confidence and mutual respect between the city, the owners, the design team is so strong. It is all, 'Roll up your sleeves' for one goal and that is to bring the Commanders home. Andy [VanHorn] and Matt Haas have a particular experience and with the [Washington Nationals] ballpark, are so knowledgeable.
There have been some really tough decisions and some really hard deadlines. It's like dominoes that have to fall to get the stadium to open in 2030. One of the dominoes they're just starting now is the enabling utility work to move a storm line around the stadium footprint, so that the construction can happen. It requires the city to go at a really expedited time frame for approvals through all the agencies to get that to happen.
I remember about two years ago, I think it was before Andy was on board, while it still looked like D.C. was not the likely choice for the stadium, I took the [Commanders] ownership team on a tour of RFK. It was freezing. And [Managing Partner] Josh Harris and Mitch Rales were like 12-year-old boys. I mean, their enthusiasm for the stadium and just kind of like excitement, it's just contagious."
Q: What are takeaways from other projects that PE has worked on that you could apply to this project?
A: "All of the investigation about public realm, great public spaces and being a little contrarian about certain things, like mixing cars and people, were taken into consideration during our work at The Wharf. There were lessons there from how to work with the community that we've pulled through here. That's kind of a unique skillset."
Q: What's been the most rewarding part of being involved in the RFK project?
A: "I started with a wild hope in my heart that this would happen. I believe I was one of a small handful of people that really thought this would happen. I mean, it did not seem likely. So, to see the enthusiasm and optimism and possibility, it's truly kind of magical."
