on Oct 07, 2024

DAVID RUBIN Land Collective Selected as New Pennsylvania Avenue Plan Design Consultant

This press release was originally issued by NCPC. 

The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), on behalf of the Pennsylvania Avenue Partnership, announces the selection of DAVID RUBIN Land Collective (Land Collective) to lead design of the New Pennsylvania Avenue Plan in collaboration with HR&A Advisors (HR&A), whose role was announced earlier this year. The partnership comprises the U.S. General Services Administration, National Park Service, District of Columbia Government, Events DC, DowntownDC Business Improvement District, and NCPC.

 

The New Pennsylvania Avenue Plan will guide the redesign and management of this iconic street, located between the White House and U.S. Capitol in the capital city, into an exceptional and dynamic destination with an elevated local and national role. The partners envision an inclusive public space that is welcoming, beautiful, and fulfills the Avenue’s potential as a venue for extraordinary experiences that showcase our heritage and aspirations for the future—a place to unite, celebrate, and tell our nation’s stories.

 

HR&A kicked off work in March 2024 to lay the foundation for Land Collective’s work that will build upon the public comments received in 2022 on the three early concepts developed by NCPC in collaboration with ZGF Architects. Land Collective and HR&A will start the next phase of work in late November 2024 and focus on testing these early concepts to inform development of potential design alternatives. These alternatives will be released for public review and feedback in late 2025/early 2026 through the National Environmental Policy Act and National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 processes. The New Pennsylvania Avenue Plan is anticipated to be completed in 2027.

 

Land Collective will lead the development of the public space master plan that will address redesign of the corridor, parks, and plazas to achieve the partners’ vision. Land Collective’s team brings design excellence and technical expertise in landscape architecture, urban design, and planning of environmentally and socially sustainable public spaces. Land Collective’s core team members include: Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners, VHB, Rhodes Heritage Group, and studio:indigenous. They are joined by multidisciplinary collaborators, including &Access, Artichoke, Brandes Partners, Wayside Studio, Studio Pacifica, Dharam, Domingo Gonzalez Associates, ETM Associates, Jaffe Holden, and Thornton Tomasetti.

 

Land Collective’s portfolio spans a range of beloved landscapes, both local and national, including downtown Washington, DC’s Franklin Park; Pennsylvania Avenue’s National World War I Memorial/Pershing Park Rehabilitation; The National Mall’s Tidal Basin and Potomac Park Levee; Canal Park; Wilmington, Delaware’s Riverfront East Master Plan and implementation; Grand Rapids, Michigan’s Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park; and Westfield, Indiana’s Grand Junction Plaza, among others.

 

HR&A Advisors is an industry leader in economic development and urban open space stewardship, operations, maintenance, and funding strategies. Their team also brings expertise in events programming and production and landscape architecture. HR&A Advisors’ interdisciplinary team of experts includes Auster Agency, Field Operations, and ArentFox Schiff, whose national portfolio includes the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative in Washington, DC; The High Line and Brooklyn Bridge Park in New York City; Klyde Warren Park in Dallas; and the new Seattle Waterfront.

 

“As the country’s 250th anniversary approaches, now is the perfect time to elevate the Avenue as an enduring symbol of America’s democracy and a place for all Americans to enjoy,” said NCPC Chair Teri Hawks Goodmann. “The partners envision a reinvigorated Pennsylvania Avenue as a crown jewel in the nation’s capital. In Land Collective and HR&A Advisors, we have a great team to develop the New Pennsylvania Avenue Plan that will transform this national landmark into a beautiful, inviting, and resilient public space.”

 

“We are extremely excited by this collaborative effort to envision this significant cultural landscape as a vibrant national and international symbol, and a functioning, dynamic downtown stage for gathering, performance, and exhibition,” said Land Collective Founding Principal David A. Rubin. “Our team reflects Land Collective’s belief that equitable representation in both design and participation is essential to an impactful and actionable vision to realize the Pennsylvania Avenue Partners’ goals for this treasured civic landscape.”

 

“The HR&A team has been hard at work developing the implementation program’s framework that will guide design development for the New Pennsylvania Avenue Plan. We are excited to be joined by Land Collective to reactivate this iconic corridor for a new era, transforming it into a vibrant, inclusive space that truly represents the dynamism of our nation,” said HR&A Advisors Partner Stan Wall.

 

Pennsylvania Avenue is currently guided by an outdated 1974 Plan. Over time, changing economic, physical, and land use conditions have significantly impacted the Avenue’s function and character, reducing its utility as a street. While the pandemic exacerbated these issues, we now have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reinvigorate the Avenue as a place for people first.