The master plan for National Harbor includes houses, hotels, restaurants, an outlet mall and resorts that have largely come to fruition since it opened 14 years ago in the middle of a recession. The Metro station in that blueprint has taken a divergent path.
Developers included the station at a time when the transit agency was on stronger footing, hoping a rail connection to the Washington region would boost the fledgling waterfront community. National Harbor has shown it can grow without Metro, but its continued desire for a station will probably be settled during a process beginning in weeks.
“The only important piece we are missing now is Metro,” said developer Jon Peterson, of Fairfax County-based Peterson Companies, which manages National Harbor.
A Metro study on extending rail service recommends expanding the Blue Line to National Harbor and other locations — a pricey proposal that is reviving hopes among residents and community leaders that Metro trains could one day cross the Woodrow Wilson Bridge into southern Prince George’s County. The proposal is geared toward the Washington region’s long-term growth, but under consideration at a time when Metro is weakened by a federal safety probe and pandemic.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Luz Lazo over at The Washington Post
