Building Design+Construction highlighted the opening of Phase One of the Bridge District in Washington, DC, a milestone project for sustainable multifamily design.
The Bridge District, a transformative mixed-use development along the Anacostia River in Washington, DC, has been featured in Building Design+Construction for opening as the largest ILFI Zero Carbon-certified multifamily building in the world.
Located at the foot of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, Phase One of the Bridge District includes three residential towers, Stratos, Poplar House, and Alula, bringing approximately 750,000 square feet of market-rate and affordable housing and 40,000 square feet of retail to Southeast DC. The all-electric development is powered by renewable energy from a rooftop solar array and off-site sources, supporting the District’s broader goals for building electrification and carbon reduction.
SK&A Structural Engineers served as the structural engineer for this first phase of the Bridge District, contributing to a project that is helping set a new benchmark for sustainable residential development. The project’s ambitious approach to reducing both operational and embodied carbon reflects the value of early collaboration among the owner, architect, contractor, and engineering team.
Phase One also plays an important role in connecting established neighborhoods north and west of the Anacostia River with communities south and east of the river. Designed by ZGF Architects for Redbrick LMD, the development includes 757 residential units, 78 affordable units, and community-serving ground-floor retail intended to support the growing Bridge District neighborhood.
We applaud the entire project team for reaching this major milestone, including Redbrick LMD, ZGF Architects, HITT Contracting, and the many partners involved in bringing this vision to life.
Read the full BD+C article here.
Source Note: Project information and photography shown above were obtained from the Building Design+Construction article, “Largest zero-carbon-certified multifamily building in the world opens in Washington, D.C.,” by Peter Fabris, Contributing Editor, published May 11, 2026. Photography is credited to Magda Biernat Photography and Hover Solutions.
