Walk to a home game
Cross the Frederick Douglass Bridge on foot and you're at Nationals Park in about fifteen minutes — then walk home over the water after the fireworks.
Bridge District & Poplar Point, Washington DC
Buy into the new riverfront.
New townhomes at the Metro, historic houses up the hill, and a riverfront being rebuilt around them.
What it costs here
$488K
Median house price · 54 sales
$345
Median per square foot
+34%
Renovated over dated
Recorded arm’s-length sales from the District’s assessment records, through 2026-08-12. Not an appraisal or a valuation of any particular home. Compare every DC neighborhood
Why here
Nats Park, one bridge away.
Living at Poplar Point means the river is your front yard — ballgames, trails, and skyline sunsets, with the city's biggest new park landing on your doorstep.
Anacostia Park out the door
The roller-skating pavilion, the pirate-ship playground, and miles of riverfront trail start where the neighborhood ends.
Game nights up MLK
The Entertainment & Sports Arena hosts the Mystics and the Go-Go a short ride away — big-league nights without downtown logistics.
Who's moving in: buyers getting in early on the riverfront — people who watched Navy Yard transform the far bank and want this side's opening chapter.
Why here, why now
The east bank is being rebuilt.
Between the Metro, Barry Farm and the riverfront, construction here is constant — and prices are still at the entry end of the market.
New townhomes by the Metro
Workforce townhouses are approved on Howard Road directly across from the Anacostia Metro. Barry Farm's phased redevelopment is delivering townhomes among roughly 1,400 mixed-income homes, and Reunion Square adds more along MLK Avenue.
Workforce pricing, ordinary financing
Many of these homes are offered at set percentages of area median income — which is exactly what puts a new-construction townhome within reach here. They carry a resale covenant, and we finance them regularly.
$450 million already in the ground
The Bridge District's first phase opened in 2025 at roughly $450 million, the largest private investment Ward 8 has seen, with a second phase breaking ground in 2026 and 2.5 million square feet planned at full build-out.
The bridge park lands this year
The 11th Street Bridge Park, a roughly $92 million elevated park on the old span, connects this stretch directly to Navy Yard. Of everything underway here, it's the piece most likely to move values on both banks.
Where to look
Three neighborhoods, all walkable to the park.
New construction and historic stock, all of it walkable to the park and the Metro.
Historic AnacostiaHistoric frame houses up the hill, plus the MLK Avenue development corridorRead the guide →FairlawnSmall, directly above Anacostia Park, and inside every District program capRead the guide →Congress HeightsWhere HPAP and the Tax Abatement exemption stack the most effectivelyRead the guide →
Getting around
Car, train, bus, or bike — how the Bridge District moves.
- Metro
- Anacostia (Green) is directly across Howard Road from the new townhome blocks.
- Bus
- Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and Howard Road service converges at the station.
- Bike & trails
- The riverfront trail and both 11th Street bridges — Navy Yard and the Hill are minutes away by bike.
- Parking
- The new buildings and townhome projects come with parking planned in — and the surrounding blocks are lightly permit-zoned at most.
Daily life
Living in the Bridge District, day to day.
Schools, suppers, parks, and errands — the practical texture of the neighborhood, named specifically.
- Schools
- The new blocks feed the Anacostia cluster — the rebuilt Ketcham Elementary and Thurgood Marshall Academy's law-themed charter high are both up the hill, with Bard High School Early College a short ride south.
- Dining & nights out
- Busboys and Poets up MLK, Navy Yard's riverfront restaurant row one bridge over, and stadium season all summer.
- Parks & recreation
- Anacostia Park wraps the site, the award-winning Barry Farm Recreation Center is blocks away, and the 11th Street Bridge Park will land next door.
- The library
- The Anacostia branch on Good Hope Road is the neighborhood branch pending the riverfront's own build-out.
- Groceries
- Navy Yard's Whole Foods and Harris Teeter are one bridge away, with the Giant on Alabama Avenue up the hill — and ground-floor retail still filling in on-site.
- On foot
- Metro, the arena, and the riverfront trail are all walkable today; the neighborhood's own storefronts arrive with each phase.
Wherever you are
Start from where you actually are.
Buying takes most first-time DC buyers the better part of a year. The useful next step depends on which part you're in.
01 · Still running numbers
What can we actually afford?
Start with the payment, not the price. DC property tax, insurance and any condo fee move it more than buyers expect — and the condo fee counts against your ratios in full.
See what you can afford →02 · Saving up
How do we get to the down payment?
What you actually need down at Anacostia prices is usually less than people assume, and the property type moves it as much as the program does.
See what you'd need →03 · Writing offers
We need to look credible.
DC listing agents expect a pre-approval attached to the offer. Ninety seconds, no credit pull to start.
Get pre-qualified →
You asked
What can I buy near Poplar Point?
What can I buy near Poplar Point?
New townhomes and historic houses, depending on what you're after. Workforce townhouses are approved on Howard Road directly across from the Anacostia Metro, Barry Farm's phased redevelopment is delivering townhomes among roughly 1,400 mixed-income homes, and Reunion Square adds a townhome component along MLK Avenue. Up the hill, Historic Anacostia, Fairlawn, and Congress Heights all have established for-sale housing. Ask us what's releasing when you're ready — development timing moves, and we track it.
What is being built at Barry Farm?
A roughly $400 million phased redevelopment of about 1,400 mixed-income homes minutes from the Anacostia Metro, combining apartment buildings and townhomes with new streets and infrastructure. The first building opened in late 2024 and further phases have been breaking ground since, including construction starting in early 2026. Because it delivers in stages, it's worth asking what's currently available rather than assuming.
How does buying a workforce-priced townhome work?
Homes offered at a set percentage of area median income come with a covenant recorded against the property: it caps the future resale price, requires you to live there, and usually requires income certification through the District before you buy. Those terms are what make a new-construction townhome affordable in the first place. On the financing side it means working with a lender who handles resale-restricted properties and an appraisal that reflects the restriction — routine work, but not every lender does it.
Can I use HPAP or DC Open Doors on a new townhome?
Generally yes, and it's a common combination. HPAP provides up to $202,000 in interest-free, deferred gap financing plus $4,000 toward closing costs for qualifying first-time buyers, and DC Open Doors covers your required minimum down payment with no first-time requirement. Where a home is also income-restricted, both the program and the covenant have income and occupancy rules that need to line up — we sort that out before you're under contract, not after.
What is the 11th Street Bridge Park?
A roughly $92 million project converting the old 11th Street Bridge span into DC's first elevated park, connecting Anacostia directly to Navy Yard across the river. It's a joint effort between the District and Building Bridges Across the River. Of everything underway on this stretch, it's the piece most likely to affect values on both banks, because it changes how connected the east bank actually is.
What should I know about buying new construction?
Mainly timing. Delivery dates move, and rate locks have expiration dates, so the financing should be structured around a delivery window rather than a fixed settlement date. Anything sold within a condominium or phased community also gets project review — sold-versus-rented ratios, whether the developer still controls the association, reserve funding. Both are routine when handled early, which is the whole argument for talking to a lender before you sign.
Which DC assistance programs work near Poplar Point?
All four. HPAP provides up to $202,000 in interest-free gap financing plus $4,000 toward closing costs. DC Open Doors covers your required minimum down payment and doesn't require first-time status. The reduced recordation rate applies under a $777,000 price cap, and the DC Tax Abatement program waives recordation tax and abates property tax for five years under a $576,000 cap — which most sales on this side of the river clear.
Get in before the bridge park opens.
Tell us your numbers and we'll show you what's reachable here — new townhome or historic rowhouse — and how much of it DC will cover.