What is Skyland, Washington, D.C.?
'''Skyland''' is a neighborhood in [[Washington, D.C. (southeast)|Southeast]] [[Washington, D.C.]] It is next to Good Hope Road to the northeast, Alabama Avenue to the southeast, and Fort Stanton Park to the south and west. It is a part of the area called [[Anacostia]]. The District government wants to rebuild the {{convert|18|acre|m2|adj=on}} Skyland Shopping Center at Alabama Avenue and Naylor Road, SE in Ward 7 into a mixed-used town center. Local residents asked the District government for help in the 1980s, because the current buildings were falling apart and many stores were empty. The [[United States Department of Housing and Urban Development]] decided in 2005 that the District government could not use federal money to buy Skyland because of past mistakes.<ref name=washpost/> The District is working with the Rappaport Cos. and the William S. Smith Cos. on a new plan for Skyland. They want to build {{convert|320000|sqft|m2}} of retail space. They hope that the new buildings will be filled with high-quality, national stores and locally-owned shops and restaurants. Torti Gallas & Partners are architects who are drawing the new plans. The new buildings will cost $260 million.<ref name=washpost/> On May 25, 2011, DC Mayor [[Vincent Gray]] told [[Wal-Mart]] officials that he would not allow them to build four other new stores in the [[District of Columbia]] unless Wal-Mart also opened a store in Skyland.<ref>{{cite news|title=Gray tells Wal-Mart it's all or nothing|first=Jonathan|last=O'Connell|newspaper=Washington Post|date=May 26, 2011|page=B5}}</ref> However, Safeway holds the exclusive right to sell groceries in the development, which may block a Wal-Mart at Skyland.<ref>{{cite news|title=Safeway poses big hurdle to plan for Southeast Wal-Mart|first=Nikita|last=Stewart|newspaper=Washington Post|date=November 29, 2011|page=B1}}</ref> The project will also include 420 to 470 units of housing. About 80 percent of the housing units will be owned by the people who live there and 20 percent will be rented.