The developers who are making extensive plans to build on the GenOn plant property in Old Town North are opening it for tours this month.
The popular tours were offered in June and are returning due to popular demand. Residents can register here for tours on Nov. 13. The tours do not go inside the building due to extensive safety issues, but this is closest residents can get to the old power plant before it is dismantled.
The power plant, which shut down in 2012 after over 60 years in operation, was purchased by Hilco at the end of 2020. Local environmental activists were instrumental in getting the power plant closed. Hilco is a redevelopment company that specializes in transforming old industrial sites for modern uses.
The power plant site, known as the Potomac River Generating Station, is 18.8 acres but only 11.8 of them are buildable due to a variety of setbacks and easements on the property. The utility company Pepco will also retain ownership and use of a substation located on the property.
Hilco proposes building a mixed-use development on the site to include residential, commercial, retail, life science and open space and an arts component, in keeping with the Old Town North Small Area Plan which city council approved in 2017.
