River Terrace

River terrace is a cute little pocket of greenery with mid-century houses. It's extrememly quiet and easy to get around, there is a bus that loops from the neighborhood to the metro, and soon will be a short walk to the new street car. River Terrace is situated right on the Anacostia Riverwalk which will get you straight to the nats stadium with a 15 minute bike ride and other waterfront activities . The neighborhood is fully equipped with a capital bike share, basketball courts, tennis courts, baseball field, grills and picnic tables. It's right off of 295, so getting in and out of the city is easy. Neighbors are nice, and there are still "affordable" houses here, however that won't last long once the street car and whole foods hits H STREET! CRIME is very low when comparing to other northeast and NORTHWEST neighborhoods.

I must have passed by this neighborhood a thousand times on my way to work and never knew it was there. River Terrace is a community of approximately 3,190 residents located in the northeast section of the city. The neighborhood's boundaries are formed by the Anacostia River, the Anacostia Freeway, Benning Road N.E. and East Capitol Street N.E. In 2010 the average price for a home that sold in the neighborhood was $157,582, with 46% of the homes here being owner occupied. Here you will find primarily attached "row house" style single family homes. You will also find a few apartments as well as some commercial businesses including Enterprise Rental Cars. In general the homes in the neighborhood are fairly well maintained and the neighborhood is pleasant.

River Terrace Elementary School is the only school in the neighborhood. One of the draws to the neighborhood besides the low price of home ownership, is the River Terrace Recreational Center, which runs along the Anacostia River. Restaurants and shopping opportunities are hard to find here, so residents will want to head to other neighborhoods for that. There is two places of worship in the neighborhood as well as a post office. Mass transit access is good with numerous Metro Bus stops as well as the nearby Minnesota Avenue Metro Station.

Crime appears to be rare in the neighborhood, and involved theft from vehicle and a car theft according to the most recent statistics. As always check the most recent crime statistics and make an informed decision as to the crime risk before moving into any neighborhood.

River Terrace is a small neighborhood just on the eastern side of the Anacostia. It is low middle-class to poor, with plenty of garden apartments as well as cheap houses. Unfortunately it also has some affordable housing. River Terrace isn’t as desperately poor as most of the area east of the Anacostia, and this is largely because some major companies have operations there. Plus, it is easy to cross the river into areas with more business. In spite of this however, there are almost no services in River Terrace, and residents have to leave the area to get much more than a cup of coffee. Not as many transportation routes are here either, because this neighborhood is sort of tucked away between major roads.
Other complaints you hear from residents revolve around an ancient coal-burning power plant. This plant doesn’t have many environmental filters on it, as it was built before such things were required. Although the city doesn’t run it all the time (just when there is higher than normal usage), the soot and pollution are spewed all over the area. Nobody likes breathing this in, of course. One wonders what happens to plant workers when they aren’t needed, too. Overall, this keeps River Terrace less attractive to live in.

River Terrace takes its name from its most prominent feature, the River Terrace Park. This spacious national park was built along the east side of the Anacostia River to serve as a green space for local families to relax and play. The park features a number of baseball and soccer fields that regularly host local children’s and adult teams.
Much of the work done on the park and in the neighborhood is organized by the River Terrace Community Association. Originally organized to oppose a local company’s plant expansion in 1989, has continued to be active in promoting the neighborhood. According to past president Johnny Gaither, they have great plans for the area: “The River Terrace Community Organization is committed to improving the Anacostia River. The members of the community are stewards of this Washington, DC resource…. We look forward to seeing boaters and kayakers on the Anacostia River.”
River Terrace is conveniently located near several large local employers, including the RFK Stadium, DC General Hospital and the National Guard Armory. Local students attend River Terrace Elementary and Eastern High Schools, both located in the neighborhood.