Cuts Could Delay Homeland Security Move to St. Elizabeths Hospital Campus
By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor Federal authorities’ decision to cut financing for the Department of Homeland Security could delay the redevelopment of the former St. Elizabeths Hospital campus to Anacostia for use as the DHS headquarters. Move-in had been planned for 2017. Delays [...]
By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor
Federal authorities’ decision to cut financing for the Department of Homeland Security could delay the redevelopment of the former St. Elizabeths Hospital campus to Anacostia for use as the DHS headquarters. Move-in had been planned for 2017.
Delays in funding have already cost taxpayers $69 million, declared D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton in The Washington Examiner. The original plans stipulated that parts of the new headquarters would be built in conjunction with a new U.S. Coast Guard headquarters, but in Norton’s opinion, the project cannot be broken up into pieces. The D.C. authorities agreed to grant $17 million for Phase I of the hospital’s redevelopment, scheduled for completion in 2013. The remainder of the project, which includes residential units, office space, stores and a headquarters building for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will depend on the financing decisions made by the federal government.
The Department of Homeland Security will, however, benefit from the $867 million contract awarded by the General Services Administration to General Dynamics Corp., which will develop an integrated network infrastructure for the new headquarters. According to WashingtonTechnology, the GSA announced the contract on June 7 as part of the Alliant Government-wide Acquisition Contract. The DHS project will include design, procurement, configuration, installation, testing, securing and maintenance of an integrated network infrastructure. This will help in transmisson of all voice, video and data communications across the DHS headquarters campus.
Also in the news this week, American Real Estate Partners announced that it acquired 1140 and 1146 19th St., N.W., in the District of Columbia for an undisclosed amount in a joint venture with The David Cos. The buildings’ total space of 111,348 square feet is occupied by law firms, medical offices and professional organizations. The buyers plan to add three more floors of approximately 60,000 square feet and convert the sites into Class A office buildings.
