President Obama’s proposed budget provides $200 million for a U.S. Department of Homeland Security development on the St. Elizabeths Hospital campus.
The 4.5 milllion-quare foot project is key to Mayor Vince Gray’s plans to bring jobs to the part of the District east of the Anacostia River, where unemployment has climbed to about 30 percent. When Gray and Obama met late last year, Gray said securing funding for homeland security’s new headquarters was his top priority.
The funding also includes $55 million for the construction of a highway interchange that would carry the 14,000 federal workers to and from their DHS jobs. Gray has said he hopes the headquarters are designed and built as to encourage workers to leave the campus and spend their dollars locally.
