District leaders remain optimistic that they will eventually earn a slice of the 113-acre Walter Reed Army Medical Center campus despite a U.S. Army decision to sell the property to two federal agencies.
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton said Thursday that the General Services Administration is unlikely to build new office space directly fronting Georgia Avenue due to security setback requirements. The District, Norton said, might still have a chance at neighborhood retail or some other mixed-use development along an important upper Northwest corridor.
“We are still in the game,” she said. “I have by no means given up on that.”
Walter Reed is scheduled to close in 2011, its staff shifted to Bethesda and Fort Belvoir. The GSA and Department of State applied to take ownership of the entire campus for office and consulate space, and their requests were accepted by the Army — so long as they pay full market value.
But there’s no guarantee, city officials say, that GSA or State will take full advantage.
Mayor Anthony Williams recently established a Local Redevelopment Authority to plan the future use of Walter Reed. The authority “will remain intact,” the mayor said in a statement, in case the city is given a portion of theland.
“We certainly hope that the State Department and the GSA agree that it would be beneficial to all parties to have a more active, mixed use for the property — one that would provide retail and other amenities for the residents as well as the office workers,” Williams said.
D.C. Council Chairman Linda Cropp said the site “could and should be developed in a timely manner with uses that are needed by the District and compatible with the surrounding community.”
Walter Reed campus
» Four acres larger than the Vatican
» Fronts Georgia Avenue to the east and Rock Creek Park to the west
» Nearest Metro stations: Takoma and Silver Spring, 12 blocks away
