The proposed new headquarters for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security at St. Elizabeths West Campus could bring 14,000 workers through Anacostia every day, sparking the development of stores, restaurants and entertainment venues and pouring money into D.C.’s poorest ward.
Or it could enclose those employees in a high-security, walled enclave and give them little incentive to leave it, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton said at a congressional hearing Wednesday. Norton called the hearing with the aim of ensuring Ward 8 sees direct financial benefits from the DHS project.
“Have you considered that if you have every possible amenity inside the wall that there is no reason for employees to venture into the community like they do downtown and like they do at NoMa?” Norton asked Dawud Abdur-Rahman, the U.S. General Services Administration’s development director for St. Elizabeths West Campus.
GSA, which manages federal government property, is currently amending a draft master plan for the 176-acre area with the intention of eventually creating a DHS headquarters there, along with the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Coast Guard and other agencies.
Current West Campus plans include space for a cafeteria, a day-care center, a drycleaner and a credit union, GSA spokeswoman MaryAnne Beatty told The Examiner.
“We don’t anticipate that we will have all of the amenities to support 14,000 employees on the West Campus,” Rahman told Norton. “No one eats in the cafeteria forever, but the overall issue right now is that the entire community is underserved.”
He said GSA has met repeatedly with the community and intends to offer opportunities for local businesses to provide services to the agency, such as catering.
Albert Hopkins, CEO of the nonprofit Anacostia Economic Development Corporation, told Norton the District must act quickly to put together development plans for the St. Elizabeths East Campus, which belongs to the city.
“We really need to get the city out ahead of [DHS],” Hopkins said. “Otherwise theywill be forced to locate the retail inside the West Campus.”
A spokesman for the deputy mayor of planning and economic development said the city will issue a request for a developer for the East Campus this spring.
