Congress will consider legislation aimed at spurring redevelopment of the Old Post Office building, the massive structure in the Federal Triangle that has languished nearly empty for decades with no clear purpose.
The bill, introduced Tuesday by D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D, would compel the General Services Administration to strike deals with the private sector for the renovation, management and operation of the historic block-long facility at 1100 Pennsylvania Ave. The GSA sought expressions of interest from developers in 2005 but the effort has since stalled.
“You can’t stop something like this,” Norton told The Examiner. “This is close to being a public disgrace to have one of the few crown jewels left in the District of Columbia lying there as if it were a pile of trash.”
The federal government is wasting an invaluable property in a prime location just blocks from the White House, she said, when it could be used to generate revenue and enliven Pennsylvania Avenue.
“We had responses and we’ve just been held up ever since over a disagreement within the government over what to do with the building,” Mike McGill, GSA spokesman, said of the expressions of interest.
The Old Post Office building opened in 1899 as the headquarters for the U.S. Post Office Department. It was slated to be demolished twice during the 20th Century but was spared both times, once because the government couldn’t afford to knock it down, and again because preservationists banded together to save it.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the first two floors of the building were renovated by the GSA in the 1980s to make room for a food court, a handful of retail establishments and some federal office space. Congress authorized $18 million for that project.
Though tourists enjoy the 315-foot tall observation deck, the building has had mixed success as a setting for businesses.
The property features a nine-story atrium and tower and includes 140,000 square feet of office space and 53,000 square feet of retail space. An annex offers another 92,000 square feet.
