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Norton Provision to Redevelop Department of Energy Headquarters Passes Committee, Signaling Major Victory for SW Ecodistrict Development

May 20, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced that the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee today passed her provision directing the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to sell or exchange the Department of Energy's (DOE) Forrestal Complex, at 1000 Independence Avenue SW, and use the funds to construct a new DOE headquarters in accordance with the National Capital Planning Commission's (NCPC) Southwest Ecodistrict Plan. Norton said the provision is a big plus not only for the federal government, but also for economic development in the nation's capital. The construction of a new DOE headquarters will spur renewed development in the Southwest section of the National Mall area, transforming it into a modern and sustainable urban neighborhood of mixed-use development. Norton's provision was included in the Public Buildings Reform and Savings Act of 2015.

"The construction of a new and modern Department of Energy headquarters is a major victory for the redevelopment of the Southwest section of the National Mall and a critical step toward fulfilling the National Capital Planning Commission's Southwest Ecodistrict Plan," Norton said. "We still have work to do with GSA to ensure that the agency also takes full advantage of the arrival of the CSX railroad through this area. I have worked for years on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to ensure that the federal government benefits from every opportunity to get the best use out of the precious land surrounding the National Mall. My provision will free up valuable land for mixed-used development through the private-public partnership model that has successfully transformed other neighborhoods across the District of Columbia."

NCPC's Southwest Ecodistrict Plan for a modern headquarters for DOE combines reduced but more efficient utilization of federal government office space, more sustainable practices to preserve energy and water, and the possible location of a nationally significant museum or memorial. In addition, the Southwest Ecodistrict Plan, in conjunction with the Maryland Avenue Small Area Plan, envisions the reconstruction of Maryland Avenue to reconnect the streets located above the freight and passenger rail tracks that cross this area of Southwest.