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June 1, 2005: NORTON AT PRESS CONFERENCE TO BEGIN CONSTRUCTION APPROVED BY HER SOUTHEAST LAND BILL

January 10, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 1, 2005

NORTON AT PRESS CONFERENCE TO BEGIN
CONSTRUCTION APPROVED BY HER SOUTHEAST LAND BILL

Washington, DC--To mark the go-ahead from Congress to develop prime land along the Anacostia River on the Southeast Federal Center (SEFC), Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) will join federal and city officials at a “Turn Over the Keys” Ceremony tomorrow, Thursday, June 2, 2005 at 10 AM , at the SEFC site, First and N Streets, SE. Forest City Washington will accept the keys to develop 44 acres of land, following a recently completed review by Congress that was developed in conjunction with the General Services Administration (GSA) and the District. Norton wrote the SoutheastFederalCenterPublic-Private Development Act of 2000 that prescribed the development of this prime land along the Anacostia River on M Street next to the Navy Yard. Her bill marks the first time the federal government has allowed private sector development on federal land.

The 13-page plan and report to Congress prescribes mixed uses, including: 3.2 million square feet of residential area; 2 million square feet of commercial, retail and cultural space; open space including a major waterfront park open to the public; and amenities that will attract residents, visitors and office workers. A plan for apprenticeships and jobs, tapped for District residents that Norton has negotiated for all federal construction and renovation here, will be used on the project.

With the renovation and movement of 10,000 jobs to the Navy Yard, which Norton secured in 1995, and the new Department of Transportation headquarters now going up on M Street, Norton said, “an entire area of the District has been reclaimed and will be revived.” Although the site is federal land, the private development will produce sizable financial benefits for the District during the 17-year construction period alone, including 5,226 D.C. jobs; more than $323 million in personal income in the District; and almost $2 billion in District sales. Once completed, the project is expected to generate more than $59 million annual sales, income and corporate taxes and $16.4 million annually in real estate taxes.

The project already has become a national model. Norton is cosponsoring a bill, as the ranking member of the Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management Subcommittee, to allow similar private-public development projects on federal land nationwide. Last week, Norton introduced another novel land transfer bill, the Fair Land Transfer Compensation Act (FLTCA) to partially compensate the District for the federally imposed structural imbalance by transferring to District ownership two major parcels for private development. The major difference between the two bills is that under the FLTCA, D.C. would own the land itself.