May 11, 2005: NORTON ANNOUNCES OLD POST OFFICE BUILDING HISTORIC RENOVATION

January 10, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 11, 2005

NORTON ANNOUNCES OLD POST OFFICE BUILDING HISTORIC RENOVATION

Washington, DC—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced today that the General Services Administration (GSA) at her urging has taken the first major step toward redeveloping the Old Post Office Building on Pennsylvania Avenueand 12^th Street, NW. GSA today issued a “request for interest,” for the submission of ideas for how the historic post office building and/or its annex could be redeveloped. The next step would be for GSA to issue a request for proposals.

For the last seven years Norton has pressed the GSA to develop the Old Post Office because of its central location, its potential for D.C. tourism, and its historic value, but disputes between Office of Management and Budget and GSA have stalled action. Norton stepped up pressure last month following a violent altercation and killing outside the Old Post Office after a George Washington University student event. She complained that the building had been “neglected and underused…with almost no return to the federal government,” and called on the GSA to take steps to provide a “safe and necessary facility for the city, while preserving a historic treasure.” “I regret that it took violence downtown to help me get the government to do the obvious, but I could not be more pleased that the Old Post Office will be preserved in all of its splendor and will be useful for the city and for our tourism sector.”

and . GSA today issued a “request for interest,” for the submission of ideas for how the historic post office building and/or its annex could be redeveloped. The next step would be for GSA to issue a request for proposals. For the last seven years Norton has pressed the GSA to develop the Old Post Office because of its central location, its potential for D.C. tourism, and its historic value, but disputes between Office of Management and Budget and GSA have stalled action. Norton stepped up pressure last month following a violent altercation and killing outside the Old Post Office after a George Washington University student event. She complained that the building had been “neglected and underused…with almost no return to the federal government,” and called on the GSA to take steps to provide a “safe and necessary facility for the city, while preserving a historic treasure.” “I regret that it took violence downtown to help me get the government to do the obvious, but I could not be more pleased that the Old Post Office will be preserved in all of its splendor and will be useful for the city and for our tourism sector.”