May 25, 2005: NORTON BRIEFED BY MILITARY BRASS ON CURRENT AND FUTURE USES OF WALTER REED

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 25, 2005

NORTON BRIEFED BY MILITARY BRASS ON CURRENT AND FUTURE USES OF WALTER REED

**BRAC Public Hearing--Thursday, July 7, 8:30 - 10:30 AM, location TBA. Call 202-225-8050 to testify.

Washington, DC—The top officers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center gave Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) a detailed briefing yesterday on the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, and on the status of Walter Reed Hospital and the Department of Defense (DoD) recommendation for closure and transfer of operations to a consolidated Bethesda Naval Hospital. Norton met with Major General Kenneth Farmer, Commanding General of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and Colonel Jeffrey Davies, Garrison Commander of Walter Reed Army Medical Center. She also has called BRAC chair Anthony Principi, to request a hearing in the District of Columbia on the proposed closing, just as hearings are to be held in other districts that are proposed to lose facilities.

“The closing is not a done deal,” Norton said. However, while seeking to maintain Walter Reed here because of its jobs and other significant economic benefits to the city, the Congresswoman already is investigating a number of other options in case the DoD recommendation for closure is endorsed by BRAC. The President will be able to make recommendations, but Congress will be limited to an up or down vote on the entire BRAC package in September. However, during the last BRAC process in 1995, Norton worked with President Clinton when his recommendations were due in order to get the Naval Sea Systems Command that was scheduled to go to California transferred instead to the Navy Yard, as a less costly alternative that would preserve skilled jobs in the region. As a result, agreement was reached for the Navy Yard to undergo a historic renovation of the facility and 10,000 jobs were brought to D.C. “We benefited from the last BRAC process,” Norton said. “I hope to find benefits this time too.”

Walter Reed will remain in operation for about another six years. The Congresswoman is therefore focused on both the immediate and future uses of Walter Reed, including a number of construction projects now underway. Working with the community, the Congresswoman already has stopped the construction of a large office building fronting 16^th Streetthat was proposed for hospital-related pathology personnel. Yesterday, she was assured by the officers in charge that this building, known as Building 50, will not be constructed under any circumstances. However, Norton expressed her concern about Building 40, the original medical school, where a ground lease was given to a private developer for renovation of space for the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research before the proposed closure. That structure will not be built now, but Norton said that she was concerned about the developer’s possession of a 50-year ground lease. At her meeting, she discussed possible options, including a buyback. Norton stressed that Army or other government retention of the site for uses inconsistent with the residential portions of the neighborhood was inappropriate, and that she would strenuously fight an office complex to cover the site if the government chooses to retain the space.

that was proposed for hospital-related pathology personnel. Yesterday, she was assured by the officers in charge that this building, known as Building 50, will not be constructed under any circumstances. However, Norton expressed her concern about Building 40, the original medical school, where a ground lease was given to a private developer for renovation of space for the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research before the proposed closure. That structure will not be built now, but Norton said that she was concerned about the developer’s possession of a 50-year ground lease. At her meeting, she discussed possible options, including a buyback. Norton stressed that Army or other government retention of the site for uses inconsistent with the residential portions of the neighborhood was inappropriate, and that she would strenuously fight an office complex to cover the site if the government chooses to retain the space. that was proposed for hospital-related pathology personnel. Yesterday, she was assured by the officers in charge that this building, known as Building 50, will not be constructed under any circumstances. However, Norton expressed her concern about Building 40, the original medical school, where a ground lease was given to a private developer for renovation of space for the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research before the proposed closure. That structure will not be built now, but Norton said that she was concerned about the developer’s possession of a 50-year ground lease. At her meeting, she discussed possible options, including a buyback. Norton stressed that Army or other government retention of the site for uses inconsistent with the residential portions of the neighborhood was inappropriate, and that she would strenuously fight an office complex to cover the site if the government chooses to retain the space.

As much as 50% of the Walter Reed properties are historic buildings, raising special concerns in case of any disposition of the land. Norton warned it was too early to have designs on the property because any federal agency could have first call. If the federal government does not desire to use the property, it will be turned over to the General Services Administration (GSA). Norton is the ranking member of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the GSA. If there is no federal use of the property, the District of Columbia would have the opportunity to negotiate for the site for public uses, such as parks and schools. If other uses were contemplated, the transaction would be more complicated and costly because of the requirements of the Federal Property Act. However, uses for other than public purposes are possible, as Cameron Station in Virginia, where private condominiums are located, shows. Yesterday, Norton introduced a bill that would transfer valuable federal land, Reservation 13 and Poplar Point, to the District as in-kind partial payment for funds due the city because of the structural imbalance. The Congresswoman will look for similar or other alternatives if Walter Reed is closed.