Norton to Lead D.C. Residents on a Tour of the New Coast Guard Headquarters on St. Elizabeths Campus

WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) will host a press conference and preview tour of the new U.S. Coast Guard headquarters on the St. Elizabeths West Campus on Monday, July 22, 2013, from 10:00 a.m. to noon, to introduce the new building to the D.C. community. Everyone is asked to arrive by 9:30 a.m. The event will also be the media's first opportunity to not only see the lobby, where the ribbon-cutting the following week will take place, but to tour some of the 1.1-million-square-foot building, which will house 3,700 Coast Guard civilian and military employees. The Coast Guard headquarters is the first federal agency to be located east of the Anacostia River. The St. Elizabeths campus will include not only the Coast Guard headquarters but also the headquarters of other Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agencies, and the office of the DHS secretary. The scope and prestige of the DHS campus is expected to jumpstart development of the District's St. Elizabeths East Campus and to reinvigorate Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, Ward 8's major commercial street.

Parking is very limited, so residents are advised to take public transportation or to carpool. Some parking will be available through Gate 2 off of Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue. A GSA representative will be at the gate to direct attendees to the parking area at the Administration Building, or to a shuttle for those who walk or bike. Participants are urged to wear comfortable shoes, and since it is a Level-IV secure building, must show a government-issued ID.

The event will begin in the parking area and move past the rear of the new building, where participants can get a panoramic view of the entire building and its green architecture, then move to the building entrance. Participants will enter the building for a 30-minute tour of the nearly complete and furnished parts of the building, including office space, the multipurpose room and the green roof and courtyards with benches and views of the city, finishing at the ceremonial entrance for the press conference. At the press conference, Norton will be joined by U.S. Coast Guard Vice Admiral Manson Brown.

For the last several years, Norton has helped to secure funding for the Coast Guard headquarters. For the fiscal year 2014 budget, Norton successfully urged the President to include $367,031,000 for continued construction of the consolidated campus, which indicates the Administration's ongoing support of the complex of several buildings and its recognition of the long-term cost savings that come from consolidating agencies and moving them from leased office space into federally owned space. Also included in the President's fiscal year 2014 budget is Norton's request for $9.8 million for D.C. to jumpstart redevelopment of the St. Elizabeths East Campus, where one of the DHS buildings is to be located, a valuable anchor for the D.C.-owned side of St. Elizabeths.

Published: July 17, 2013