Norton's Southwest Waterfront Redevelopment Bill Approved By Committee

Norton's Southwest Waterfront Redevelopment Bill Approved by Committee

November 3, 2011

WASHINGTON, DC - Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today celebrated House Oversight and Government Reform Committee passage of her bill that clears the way for the redevelopment of the Southwest Waterfront. Norton's Southwest Waterfront redevelopment bill, H.R. 2297, clarifies the legal status of the property in order to allow the District to move forward with a major redevelopment project that will include 2.5 million square feet of hotels, office space, retail and residences, as well as increased maritime activity.

The federal government transferred the Southwest Waterfront land to the District in the early 1960s, before D.C. had home rule, but, even though the District owns it, restrictions on the land have resulted in its underuse. The federal government has no interest in this land other than the Titanic Memorial, which the District has worked with the National Park Service to protect, and the Maine Lobsterman Memorial, which Norton worked with Senator Susan M. Collins (R-ME) to also protect in the bill.

"These paternalistic restrictions on D.C.'s own land have for years prevented the city from putting the land to its highest and best use, have driven down the value of the property, and have deprived the city and its residents of a waterfront fit for the nation's capital," Norton said. "By eliminating these burdensome and outdated restrictions, the city will be able to move forward with its new vision for the Southwest Waterfront."

The new Arena Stage and the Washington Kastles tennis stadium, which are already at the waterfront, and the Graduate School USA's commitment to a long-term lease there, have jumpstarted the redevelopment of the Southwest Waterfront. The Southwest Waterfront redevelopment project will create thousands of jobs for District residents, generate millions of dollars annually in local tax revenue, create new and improved waterfront parks and docks, and revitalize the southwest quadrant of the city.