(Washington, DC) – Mayor Adrian M. Fenty on Thursday named Joseph Walsh the new Director of the Department of Employment Services (DOES) and joined officials from the Office of Property Management in breaking ground on a new headquarters for the employment services agency next to the Minnesota Avenue Metro Station in Northeast.
“We’ve got to do everything we can to strengthen our workforce and provide better job opportunities for our residents,” said Mayor Fenty. “And we’ve found a director who not only understands that, but has the talent and the experience to get the job done.”
Walsh currently serves as director of policy and planning in Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick’s Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. He’s held a number of workforce and economic development positions both in government and in the private sector during his 20-year career. Walsh has a graduate degree in Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and he served in the Clinton White House.
After announcing Walsh’s appointment, Fenty joined Robin-Eve Jasper, director of the Office of Property Management in breaking ground on a 229,000 square foot headquarters for DOES. The building will include a one-stop employment and business center on the ground floor, retail space for local businesses, a large ground floor community meeting room and office space for about 500 DOES employees. Plans call for a green roof and a 100-space underground parking garage. The District hired EEC of DC, a certified local business and Forrester Construction to lead the $48 million project. The building was designed by Devrouax & Purnell of the District and is scheduled for completion in early 2011.
Located next to the Minnesota Avenue Metrorail Station, the project is one of several major development projects representing several hundred million dollars worth of investment around the Minnesota Avenue and Benning Road intersection. Last month, the District selected Donatelli Development to build a $108 million residential and retail project on city-owned land next to the DOES site.