(Washington, DC) - City Administrator Neil O. Albert and Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Valerie-Joy Santos, co-chairs of the Walter Reed Local Redevelopment Authority (LRA) Committee, announced today that the LRA will receive a $1.4 million grant for pre-development work required for the LRA to acquire a portion of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center campus in Ward 4.
Working closely with Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District applied for grant funds through the federal government's Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) within the Department of Defense. The grant will cover 90 percent of the needed pre-development work that includes re-use planning consultant services.
As part of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, the Department of Defense provides support to local organizations that are slated to acquire its vacated land to protect against blight and to mitigate potentially negative economic and community impacts due to the closures or re-locations.
“Having been awarded acquisition rights to the site only a few months ago, the LRA and our team are making tremendous strides,” said Deputy Mayor Santos. “This grant will help fund technical analysis needed to move this important project forward. A great deal more work lies ahead as the LRA prepares a re-use plan to submit back to our federal partners before the end of the year.”
Congresswoman Norton also weighed in to support efforts of the LRA. She reports, “My office told Defense Department officials that the District was fully within Office of Management and Budget rules and had it right in requesting advanced funding of the grant in order to avoid ceasing work while awaiting repayment.”
The 113-acre Walter Reed campus in northwest Washington was officially deemed “surplus” in the BRAC program in May of 2005 and ratified by the President that November. The General Services Administration (GSA) and the Department of State would each be awarded portions of the site. The Department of State decided not to pursue a federal transfer of the entire campus in May 2009 and opted for 18 acres on the 16th Street border of the campus. The GSA will receive 32.5 acres. The LRA became eligible for the remaining 62.5 acres of the campus in August 2009.
The LRA was established by the District and is made up of District officials and community representatives selected by the Chairman of the DC Council.
An interdisciplinary team led by Perkins + Will was competitively selected as the re-use planning consultant in April 2010. The team has begun evaluating existing conditions and is providing an assessment of Notice of Interest submissions received by the LRA from homeless assistance providers and non-profit organizations and government agencies.