(Washington, DC) Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser was joined by Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen, Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department (DCFEMS) Chief Gregory Dean, the E Street Development Group and community leaders at the grand opening of a state-of-the-art complex that includes a state-of-the-art fire station, a Hyatt Place Hotel, and local non-profit Kid Power, Inc. The new home for Engine Company 13 features a $10 million modern facility for FEMS units that will serve the rapidly growing population of Southwest DC.
“Today is a big win-win for ward 6 and the District,” said Mayor Bowser. “A new DCFEMS Engine 13 means better services for Ward 6 residents and businesses and a new hotel puts residents to work, bringing quality jobs and much needed hospitality options to this community. This complex will play a major role in our efforts to improve public safety, increase tourism, and build more pathways to the middle class.”
Once a surface parking lot, 400 E Street, SW houses the first brand new fire station to be built in the District in more than 20 years. The entire project provided 450 construction jobs, will bring over 150 permanent jobs to the 214-room hotel, and generate nearly $1.5 million in annual tax revenues. Engine Company 13, Truck Company 10 and Foam Unit 2 are presently housed at a station on the corner 6th and E Streets, SW built in 1960.
“Engine Company 13 has been a part of this community for more than 100 years and this new facility reinforces our commitment to stay in this neighborhood,” said DCFEMS Chief Dean. “This is a great example of how government and the private sector can come together to benefit the community.”
Today’s event continues the Bowser Administration’s commitment to improve public safety facilities in this District. Just last week, Mayor Bowser broke ground on Engine 22, a $12 million state-of-the-art fire station at Walter Reed in Ward 4 and the first major development to begin on the Walter Reed Campus. The fire station is scheduled to open in December 2016.
The new 400 E Street, SW mixed-used project is a joint project with DCFEMS, the Office of Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED), the Department of General Services (DGS) and the District’s development partner, E Street Development Group.
The complex is also home to the brand new headquarters for Kid Power, Inc., a local non-profit providing afterschool and summer programs to underserved youth throughout the District. E Street Development Group has also been working with the DC Department of Employment Services (DOES) to launch a pilot job training program for underserved young adults. The program, CityPartners Pathways, offers job training and placement in the hospitality industry, the first of its kind in DC.
E Street Development Group will continue to transform this block of Southwest DC when it begins phase 2 of this project at 555 E Street, the site of the old Engine Company 13. Slated to begin construction in 2017, phase 2 will be a 300,000-square-foot mixed-use building with retail, office, hospitality, apartments and other community partners.