Trump’s Office Plan May Spur Southwest DC Redevelopment

The downsizing of the federal government’s office footprint may be a big opportunity for Washington, D.C., to reimagine its Southwest neighborhood.

Officials from the nation’s capital are exploring the possibilities that could arise as Donald Trump aims to shrink the government’s office space, the Washington Post reported.

A vision is beginning to take shape near the National Mall, where properties such as the Department of Energy’s massive James V. Forrestal complex, the Sidney Yates and Bureau of Engraving and Printing buildings and the two-block-long Department of Agriculture South building sit.

At a meeting last week of the President-appointed Public Buildings Reform Board, members said they were considering the consolidation or disposition of 20 properties in Washington, D.C. alone. They specifically pointed to buildings south of the National Mall, near L’Enfant Plaza and on 14th Street.

For D.C. officials, there’s an opening to reimagine a neighborhood with homes, retail businesses, parks and plazas, which would stand in contrast to the federal buildings that lull the area to sleep when the work day is done.

Pam Frentzel-Beyme, director of real estate under Mayor Muriel Bowser, said she’s had conversations with developers interested in turning the Department of Agriculture building into residences. While a conversion wouldn’t be easy, the district has shown its willingness to work with developers to facilitate the process, turning it into one of the top locations for office-to-residential conversions in the country.

While Trump’s administration is looking to cut costs, D.C. could benefit from fresh revenue. Moving the properties away from federal ownership would shift them back on to the tax rolls. There would need to be coordination and cooperation between the federal government and district leadership, making strange bedfellows out of Bowser and Trump.

Marcel Acosta, director of the National Capital Planning Commission, referred to the moment as “a generational opportunity to reenvision and beautify the federal city.”

— Holden Walter-Warner