A Push to Turn a Historic Hospital into a Town Center in D.C.

Jonathan O'Connell discusses the plans for the prime piece of real estate in Northwest Washington that will come before a D.C. Council committee this week. According to O'Connell, some of the proposed uses for the campus have been set, including plans by the State Department to build "a row of embassies for more than 20 nations...on 43.5 acres it plans to acquire on the west end of the campus." 

To serve the residents of the adjacent Shepherd Park, Brightwood and Takoma neighborhoods, who O'Connell says typically have to leave the city to shop, "Mayor Vincent C. Gray's economic development team has mapped out a town square development totaling 3.1 million square feet of development, more than 550,000 square feet of it in existing historic buildings, plus 14 acres of open space."

"Although the District has not yet begun seeking a master developer, real estate firms, retailers and universities and colleges have already begun voicing their interest," says O'Connell.