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Homeland Security breaks ground at new headquarters

By Emily Long elong@govexec.com September 9, 2009

The Homeland Security Department on Wednesday held a ceremonial groundbreaking for its new headquarters at the former Saint Elizabeths Hospital in Southeast Washington.

The renovation of the former psychiatric institution is the largest federal building project since the Pentagon was built, and will house nearly 14,000 DHS employees. The first phase of the project is the construction of an environmentally sustainable, LEED-certified Coast Guard facility, scheduled for completion in 2013.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said during Wednesday's ceremony that housing the majority of the department's employees on a single campus will help ensure that DHS has a common purpose, mission and culture. The department currently has 22,000 personnel dispersed over nearly 40 buildings in the Washington area. "[This will] streamline communication and build the culture of one DHS," she said.

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Following the move to Saint Elizabeths, scheduled for completion in 2016, the remaining 8,000 employees will be spread out over six to eight locations in Washington, including the department's current headquarters on Nebraska Avenue in Northwest Washington. The new campus is near the Anacostia Metro station, while current headquarters are not Metro-accessible.

The project also could be a catalyst for reviving D.C.'s long-neglected Ward 8, according to officials. The area, in Southeast Washington, historically has been economically depressed and isolated from official Washington. Napolitano emphasized that DHS employees will be neighbors of and active participants in the Ward 8 community, which is represented on the city council currently by former Washington Mayor Marion Barry. As construction of the new facility begins, area residents will be able to take advantage of jobs and apprenticeship opportunities.

"[This is] a section of the city where the federal government has never built before," said Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C. "The federal government is crossing the Anacostia today, my friends. They're going to try us and they're going to like us." The Anacostia River separates the bulk of Washington proper from Ward 8, and has served historically as a political and economic dividing line between the city's affluent and low-income neighborhoods.

Saint Elizabeths, built in 1855, was the first federally operated institution for the mentally ill and part of the campus is still used for that purpose. Fifty-two of the original 62 buildings on the new DHS site will be revitalized and reused for agency functions. The department is documenting historical features to save, which will guide architectural plans. Eight of 10 buildings being torn down are greenhouses that are too fragile to renovate.

"[The General Service Administration's] work will preserve the key historic features of this National Historic Landmark and provide an energy efficient campus for DHS," said Paul Prouty, GSA acting administrator.

The project's total budget is approximately $3.4 billion, including $650 million in Recovery Act funding.

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COMMENTS

  • The revived "D.C. Green Zone!" o Posted September 17, 2009 2:17 AM
  • Where to start? Yes, security is a major reason for picking the St. E site. It has 100 Ft blast distance from permitter to the nearest building, thus save building hardening costs. Moreover there are near by security concerns that prohibit making the place open to the public. If you don't know, you don't have a need to know. Cost - when DHS/GSA first presented the project it would save over a 1 billion dollars (NPV) over 30 years. However, Congress delayed and other economic factors changed. Moreover, the cost savings GSA/DHS quote is just rent. The efficiencies to DHS are yet to be counted - keep in mind that DHS is currently in 40 locations and over 70 buildings in the DC area. Cost for a new site outside of DC were comparable to St. E when all factors were taken into consideration - OMB chewed on that for about 2 years. Size - there is no office space or GSA space except for St. E capable of bringing together a central hub - or critical mass of operations centers and executive leadership in a secure setting. Read the EIS and you will learn a lot. Ward 8 - the first contract for demolition of a non-historical wear-house went to an 8a firm in Ward 8. That is jobs and money into the area - with more to follow if they price themselves right and don't rely on Marion Berry to "finagle" a contract that he can not deliver. DHS has over 200K employees, with about 20% in support mission to the folks on the front lines - or the border, sea, airports, field, etc. That is better than DOD's Iron Mountain. INS/CUSTOMS etc. -- the neglected and abused from DOJ came to DHS; where they are somebody for a change. Don't y'all forget it. Yes, I work at DHS. Yes, I'm proud to do the work and I know all the screw ups, but the folks there are working their tails off for you and every other citizen. The place is not perfect - but it will be a unified and smoother running place than any other start up federal agency before you know it - it has to because its mission is too important. Even the Comptroller General of GAO has said that DHS will beat DOD in achieving one culture and a consolidated HQ is necessary to help this go forward. St.E's will work, it will help our homeland security efficiency and effectiveness, and all of us will benefit. Cosmo_deMedici Posted September 17, 2009 12:58 AM
  • The failure of these agencies isn't due to legacy employees from Customs and INS, but is due to flawed logic, and plain old Washington politics. No matter how hard you try, you just can't fit square pegs into round holes, and vice versa. Merging Customs, INS, and the Federal Protective Service together was like grouping pediaticians, gynocologists, and neurosurgeons into the same medical office, and telling them to do each other's jobs, because after all, they're all doctors! Just Saying Posted September 16, 2009 1:03 PM
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