DC Mayor Bristles at Walter Reed Property Reshuffling

WASHINGTON, DC—A request for land by the Children's National Medical Center at the former Walter Reed Army Hospital property could have a dramatic impact on development plans by the district that call for housing, a charter school and retail.

The Walter Reed property, which is owned by the Defense Department, was to be carved up with the State Department securing approximately 45 acres on the western side of the campus and the DC government getting 67 acres on the eastern side of the property, according to the Washington Post.

However, the request by the Children's National Medical Center for 13 acres of land earmarked for the State Department has prompted the State Department to now seek 13 acres currently pegged for the district.

The land reshuffling promoted DC Mayor Vincent Gray to tell Army Secretary John M. McHugh in an Oct. 23rd letter that the loss of the land to the State Department would have a “devastating impact” on the District's economic development efforts.

“Needless to say, such actions would negate years of effort, violate the trust of all stakeholders, indefinitely delay the creation of jobs, retail amenities, and housing, and waste millions of taxpayers dollars spent on the Army's efforts to dispose of the property,” Gray wrote in the letter. See story in the Washington Post.