Originally uploaded to Flickr.com by ThrasherDave
On Tuesday the Washington Business Journal reported the District has applied for a demolition permit to knock down a 165,000 square-foot building on Reservation 13, also know as Hill East. The building being torn down was once the DC General Hospital pediatrics building, and is located behind the St. Coletta School. The demolition will include asbestos abatement and the construction of a 200-space surface parking lot (more asphalt).
The development of Hill East has been in the works for quite some time and has taken the form of a political football now and then. The DC government assumed ownership of the land in June from the federal government, though the transfer was approved by Congress almost four years ago. The transfer was conditional on the District government purchasing land in PG County to be used by the Architect of the Capitol. That money was tied up in “reprogramming” by the City Council, which initially blocked the purchase because the money was being taken from other projects within the District.
District officials say creating the parking lot will provide revenue to the city as it is located close to the Stadium-Armory Metro and may appeal to commuters. The Deputy Mayor’s Office for Planning and Economic Development states the lot will be existing on-site uses, not public parking for commuters. The planned Hill East mixed-use community will take years to construct. Selection of a developer may occur as soon as September of this year.
Hill East came up in a post on THIH a few months back, when the DC Preservation League listed one of the buildings on the site as one of the most endangered historic structures in 2010.