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GSA proposes to develop both the East and West campuses of St. Elizabeths to a high security campus for the Department of Homeland Security to unify its operations and improve incident management.
St. Elizabeths, originally the Government Hospital for the Insane, was founded in 1855 and became a leader in mental health reform. Today, we are redeveloping the West Campus for the Department of Homeland Security, while the East Campus remains an active mental health facility. Learn more about St. Elizabeths history under the history tab below.
The contractor managing building construction and development is Clark Construction. Visit their website for information on their work and job opportunities.
You can also visit Sam.gov to learn about other contracting opportunities related to St. Elizabeth’s.
St. Elizabeths was established by Congress in 1855 as the Government Hospital for the Insane. It provided mental health care for the Army, Navy, and District of Columbia, and also served Civil War soldiers. In 1916, Congress renamed it St. Elizabeths Hospital, after the land on which it was built.
Early advocates for the hospital included reformer Dorothea Dix and Dr. Charles Henry Nichols, who convinced Congress to purchase 189 acres to build a modern facility for mental health treatment. St. Elizabeths became a national leader in setting standards of care and eventually expanded to more than 350 acres across what is now Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue in Southeast, DC.
St. Elizabeths is a key example of the 19th-century reform movement that promoted “moral treatment” of mental illness by combining architecture, nature, and healing. The original Center Building, designed by Dr. Nichols and Architect of the Capitol Thomas U. Walter, followed the Kirkbride Plan and was built using bricks made on-site.
When designated a National Historic Landmark, or NHL, 62 of the West Campus’s historic buildings were included, and 52 buildings were slated for reuse. Eight greenhouses too damaged for repair, were approved for demolition. Since 2009, selective demolitions and stabilization efforts have prepared the site for redevelopment.
In 1987, hospital operations shifted to the District of Columbia, which currently owns the East Campus. Today, it remains in use as an inpatient mental health hospital.
In 2001, the Department of Health and Human Services declared the West Campus “excess property,” and our agency assumed control in 2004. This 176-acre site contains 70 buildings, and overlooks the Anacostia River and sweeping views of Washington, DC, Virginia, and Maryland. Today, we are leading the redevelopment of the West Campus for the Department of Homeland Security’s, or DHS, consolidated headquarters.
This is the largest federal construction project in the National Capital Region. By bringing DHS agencies together on one secure campus, the project reduces costly commercial leases, improves collaboration, and ensures efficient command-and-control operations.
St. Elizabeths is the ideal location in Washington, D.C. for the consolidated DHS headquarters. The master plan for the site details a development framework that accommodates DHS’s need for 4.5 million gross square feet of office and related space, along with 1.5 million gross square feet of parking for 14,000 employees.
The redevelopment of the St. Elizabeths campus, a National Historic Landmark district, requires adherence to the National Historic Preservation Act or NHPA. Specifically, Section 106 of the NHPA mandates that federal agencies consider the impact of their actions on historic properties.
In 2008, a Programmatic Agreement established a framework to minimize and offset redevelopment impacts on the St. Elizabeths NHL district and set up a consultation process with the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Office, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and other parties for future projects.
On October 29, 2020, GSA issued a Record of Decision or ROD for Master Plan Amendment 2. This decision, in line with the Final Environmental Impact Statement or EIS from August 2020 and NEPA, implements Alternative B.
Alternative B’s key components include:
The St. Elizabeths project is committed to sustainable development, guided by the following objectives:
U.S. General Services Administration