Congress Pressuring GSA on West Heating Plant Sale

Congresss is growing impatient with the General Services Administration (GSA) over the sale of the West Heating Plant — the federal property on 29th Street just north of K Street in Georgetown — and plans a hearing in next week to urge action, according to the Washington Post. 

Though the GSA had hoped to hold an EBay-style auction of the property by late summer, that timeline was .

The Washington Post reports that the subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Managements, chaired by Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.), "has held hearings at the Old Post Office pavilion and the Cotton Annex to prompt action on those properties."

Tuesday's hearing, aptly called "Sitting on Our Assets: The Georgetown Heating Plant" will take place at the heating plant at 10 a.m. June 19.

The reason for the hearing?

"The property is another example of an underperforming building that, if sold or redeveloped, could provide a positive return to the taxpayers. While GSA is now finally in the process of selling the facility, it has been sitting vacant for 12 years," according to a press release about the event.

The GSA first put the property on the market last October. Since that time the agency has consulted community groups and residents about the proper disposal (sale) of the land and the building

The two acre property near the Riverfront Park and adjacent to Rock Creek has attracted the attention of residents and developers alike.

In the May Citizens Association of Georgetown Newsletter, Jennifer Altemus wrote that residents are hopeful that at least some of the property might be set aside as a continuation of the . Altemus said she hoped GSA might consider making park land a part of the sale conditions.