Politics & Government

West Heating Plant Comment Period Ends

The General Services Administration plans to auction off the federal property on 29th Street just north of K Street in Georgetown.

If you have something to say about the sale of the West Heating Plant, you'll have to keep your comments to yourself for now: Feb. 13 was the last day the public could comment on the scope of the General Services Administration's Environmental Assessment (EA) for the property. The next public opportunity to comment will likely in the spring when the EA is prepared. The GSA hopes to hold an EBay-style online auction for the federal property by late summer 2012.

Prior to the public comment period that ended Feb. 13, the GSA planned to consider the following factors when creating a report on the impact the sale might have on the surrounding area:

  • Transportation
  • Historic and Cultural Resources
  • Public Health and Safety
  • Water Resources

The public could comment on other possible factors the GSA should consider and submit those comments in writing or in person at the meeting held Jan. 26. Now the agency is tasked with taking that input into consideration and drafting an environmental assessment.

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The draft EA will include data collected about the site and offer an evaluation of the existing condition and potential impacts the sale would have on the property and community nearby. When the GSA releases its draft report — most likely in the spring — there will be another 30 days to provide feedback on the findings of the assessment. 

Tim Sheckler, the director of the real property utilization and disposal division at GSA, told the Georgetown Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC2E) that the property by the spring and to begin the sales process in mid-summer.

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Currently, the property is not zoned, meaning there is no prescribed preferred use for the site, such as residential, commercial, etc. Additionally, GSA has no way of prescribing the future use of the site through its auction process — a concern to many residents who spoke at the January ANC meeting.

"The use in any subsequent redevelopment will be essentially whatever the local planning and zoning authorities determine what it should be used for. Typically our sales are as is, where is," .

as hinted at during the ANC meeting, the site will go to market in the summer. In all likelihood neighbors concerned about the future site use will have to take those worries up with the new owner and the District agencies in charge of zoning property.


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