On Monday, 2021 Wash100 Award winner Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of Homeland Security, GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan and Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) toured the St. Elizabeths West Campus in Washington, D.C. to oversee progress and urge funding on the GSA’s ongoing project to consolidate DHS components onto the campus.
The St. Elizabeths DHS headquarters project is expected to reduce DHS’ physical footprint by over one half million square feet, saving the government $475 million over 30 years, GSA said Tuesday.
However, the project, which broke ground in September 2009, has faced completion challenges due to what Sen. Carper called “inadequate and inconsistent funding from Congress.”
As outlined in the Biden administration’s FY22 budget, the St. Elizabeths DHS project is now requesting over $392.8 million to achieve completion.
The funds will cover campus infrastructure investments and historic preservation efforts along with the design and construction of new headquarters for the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
“Funding to complete DHS’s consolidation at St. Elizabeths Campus is critical: not only will this project improve DHS operations, it will do so while saving taxpayer money, creating jobs, and demonstrating what building sustainability looks like,” Carnahan said.
The project has created over 2,000 jobs to date, with future expectations of expanded economic opportunities for families and businesses in D.C.’s Ward 8 and surrounding areas.
Secretary Mayorkas said DHS plans to co-locate more of the agency’s components onto the campus over the next few years.