Walter Reed's Closure Leaves Significant Development Possibilities

Walter Reed is closing and leaving behind close to 70 acres available for redevelopment in D.C. Residents want to know, can the planners get it right?

1 minute read

September 2, 2011, 11:00 AM PDT

By Tim Halbur

The Walter Reed Army Medical Center is closing it's doors as the Army works to consolidate its bases. It will leave behind approximately 70 acres that Washington D.C. will have the opportunity to redevelop. NPR talks with Lisa Benton-Short, a professor of geography at George Washington University, about the move:

"I think for much of the 20th century, planners were quite top-down in their planning," she says. "They told us what we needed in our spaces. Sometimes they were right, and sometimes they weren't. In the last 25 years or so, the planning profession has really changed. And one of the most important ways it's changed is to bring in public participation and planning."

"There will have to be services for the homeless, there will have to be organizations that serve the community, such as schools. And there's an entire bureaucratic process that will probably take two years before a deal is finalized, let alone anything getting built."

Thanks to Cathie Pagano

FULL STORY: Walter Reed Center's Closure May Be A Boon To D.C

Thursday, September 1, 2011 in NPR

Community / Economic Development Government / Politics History / Preservation Land Use Social / Demographics Urban Development District of Columbia Walter Reed; Washington D.C.; redevelopment; land use; urban development View More

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