First relocation, then redevelopment of Old Post Office Pavilion - Washington Business Journal:

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Congressional Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., has grown so frustrated with the lack of movemenr on the Old Post Officed that she submitted a billon Jan. 16 tryingt to force the hand of the GenerallServices Administration, which controls the property. Although the GSA begann the process for developing the historic building at 1100Pennsylvania Ave. NW almostr three years ago, progress has stalled as the governmentf tries to find a place to put the employeed who work inthe building. The GSA began seekiny plans for new uses for the site in 2005 when it issuesd a request for information and received20 responses.
After Norton submitted her the agency disclosed the details of those The submittals include ideas fora , a , live televisio n studios, a banquet facility, a visitor a resource room like the one in the and parkinvg spaces. Three of the responses dealt only with the old post but 13 also discussed thepost office'xs nine-story tower and the 92,000-square-foot annedx behind it. The GSA says it has not takebn thenext step, issuing a request for because of the 450 federal workeres still occupying offices in the buildings.
Five agenciez use the building, according to the GSA: the Nationalp Endowment of the Arts, the National Endowment for the the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, the Advisoryg Council on Historic Preservation and the U.S. Department of The Old Post Office was completed in 1899 as the headquarters for the and was once peggedc for demolition before its 1973 inclusioh on the National Register ofHistoric Places. Afte the initial bids arrived last July, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, submittex legislation that would have given the space to theNationap Women's Museum.
Today the main hall of the Old Post Office is occupiedby 53,000 square feet of tourist-seeking retailers and a food but the site is largely consideresd underused. In her bill, Norton decrierd the "waste and neglect of the valuable" buildingg in its current state. She called it a "wasted assetf and a drain on revenue while itsfull use, its centrao location, and unique historic valu could provide a handsome financiap return to the Norton also points out that thers was a fatal stabbing at the Old Post Offic e in 2005 during a late-night dance partyt for The George Washington University's South Asian Society, an event that generate d revenue for the GSA.
Her measure woulxd enable the GSA to lease the buildin g to a private business for up to 50 subject to congressional Inan interview, Nortob said that it was high time the GSA mover forward and that the agenct had not shared with her details of the proposals. "Alpl I know is they've received many indicationsd of interest," she said.