Homeland Security Seeks Emergency Demolition of Historic Buildings in D.C.

Image via The Washington Post

The Department of Homeland Security is seeking to fast-track the demolition of more than a dozen historic buildings at St. Elizabeths in Southeast Washington, asserting that the conditions of the vacant structures represent an “emergency” and pose potential security risks, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem, in a Dec. 19 memo to the General Services Administration, said the buildings “constitute a present risk to life and property” on the 176-acre West Campus, a fortified complex that Homeland Security has been transforming into its new headquarters over the past 15 years.

“Demolition is the only permanent measure that resolves the emergency conditions,” Noem wrote in the memo. A risk assessment report undertaken by her agency “supports immediate corrective action,” she wrote.