Hill Projects Take Shape
Station Place Buildings Need More Time
The Securities and Exchange Commission will wait an additional six months to move into its new headquarters in the Station Place complex.
Construction of the agency’s new home, located on a 3.4-acre parcel adjacent to Union Station and the Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building, met with unexpected delays because of its proximity to Union Station.
Robert Braunohler, vice president of development and operations for the Louis Dreyfus Property Group, said additional work on the building’s foundation will push back the SEC’s expected move-in date to October or November 2004.
Until the new headquarters building is ready, the SEC will remain in its current headquarters at 450 Fifth St. NW on a month-to-month basis.
The 650,000-square-foot building will be the first of three structures included in the 1.4 million-square-foot complex. The SEC will also occupy an additional 360,000 square feet in a second building, slated for completion 12 months after the first structure is finished.
Developers must still receive the approval of that building’s facade from the Commission of Fine Arts. The design calls for the use of an “autumn-pink” granite, Braunohler said.
The third building has not yet been leased, Braunohler said. That building also requires the approval of the arts commission.
Some local residents, who raised concerns about the structure’s design and possible environmental impact during the zoning and approval process, said vibrations from the project have damaged their homes, causing cracking or shifting of walls.
“Many neighbors have complained about vibrations and noise” during evening and weekend hours, said Charles McMillion, a member of the Capitol Hill Restoration Society.