Recently, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton’s (D-DC) bill to spur economic development at the Southwest Waterfront was passed and sent to the House floor by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, on which Norton is a senior member and a subcommittee chair. The bill, H.R. 5545, allows the District to move forward with a major redevelopment project that will include 2.5 million square feet of mixed-use development for hotels, office space, retail and residential uses, as well as increased maritime activity.

The development project will create thousands of jobs for District residents, generate millions of dollars annually in local tax revenue, create new and improved waterfront parks and docks, and revitalize the southwest quadrant of the District, just a short distance from the U.S. Capitol.

In order to accommodate the planned project, however, Norton’s bill, transferring part of the jurisdiction over the waterway to the District was essential to the Southwest Waterfront project and process.

“Earlier, my bill for the Southeast Waterfront now known as ‘The Yards’ fostered major development along M Street, still underway,” said Norton. “The time is overdue for the redevelopment of the Southwest Waterfront. This project, along with the major construction of the Department of Homeland Security headquarters in Ward 8, is bringing unprecedented development to the District of Columbia in the midst of the deepest recession in our lifetime.”

For more information, visit http://www.norton.house.gov.