ABSTRACT
The neighborhood that surrounds the District of Columbia’s St. Elizabeths hospital campus is one of the most disenfranchised areas within the largely thriving Washington, DC region. Compared to the regional averages, residents in this neighborhood experience higher rates of unemployment and lower educational attainment and household incomes. Largely untouched by the recent economic growth that so much of the region has seen in recent years, the St. Elizabeths neighborhood and Ward 8 in which it is located have seen very few employment opportunities and scarce amenities. Soon, however, their fortunes may be changing; the former hospital campus at St. Elizabeths is being repurposed to become the headquarters of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), one of the fastest growing organizations within the federal government. This new anchor institution will have far-reaching effects beyond the walls of the approximately 150 acres it will occupy. Economic development and strategic planning efforts being put into place today will determine, in part, the extent to which these effects are positive. Drawing from a larger study of the innovation cluster potential in Ward 8 (DC Office of Planning, 2012), this chapter includes an exploration of the DHS economy in Ward 8 and the broader region, as well as a discussion of how local and federal leaders envision this anchor institution in the community, and an overview of the potential challenges and pitfalls associated with locating a federal agency in a disenfranchised community.
