• By Angela Dupont
• March 12, 2021

Federal Workplace Element Revised

At the March 4, 2021 meeting, the Commission authorized an amendment to the 2016 Federal Workplace Element that changes the Central Employment Area (CEA) description, boundary, and policy. NCPC prioritizes the location of federal offices within this area. NCPC also approved two action items to explore alternative CEA approaches and to collaborate with federal, regional, and local jurisdictions to identify appropriate federal locations in the region beyond the CEA.

A draft update of the element was released in July 2019 for public review. NCPC received multiple comments to update the CEA to have one shared boundary between the District and Federal Elements, along with the General Service Administration’s (GSA) defined CEA. NCPC and the DC Office of Planning (DCOP) staff worked with the GSA and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development to fix differences between the CEA in the Federal Workplace Element and in the District’s Land Use Element prepared by DCOP. The result is the federal and local boundaries will now match, and that the CEA will extend east of the Anacostia River. NCPC is now encouraging the GSA to use the amended CEA as part of their site selection and leasing solicitation process for federal offices.

The revised CEA and policy FW.A.2 in Section A of the 2016 Federal Workplace Element will go into effect May 10, 2021. A full update of the element is on hold due to the unknown long-term implications of the pandemic. NCPC staff will study potential long-term impacts to the planning, location, and design of federal workplaces post-COVID and then update the element.

Central Employment Area Initiative Page