DHS looks to demolish historic St Elizabeths buildings due to 'unacceptable' risks

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is moving to demolish a cluster of historic buildings at a long-vacant former psychiatric hospital complex in Washington D.C. that is being redeveloped into headquarters for the agency, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem wrote in a Dec. 19 memo to the General Services Administration (GSA), obtained by the Post, that the buildings in question at St. Elizabeths’ 176-acre West Campus "present a risk to life and property" and that "demolition is the only permanent measure that resolves the emergency conditions."

DHS included a security risk assessment report with the memo that Noem said supports immediate corrective action.

The assessment states the vacant buildings could be accessed by unauthorized individuals and could provide a tactical advantage for small-arms or active-shooter scenarios. The report also warned of threats from "malicious insiders," including employees or contractors with legitimate access who could exploit the vacant buildings to target executives, disrupt operations or compromise sensitive information.

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In total, DHS is seeking to demolish 17 buildings. Four have already received approval from federal planning bodies, while the remaining 13 have not been reviewed or approved and are now being pushed through under the emergency demolition designation, according to preservation officials.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital that buildings at the site need to be demolished for safety reasons. 

"DHS security and safety assessments have determined these dilapidated, vacant buildings pose unacceptable safety, security and emergency-response risks," McLaughlin said. "Demolition is the only permanent corrective action."

A GSA spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the agency was notified by DHS of a serious and immediate security risk at the St. Elizabeths campus.

"Where buildings pose a threat, demolition may be necessary, and we are currently following all applicable laws and regulations," GSA spokesperson Marianne Copenhaver said. 

Founded in 1855, St. Elizabeths was the nation’s first federally operated psychiatric hospital.

The West Campus was declared "excess property" in 2001 and then transferred to the GSA. It was later selected to become DHS’s headquarters and has been redeveloped over the past 15 years into a high-security, fortified complex for DHS, according to the GSA website.

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The site is a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with dozens of 19th- and early-20th-century buildings.

The demolition plan has drawn opposition from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the D.C. Preservation League, which argue that DHS has not shown evidence of an actual emergency.

The groups told the Post that the emergency declaration relies solely on Noem’s own determination and bypasses required historic-preservation review procedures for a National Historic Landmark.

"A unilateral declaration like this is problematic because it bypasses the procedural safeguards designed to ensure stability, legitimacy and fairness," reads a letter signed by Elizabeth Merritt, the National Trust’s general counsel, and Rebecca Miller, the Preservation League’s executive director, according to the Post.

The preservation groups also argue that DHS used an emergency declaration and holiday timing to compress the review window, leaving little opportunity to challenge the demolition of historic buildings.

DHS declared an emergency on Dec. 19, when Noem signed the memo and security assessment, but GSA did not notify D.C. officials until the evening of Dec. 23, just before the Christmas holiday, per the Post.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation also filed a legal challenge opposing President Donald Trump’s plan to demolish the White House East Wing and build a new ballroom.