Metro is considering the possibility of selling its HQ at 600 5th St NW, a low-rise building that was constructed in 1972.
The building is in the downtown business district, roughly between the Verizon Center and the National Building Museum, and could fetch $110M to $140M, the Washington Post reports.
Paul J. Wiedefeld, Metro's new GM, touched on the possibility in an op-ed piece for the Post, noting that the agency would “analyze revenue potential from the sale of Metro’s headquarters building that could be used for customer service initiatives.”
Should the agency decide to place the building up for sale, a new set of challenges would spring up from a potential move. The aging building, known as the Jackson Graham Building, plays host to rooftop radio antennae and fiber optic cables that support the entire system, plus the building serves a number of other functions that may prove challenging to solve.
Despite the building’s age and healthy price tag, there could be a strong market for the site as a possible candidate for redevelopment since downtown development sites are becoming scarce. [WaPo]
