Constitution Center
| Constitution Center | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Former names | David Nassif Building |
| General information | |
| Type | Office |
| Location | 400 7th Street SW, Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Coordinates | 38°53′01″N 077°01′19″W / 38.88361°N 77.02194°WCoordinates: 38°53′01″N 077°01′19″W / 38.88361°N 77.02194°W |
| Construction started | 1968 |
| Completed | 1969 |
| Cost | $26.5 million (1969); $220 million (2006 renovation) |
| Owner | Nassif Associates |
| Height | |
| Roof | 140 feet (43 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 10 |
| Floor area | 1,400,000 sq ft (130,000 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Edward Durrell Stone (1969); SmithGroup (2006) |
| Developer | David Nassif, Sr. |
| Main contractor | Volpe Construction (1969); Davis Construction (2006) |
Constitution Center (formerly known as the David Nassif Building) is an office building located at 400 7th Street SW in Washington, D.C. It is 140 feet (43 m) high and has 10 floors. Covering an entire city block, it is the largest privately owned office building in the District of Columbia. Current tenants include the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. As of February 2014, Constitution Center was worth $725.8 million, making it the most valuable, taxable property in the city.
In the 1950s, the U.S. Congress, then the governing institution of the District of Columbia, undertook the Southwest D.C. urban renewal project, the first in the capital district and one of the earliest such programs in the nation. In 1946, Congress passed the District of Columbia Redevelopment Act, which established the District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA) and provided legal authority to clear land and funds to spur redevelopment in the capital. Congress also gave the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) the authority to designate which land would be redeveloped, and how. The RLA was not funded, however, until passage of the Housing Act of 1949. A 1950 study by the NCPC found that the small Southwest quarter of the city suffered from high concentrations of old and poorly maintained buildings, overcrowding, and threats to public health (such as lack of running indoor water, sewage systems, electricity, central heating, and indoor toilets). Competing visions for the redevelopment ranged from renovation to wholesale leveling of neighborhoods, but the latter view prevailed as more likely to qualify for federal funding. Original plans called for the demolition of almost all structures in Southwest Washington beginning in 1950, but legal challenges led to piecemeal razing of the area until the mid-1950s.
Issues surrounding the planning and construction of L'Enfant Plaza (immediately to the west of the site) delayed construction of any buildings on the block until the late 1960s. In 1963, the RLA purchased the land from the Westminster Memorial Church, Fifth Baptist Church, and homeowners. The United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare wished to purchase the site for its new headquarters, but the RLA declined to sell the property. (The federal government does not pay taxes on land and structures it owns, and the RLA wanted a private owner who would add to the tax base.) The RLA attempted to sell the land on January 29, 1965, but there were no buyers.
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