Selling the WMATA headquarters building is an excellent idea. There is no reason that WMATA needs to be located right next to the Verizon Center, on some very extensive real estate. As someone said earlier, L'Enfant Plaza would be a good location for WMATA to move to (thereby helping encourage the SW Ecodistrict plan--- the fed govt. is selling the Cotton Annex building on 12th St, SW).
Another potential location would be somewhere near the Capitol Riverfront/Navy Yard, helping to encourage more development in this growing neighborhood and having close proximity to both DDOT and the US DOT headquarters.
Finally, WMATA could relocate their property to one of the many suburban metro stations that has excess land, thereby encouraging walkable development and increased ridership at one of these stations.
WMATA could certainly use the revenue for maintenance that selling its downtown headquarters would generate. One other point with selling the WMATA headquarters is that between this building, the FBI HQ site, and phase II of City Center, there would be both a lot more continuous activity in downtown and more property tax for DC.
Metro to pursue headquarters sale and relocation
By Michael Neibauer
Washington Business Journal
July 28, 2016
"The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority will proceed with plans to sell or lease its downtown headquarters property, General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said Thursday.
The announcement comes four months after WMATA released a request for information seeking ideas for the potential redevelopment of the Jackson Graham Building at 600 Fifth St. NW, across the street from Verizon Center. Four companies responded, though Metro declined to release their names, as the RFI was a sourcing of ideas, not a solicitation for bids..."
http://www.bizjournals.com/washingto...elocation.html