Two Washington, D.C., Charter Schools Part of Plan for Surplus Army Medical Center Facilities

Two charter schools in Washington, D.C., have been recommended to occupy space at Army facilities that are expected to be turned over to the control of the city as part of the military’s program to realign its bases and close surplus facilities.

Washington Yu Ying Public Charter School and Latin American Bilingual Montessori Public Charter School are included in a plan for facilities that have been part of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, but the plan backed by a local redevelopment authority committee still must go before the D.C. Council for action.

Key elements of the project are included in a February 2, 2012, community presentation posted on the website of the city’s Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development.

Part of the process for shifting the property to the city required that some of the buildings be offered for “more altruistic” uses, according to M. Jeffrey Miller, Director of Real Estate in the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. Proposals were solicited for those spaces and the two charter schools were among those who applied.

It could be more than a year before transfer of the site occurs, according to Miller. “We still have a lengthy negotiation to go through with the Army,” Miller said in an interview with the National Charter School Resource Center. Action by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development also is required.