A federal engineering assessment obtained by The Washington Post found that most of the historic buildings Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wants to demolish under emergency authority are structurally stable. These buildings could be repaired and reused, which makes it harder for the department to claim that the abandoned structures pose an urgent safety and security threat.
The Department of Homeland Security plans to tear down 13 century-old buildings on the West Campus of St. Elizabeths in Southeast Washington. This highly secured site has been developed into DHS headquarters over the last 15 years. In a memo dated December 19, Noem wrote that several vacant structures are so deteriorated they cannot be safely accessed or cleared by law enforcement or emergency responders.
DHS officials also argued that the buildings could be exploited by malicious insiders. They described these structures as potential places to store weapons or stage attacks near agency leadership offices. A security assessment cited by The Post noted that the age and condition of the buildings increase the risk of catastrophic collapse that could endanger personnel.
However, engineers inspecting the 13 buildings in August for the General Services Administration concluded that the structures are generally in stable condition, according to documents reviewed by The Post. The assessment was prepared by AECOM, which GSA hired, and it included inspections by the engineering firm Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates.
“What looks alarming in photos represents localized repairable conditions rather than systemic structural failure,” the AECOM report stated. “The core buildings remain viable for stabilization and future adaptive reuse.”
The findings paint a mixed picture across the 13 buildings. The worst, a three-story structure built in 1861 known as East Lodge, received a critical risk level and was deemed in imminent danger of collapse unless repairs are made, according to The Post’s review of the documents. Inspectors noted extensive water infiltration and unstable areas that will continue to deteriorate without action.
Inspectors rated three additional buildings as having severe conditions with high risk, just below critical. They said repairs are needed to prevent worsening structural problems and safety hazards. Nine other structures on the demolition list were classified as having minor or moderate defects, with one building from 1893, known as Holly, described by inspectors as having no significant distress in major structural elements.
GSA spokesperson Marianne Copenhaver told The Post that the engineering assessments fail to capture the security-driven rationale for demolition. She stated that the agency concluded the buildings pose a significant and unacceptable risk to life and safety on a campus that maintains what she described as the highest security level for a government facility. Copenhaver also mentioned that the buildings are functionally obsolete and projected that demolition would save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.
Preservation advocates dispute the emergency justification and argue that demolition would bypass the standard federal review process for work on a National Historic Landmark. The targeted buildings include a former kitchen and bakery from 1878 and 1883, hospital wards built in the 1890s, and Burroughs Cottage, a 1891 residence built for a member of a wealthy family, The Post reported.
Rebecca Miller, executive director of the D.C. Preservation League, told The Post that DHS had not previously cited insider threat scenarios as a reason to clear the buildings during years of discussions about the campus. “If these buildings were such a threat, that should have been brought up,” she said.
The dispute also relates to long-running plans for St. Elizabeths. Federal planners approved a master plan in the early 2000s for new construction and rehabilitation of more than 50 vacant buildings. That plan was amended in 2020 to allow the demolition of four historic buildings after federal planning bodies reviewed it, The Post reported. Noem’s emergency request would permit 13 more demolitions without going through the usual process.
