The U.S. Senate on Feb. 12 passed a federal lands package that clarifies that the District of Columbia and the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) have the authority to enter into cooperative management agreements (CMAs) to maintain and operate NPS properties in the District, including Franklin Park.
The bill contains legislation introduced by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska).
From Holmes Norton’s press release: “NPS owns nearly all of D.C.’s neighborhood parks, which makes this bill particularly valuable to the District and its residents. Of immediate importance, enactment of this bill would allow the planned rehabilitation of Franklin Park, a major NPS-owned park in downtown D.C., to proceed. I will work to ensure the House quickly takes up and passes the lands package.”
Franklin Park, located at 13th & I streets, is DowntownDC’s largest green space and plans are underway to renovate it into an active, flexible park with amenities. The DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID) will operate the park following its renovation. Groundbreaking is expected this fall.
Read more about Franklin Park’s renovation in the Washington Business Journal.