The National Mall may be a tourist magnet during daylight hours, but imagine it becoming a 24/7 community. That's the idea behind redevelopment efforts along the nation's backyard with efforts being spearheaded by the GSA. Since the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center went up in the 1990s, this "could be the largest redevelopment of federal land in downtown". And if the area already seems a bit packed, "experts said the area could bear an additional 2.2 million square feet of development". The transition to a complete neighborhood will probably take more than a decade, but let's keep our fingers crossed that in 2025, the residents of the National Mall don't start calling their new nabe NaMa.
· Neighborhood living near the National Mall? [WaPo]
· How Many Days Are Left For The Mall's Forrestal Building? [CDC]
Photo from About.com.