Beside the Friendship Heights Metro station, there are plans to upgrade and modernize Pepco’s Harrison Street Substation. Starting this May, the first of three phases will begin with an expected delivery by December 2018.
According to a fact sheet, the existing building has been in service for over 70 years now. There have been regular maintenance upgrades over the years, but as some of the equipment nears the end of its service life and as the demand for electricity increases in the city, the modernization is expected to enhance the system reliability for customers.
The upgrades are expected to enhance reliability, provide a quieter and more efficient substation, enhance the aesthetics of the building, as well as upgrade the facade of the building along Wisconsin Avenue NW.
From May to August of this year, the first phase will remove equipment, shore-up interior walls, and involve interior and soil abatement.
The second phase, which will run from September 2017 through September 2018, will perform upgrades to the substation, construct a green wall, and replace existing infrastructure. Solar panels and new equipment will also be installed.
Finally, the third phase will run from May 2018 to August 2018. During this, temporary equipment will be removed, site work will continue, and landscaping along Wisconsin Avenue NW will complete.
The mural of President John F. Kennedy on the Pepco susbtation will also be removed by 2018 once the upgrades are complete. In an interview with Washingtonian in July 2016, Jonathan Bender, the chairman of the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission, said that he hopes for the area to eventually become a gallery space for community members.
• An Old Pepco Substation Will Host DC’s First JFK Murals [Washingtonian]
• Washington, D.C.’s First Mural of JFK Graces Pepco Substation [Curbed DC]