The head of the General Services Administration signaled that the U.S. government could take an active role in the reimagining of the 250 acres between the National Mall and D.C.’s southwest waterfront.

The government has been moving quickly to sell federally owned real estate in the city’s southwest federal corridor. So far, it has put the properties to market one by one without instituting any guidance or plan on how they should be redeveloped.

GSA Administrator Ed Forst’s remarks on Tuesday were some of the first indications that the agency will influence the remade neighborhood.

“Every good project requires the first move to happen,” Forst said at Bisnow’s Federal Office and Southwest D.C. Summit. “I think the federal government has a real place to play here to be the first mover in terms of what can be brought to life.

While he didn’t elaborate on how specifically the government would make that first move, the idea of it being involved as a catalyst is significant.

“GSA is leading stakeholders in creating a redevelopment vision for Southwest DC,” an agency spokesperson told Bisnow in an email after the event. “We’re currently reviewing and evaluating the government’s real estate portfolio in the area, including the Cohen and Forrestal buildings.”

Under Forst’s leadership this year, the GSA offloaded the nearly 1M SF Regional Office Building at Seventh and D streets SW to Dalian Development, as well as the L-shaped Liberty Loan building on the Tidal Basin to Northern Virginia-based investor Satvik Raj.

The government’s approach, selling the properties to the highest bidder, has raised concerns among public and private leaders in D.C.’s urban development arena, who worry about the loss of government control of some of the nation’s most important real estate.

But in his remarks Tuesday, Forst said that while the agency is moving quickly, it’s also committed to collaborating with various stakeholders to bring a collectively beneficial vision.

Click here for full story from Bisnow