It’s a slow news day around the city, which might be the only reason the poor Old Naval Hospital on Pennsylvania Ave between 9th and 10th Streets SE is getting some notice. The building has been sitting vacant for close to a decade now, falling into disrepair, but not, it seems, out of memory just yet. Though plans for the building have been idly tossed around — a new mayor’s mansion, a library — nothing has stuck, so the D.C. City Council is finally reaching out to developers who will make use of the space.

The Examiner reports today that the Council has issued a request for proposals that will keep not only the original architecture but also its long history of community service; it’s served as a temporary home for soldiers, a youth center, and, of course, as a hospital, among its many roles over the past century and a half. Unlike the revitalization efforts in other parts of the city (one poor example of which we noted this morning) the Hospital restoration won’t be part of a revenue-seeking scheme.

The Council is right to leave the use of this building in the hands of the neighborhood, and we’d love to see a wonderful community center built — perhaps combining many of the ideas thrown around so far — but after eight years of dilly-dallying, we hope someone will eventually step up to the plate with a solid plan, especially for the comparatively paltry $6 million slated for its redevelopment. What would you like to see the Hospital turned into?

Photo of sign outside the Old Naval Hospital taken by Flickr user outdoor_type and will appear in DCist Exposed.