To follow up with those of you who reacted strongly to our photo gallery yesterday of the abandoned St. Elizabeths West Campus and the plans that are in the works to relocate the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Coast Guard there, Mayor Adrian Fenty and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton held an impromptu press conference this morning to unveil the city’s plans for its share of the nearly 200 acres of land in Southeast Washington, D.C. Wire reports.

The District is hoping to use the DHS development as a reason to install a mixed-use development that would include offices, restaurants and shops on the eastern half of the St. E’s campus, which is owned and operated by the city. Officials described a town square-style center that could attract business from the new federal workers.

It’s not totally clear where the funding for such a plan would come from, especially if Norton is counting on additional funds to be approved by a cash-strapped federal government. But the congresswoman is holding a public meeting at 5:30 p.m. tonight at the Petey Green Community Center, located at 2907 Martin Luther King Avenue SE, for nearby residents. Another public meeting, this one hosted by the city government, will apparently be held on Tuesday, so we’ll update you with the details of that meeting when we get them.

Photo by Steve Goldenberg