HOUSINGNEWS REPORT
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Presumptions about value and potential based simply on labels can be extremely misleading. A prime example can be found just a few miles from the White House, in what is officially known as the “Spring Valley Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS).” In the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., is the bucolic campus of the American University (AU). The campus is part of the posh Spring Valley area, today among the most desirable residential neighborhoods in the Nation’s capital. However, Spring Valley’s history includes a few surprising turns. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “during WWI this area was known as the American University Experimental Station and Camp Leach, a 660-acre facility used as a research and test center for
not entirely. In 2010, Army engineers destroyed 80 chemical and conventional bombs found in what is now officially known as the “Spring Valley Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS).” Has this history made the area less desirable? Not at all. Jack W. Wang, with RLAH Real Estate, explains that “many prominent Washingtonians call this idyllic neighborhood home and, despite being a military superfund site due to unexploded ordnance from testing during WWI, it continues to be an extremely desirable area, commanding impressive housing prices.” How Uncle Sam Entered The Cleanup Business For a very long time, U.S. land was an abundant commodity, the population was relatively small and ecological concerns
chemical weapons. The experimental station and chemical laboratories were located on American University property.” It wasn’t just the military that enjoyed Spring Valley. The Bureau of Mines, under something called the “Noxious Gases Subcommittee of the Military Committee of the National Research Council,” was responsible for producing more efficient gas masks, toxic gases, incendiary munitions, signal flares, plus “defensive and offensive smoke mixtures.” Camp Leach and its bomb-making activities were hardly a secret. In 1918 a nearby resident — Sen. Nathan B. Scott, R-W.V., as well as his wife and sister — were “slightly gassed” according to the Army. Over time, of course, the military history of the AU campus and the surrounding area has largely been forgotten — but
U.S. Homes by Superfund Risk
Many prominent Washingtonians call this idyllic neighborhood home and, despite being a military superfund site due to unexploded ordnance from testing during WWI, it continues to be an extremely desirable area, commanding impressive housing prices.”
Very Low Moderate
High
Very High
3% 3%
1%
93%
Jack W. Wang | RLAH Real Estate
ATTOM Data Solutions • P3
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