National Science Foundation Headquarters Moving To New Location In Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA, VA — The National Science Foundation will remain in Alexandria despite the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development relocating to its building.

On Friday, the U.S. General Services Administration said the National Science Foundation will move to 401 Dulany Street, the same campus as the US Patent and Trademark Office. That comes after the June announcement of the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development moving to the NSF headquarters building at 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, putting NSF's future in question.

At the time of the HUD announcement, city officials shared support for HUD's relocation to Alexandria but said the move should not come at the expense of NSF. NSF had relocated to Alexandria in 2017. The NSF and USPTO headquarters are in the same Carlyle neighborhood of Alexandria. The city government said in a statement it will work with the General Services Administration and property owner over the coming months on the transition of NSF to its new headquarters.

"We are thrilled to say that NSF will stay in the City of Alexandria and that it will continue its role growing the innovation hub in Carlyle, collaborating directly with USPTO," said Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins.

The NSF move will keep 1,600 NSF headquarters jobs, a mix of federal employees and scientists from research institutions who work there on a temporary basis. NSF is an independent federal agency that awards science research funding.

HUD's move from the current Robert C. Weaver Federal Building near the L’Enfant Plaza Metro in Washington, D.C. will happen in phases. The federal government opted to relocate HUD rather than renovate its current headquarters, which Scientific American reported has more than $500 million in deferred maintenance and modernizing expenses. HUD has about 2,700 employees at its headquarters.