The Department of Treasury has taken possession of a 104-acre Beltsville site that will be developed as a new facility for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced Wednesday.
The 1 million-square-foot, $1.4 billion facility, which will be one of two complexes in the country to produce U.S. paper currency and other security products, will be built at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Prince George’s County. The new facility would replace the BEP’s existing production center at 301 14th St. SW, about a half-mile from the Washington Monument, where roughly 1,400 people currently work.
The D.C. facility dates back to 1914 and no longer meets the agency’s needs, which spurred Treasury’s search for a new manufacturing center in 2019. A BEP spokeswoman told the Washington Business Journal at that time its annual maintenance costs for its current headquarters are close to $40 million. Also, roughly 65% of the BEP’s employees live in Maryland — more than half of those in Prince George’s.
Per Hogan’s office, the project’s design is expected to be completed by the summer of 2023, with construction wrapped up by early 2027. The 24-hour facility is expected to house 850 workers on site, with 600 more working remotely. There will be nearly 1,200 parking spaces across the property, according to plans reviewed by the National Capital Planning Commission last July.
