Commandant's Residence

Washington, DC

The proposed design effort was intended to bring Quarters 6 – The Commandant’s Residence at Marine Barracks Washington into compliance with Department of Defense’s Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection (AT/FP) requirements.  As the highest-ranking official in the Marines, the high-profile project was one of the top five in NAVFAC’s global portfolio and as initially scoped, presented a variety of unique challenges given the difficulty of applying rigorous AT/FP criteria in an historic and dense urban, residential setting.

Strict interpretation of the AT/FP guidelines would have required significant changes to the ROW, resulted in opposition from review agencies and highly-involved cluster of neighborhood organizations and residents while also not complying with Department of Defense regulations. 

Jay actively led and participated in a collaborative and creative decision-making environment and incorporated suggestions from internal and external stakeholders.  The result –  10 different iterations and a final solution that with Jay’s creativity and credibility allowed NAVFAC and the Marines to overcome resistance, convincing all parties a negotiated solution would improve the physical security for the Commandant AND be swiftly approved.  The final design effectively reused the existing historic fence, included a new complimentary fence, redesigned landscaping, a limited number of bollards including several integrated in rhythm with the fence and two sensitively designed guard booths.

Jay’s diligent focus, sensitivity to the historic fabric, attention to detail, management of the delicate internal and external relationships as well as review agencies and respected reputation within the community allowed to gain approval four (4) months, while previous efforts had evaded the Marines for more than five (5) years.