New Forensics Lab Hits Major Stumbling Block

Only three weeks after announcing the award of the development contract, The Examiner reports that Mayor Adrian Fenty has been forced to withdraw the contract, causing a major delay for the future of the project.

After an appeal by Tompkins Builders, Mayor Adrian Fenty has withdrawn the proposed deal with the developer which was awarded the management contract for the construction of the new Consolidated Forensics Lab in Southwest. Tompkins Builders claims that their bid promised a quicker completion at a lower cost.

The appeals board found irregularities in the previously announced award to Whiting-Turner. When the announcement of the Whiting-Turner contract was made earlier this month, Mayor Adrian Fenty was quoted as saying “This is our most important public safety, public health and homeland security project. It is critical that we keep this project moving on the fast track.” Unfortunately, the project is now on hold.

This new delay is not only a blow to development in Southwest, but it is also a matter of public safety since the District Police continue to operate without their own DNA lab, and must depend on the FBI lab at Quantico to slowly wade through thousands of unsolved cases.