The Salvation Army is looking to sell its shuttered Harbor Light Center shelter in Northeast D.C., pitching the 2.36-acre site as an adaptive reuse or redevelopment opportunity with more than 800,000 square feet of new density possible.
The nonprofit has tapped brokerage Feldman Ruel to market the five-story, 60,000-square-foot shelter at 2100 New York Ave. NE., just west of the intersection with Bladensburg Road NE. The property’s proposed 2026 assessed value is $26.8 million, according to the Office of Tax and Revenue.
The facility, formerly operated in partnership with the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency as a residential treatment facility, is currently entitled via a planned-unit development for treatment facility use plus a small warehouse and chapel that doubles as an auditorium, according to marketing materials.
Prospective buyers, however, have a plethora of options for either adaptive reuse or ground-up redevelopment.
“The offering is expected to appeal to a wide range of potential purchasers including non-profit users, value-add investors, and developers of numerous product types due to the property’s scale, potential land-use optionality, and significant frontage along a major arterial route,” according to a statement from Feldman Ruel.
D.C. planners have long eyed New York Avenue NE, historically a railway-lined warehouse district, as an untapped corridor that could house something like 20,000 new residents with zoning changes.
Per Feldman Ruel, a buyer could modify the existing Harbor Light PUD to allow a different use within the current structure, or it could extinguish the PUD, reverting the site to its by-right PDR-2 zoning designation, which permits medium-density commercial or industrial. Those uses could include production, distribution, repair, self-storage, office, “non-large-format retail,” lodging, dining, education, day care, and arts, per marketing materials.
The purchaser could also nix the PUD and seek a map amendment to a less restrictive zoning designation with a higher density, such as MU-9, to include retail, office or multifamily. D.C.’s Future Land Use Map envisions the site for high-density residential and commercial uses. According to marketing materials, the site could host upward of 801,910 square feet of above-grade density with an MU-9 zoning.
The Salvation Army, in a statement, said it's selling the former Harbor Light Center to fund a new social services center in Northeast D.C., the location of which was not disclosed. The new facility will provide emergency rental and utility assistance, a food market, volunteer opportunities, and it will serve as the base for the nonprofit's meal delivery service.
The sale would also help fund the purchase of a second meal delivery vehicle to “provide hot meals, food boxes, and essential supplies to residents in Northeast and Southeast D.C. during the day, reaching even more individuals experiencing hunger, homelessness, and isolation,” according to The Salvation Army.
While the property’s warehouse and chapel are controlled by the Salvation Army, much of 2100 New York is currently leased to the D.C. government though May 2026. The District has already relaxed its operations there in anticipation of vacating when the lease term ends. D.C. was using the space as a shelter, according to Josh Feldman, who is leading marketing alongside Ian Ruel and Brandon Shure.
A portion of the building’s roof is leased to T-Mobile US Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS), where it operates telecommunications infrastructure. The Salvation Army, per marketing materials, is in talks with the telecom company to modify the lease to potentially relocate its equipment, allowing for redevelopment of the property should a buyer wish to pursue that.
The Salvation Army’s Harbor Light Center was closed in 2022 when the nonprofit opted to redeploy resources into other social service programs amid the Covid-19 pandemic, per marketing materials.
The Salvation Army bought 2100 New York in 1993. The property sits a tenth of a mile from Brentwood, less than a half mile from Ivy City and, just shy of a mile from the Shops at Dakota Crossing and 1.3 miles from Union Market.