Hess is being charged with developing the new Anacostia Branch Library in Southeast DC--which will be part of the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative, a sweeping plan to revitalize a neglected and underutilized area of the District--Benning Branch Library in Northeast and Tenley-Friendship Branch Library in Northwest, all of which will serve as replacements for existing facilities. Additionally Northwest's Waltha T. Daniel Branch will undergo a renovation at the hands of Hess.

The Gaithersburg, MD-based construction company expects to spend nine months designing the project and 12 months constructing and renovating the buildings, with a target completion date of fall 2006. As for when actual building activity will begin, Hess senior vice president Kathleen A. Langan explains that, "the permit process will dictate the exact start of construction."