The District’s Department of General Services will be moved out of the Reeves Center, becoming the first D.C. agency to launch a search for new space since Mayor Muriel Bowser directed officials to prioritize leasing offices east of the Anacostia River.

The department announced Friday that it’s leaving the municipal center, which opened along the U Street corridor at 2000 14th St. NW in 1986. DGS has issued a request for space for a new headquarters, and leaders plan to look first at new destinations in Wards 7 and 8.

Bowser hopes such a move will send more District employees to developments east of the river that desperately need more foot traffic to get off the ground and lure retailers.

In particular, she’s hoping that agencies such as DGS will provide more certainty to grocers looking to locate in Wards 7 and 8, a key emphasis of District politicians in recent years. The two wards currently share just three grocery stores, with Lidl set to become the fourth when it…