WASHINGTON — The hallways of the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center, which cared for generations of soldiers, have been quiet since the hospital closed in 2011 and merged with the nearby Bethesda Naval Hospital. But a deal being negotiated by the Army and the city of Washington might give the historic hospital a renewed purpose: housing veterans who might otherwise be homeless.

A national nonprofit that focuses on housing and homelessness plans to renovate a series of single-occupant apartments and redesign the common areas. The makeover will include 75 efficiency apartments, a number that harks back to 1909 when the hospital first opened and had room for 75 patients.

The housing would be the only veteran-focused aspect of a redevelopment plan for 66.5 acres of the sprawling campus in the northwest part of the city.

It comes as the White House has called for an end to homelessness among veterans by the end of 2015. The latest estimate from the Department of Housing and Urban Development said there were 49,900 homeless veterans in the country in January 2014. Mayors across the country have pledged to meet the Obama administration’s challenge. In Houston and New Orleans, that goal has already been accomplished.