[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 163 (Monday, August 24, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45064-45067]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-22661]


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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION


Review of Historic Preservation ``Memorandum of Agreement'' 
Documentation on Proposed Red Cross Headquarter's Expansion Project: 
2025 E Street, NW, Washington, DC

    The General Services Administration (GSA), in accordance with 
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), has 
consulted with the D.C. State Historic Preservation Officer (DCSHPO), 
the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the National

[[Page 45065]]

Capital Planning Commission, the Commission of Fine Arts, and the 
National Red Cross on the expansion of the 2025 E Street, NW property 
and site.
    At this time, we would like to invite public comment on the DRAFT 
version of a Memorandum of Agreement to ``take account of the effects 
of the Project on historic properties''. The text follows.

Memorandum of Agreement Among the General Services Administration, 
the National Capital Planning Commission, the Commission of Fine 
Arts, the American National Red Cross, the District of Columbia 
State Historic Preservation Officer, and the Advisory Council on 
Historic Preservation Regarding Construction of a Building at 2025 
E Street, N.W. in the District of Columbia

    Whereas, Public Law 100-637, Section 11(a), 102 Stat. 3325, 36 
U.S.C. Sec. 13 note (November 8, 1988), amends Public Law 80-156 (July 
1, 1947), and directs the Administrator of the General Services 
Administration (``GSA''), notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
to enter into a ground lease with the American National Red Cross, 
District of Columbia Chapter (``ARC'') for the property described in 
Public Law 80-156 as the ``south half of Square 104,'' and located 
between 20th and 21st Streets, N.W. along E street, N.W. (``Property'') 
for ninety-nine (99) years, at which time any improvements on the 
Property shall revert to the ownership of the United States, and
    Whereas, Public Law 100-637 grants ARC the right to, inter alia, 
demolish the existing Red Cross District of Columbia Chapter Building 
(``Building'') on the Property, said Building also being known by its 
current address of 2025 E Street, N.W., and construct improvements on 
the Property for use by ARC for office, medical and scientific purposes 
(``Project''); and
    Whereas, Public Law 100-637 directs, inter alia, that the United 
States cooperate with ARC with respect to matters relating to the 
development of the Project; and
    Whereas, Public Law 100-637 provides that the plans for the Project 
must be approved by ARC, the National Capital Planning Commission 
(``NCPC''), and the Commission of Fine Arts (``CFA''); and
    Whereas, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, as 
amended (``NHPA''), 16 U.S.C. Sec. 470f, requires that the head of any 
Federal agency having direct or indirect jurisdiction over a proposed 
Federal or federally-assisted undertaking shall, prior to the approval 
of the expenditure of any Federal funds on the undertaking or prior to 
the issuance of any license, take into account the effect of the 
undertaking on any district, site, building, structure or object that 
is included in, or eligible for inclusion in, the National Register of 
Historic Places and afford the Advisory Council on Historic 
Preservation (``Council'') a reasonable opportunity to comment with 
regard to such undertaking; and
    Whereas, the Council's implementing regulations, 36 CFR Part 800, 
``Protection of Historic Properties'' delineate the process by which 
Federal agencies may fulfill their obligations pursuant to Section 106 
of the NHPA; and
    Whereas, GSA, as the federal agency with responsibility for the 
ownership interest of the United States in the Property, initiated the 
Section 106 process with the State Historic Preservation Officer for 
the District of Columbia (``SHPO'') and the Council and is 
participating in the review of this Project as the Federal agency 
coordinating the involvement of and the consultation among the parties 
to this Memorandum of Agreement (``MOA''); and
    Whereas, ARC, as the applicant for a Federal permit, license or 
approval, was invited to participate as a consulting party and has done 
so; and
    Whereas, in consultation with the SHPO, GSA has determined and the 
consulting parties agree that, for purposes of consultation pursuant to 
Section 106 of the NHPA, the Building should be considered eligible for 
inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing 
property within a potential historic district; and
    Whereas, in consultation with the SHPO, ARC has completed and 
transmitted to the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Review 
Board an unsigned District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Places 
Nomination Form, and an unsigned National Register Nomination Form of a 
potential historic district to which the Building would be considered 
eligible as a contributing property; and
    Whereas, ARC will redevelop the Property by dismantling the 
Building and incorporating certain elements of it in the Project, an 
undertaking which the parties to this MOA have found, in consultation 
with the SHPO and in accordance with 36 CFR Section 800.9(b), will have 
an adverse effect upon properties considered eligible for inclusion in 
the National Register of Historic Places; and
    Whereas, NCPC approved preliminary site and building plans for the 
Project on March 6, 1997 [NCPC File No. 5563] and must now give final 
approval to the Project; and
    Whereas, CFA gave preliminary approval for the Project on July 25, 
1996 [CFA 25/Jul/96-6 and CFR 20/Mar/97-2] and must now give final 
approval to the Project; and
    Whereas, the parties to this MOA have solicited, in writing and in 
public meetings and other appropriate public forums, comments from the 
public on the effects of the Project on historic properties and have 
fully considered the views of the public and other interested parties 
in reaching agreement on the terms to be included in this MOA;
    Now, therefore, the parties to this MOA agree that the Project, if 
undertaken, shall be implemented in accordance with the following 
stipulations in order to take into account the effect of the Project on 
historic properties.

Stipulations

1. Project Design

    ARC shall ensure that the Project will be constructed in general 
accordance with the design prepared by Shalom Baranes Associates, said 
design being the basis upon which NCPC and CFA provided their 
preliminary approvals for the Project. Inasmuch as the design for the 
Project has not yet been given final approvals by NCPC and CFA, ARC 
shall ensure that the Project will secure said approval and will be 
built in conformance with the design given final approval by NCPC and 
CFA. The parties to this MOA shall not require modifications to the 
approved design as a result of a formal determination of eligibility of 
a potential historic district on either the National Register or the 
District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Places.

2. Landscape Plan

    If the appropriate agency of the Government of the District of 
Columbia grants ARC the right of entry, ARC will clean, landscape, and 
maintain the District-owned public space delineated in Attachment A and 
located immediately south of the Property across E Street, N.W. ARC 
shall submit its landscaping and maintenance plan for the public space 
to NCPC and CFA for approval; said submission may, in ARC's sole 
discretion, be separate from, or in conjunction with, any submittal to 
NCPC or CFA for final approval of the Project. ARC shall improve and 
maintain the public space in accordance with the approved landscape 
plan. The initial improvement of the space shall be completed no later 
than six months

[[Page 45066]]

from the date of ARC's occupancy of the Project. ARC shall maintain the 
public space for a period coterminous with ARC's occupancy of the 
Property. ARC's maintenance shall decrease or cease as the case may be 
if the public space is reduced in size from the dimensions detailed in 
Attachment A or ceases to be an open public space.

3. Historic Documentation of the Building

    A. ARC will develop photographic and historic documentation of the 
Building and its site consistent with the general requirements of the 
Historic American Buildings Survey and will consult with the SHPO and 
NCPC regarding the scope and content of this documentation. Said 
documentation, which will not include aerial photographs, will be 
undertaken, where necessary, prior to construction and in any event 
completed prior to ARC's occupancy of the Project; the original shall 
be donated to the Washingtoniana Collection of the District of Columbia 
Public Library and one duplicate copy will be made available to the 
SHPO and/or an appropriate local archive designated by the SHPO. ARC 
shall not be responsible for any other duplication or costs for 
duplication.
    B. ARC will provide to the Washingtoniana Collection of the 
District of Columbia Public Library or, in the alternative, to an 
appropriate local archive designated by the SHPO, documentation of the 
process and procedures by which the Building is dismantled and portions 
thereof are reconstructed as part of the Project. Said documentation 
shall be in the form of a written narrative, photographs and other 
pertinent documents.

4. Potential National Register Nomination

    A. ARC shall reimburse a consultant no more than $600 for fees 
related to the presentation, explanation or justification of the 
documentation it has collected and transmitted to the District of 
Columbia Historic Preservation Review Board should an appropriate 
entity sponsor or officially file an application for nomination of a 
historic district to either the District of Columbia Inventory of 
Historic Places or the National Register of Historic Places. ARC also 
agrees to be responsible for paying fees assessed by the Government of 
the District of Columbia in association with the filing of such 
application up to $250.
    B. ARC shall not be responsible for providing any other support or 
testimony, authorizing the use of its name, or sponsoring or officially 
filing an application for any potential historic district, or assuming 
any liability or responsibility for issues that may arise from the 
District of Columbia Inventory or National Register nomination process 
or the use of the documentation it has collected and transmitted to the 
District of Columbia Historic Preservation Review Board pursuant to the 
terms of this MOA. The parties to this MOA will not oppose any historic 
district based on documentation previously provided by ARC to the 
District of Columbia Historic Preservation Review Board as stipulated 
herein.

5. Archaeology

    A. ARC shall ensure that an archaeological survey of the Property 
is conducted in a manner consistent with the Secretary of the 
Interior's Standards and Guidelines for Identification, 48 Federal 
Register 44720-23, and with Guidelines for Archaeological Investigation 
in the District of Columbia (1998), and taking into account the 
recommended approaches delineated in the National Park Service 
publication The Archaeological Survey: Methods and Uses, 1978: NTIS 
Order No. PB284061. The survey shall be conducted in consultation with 
the SHPO, and a report of the survey shall be submitted to the SHPO for 
review and approval.
    B. The ARC shall evaluate properties which are found on the 
Property in accordance with 36 C.F.R. Section 800.4(c). If properties 
which are found on the Property are eligible for inclusion in the 
National Register of Historic Places because they may be likely to 
yield information important in prehistory or history, ARC shall ensure 
that they are treated in accordance with a data recovery plan developed 
by ARC in consulting with the SHPO for recovery of archaeological data 
from the Property.

6. Section 106 Compliance for Other Federal Undertakings Associated 
With the Project

    In the event that additional Federal undertakings are required or 
sought by ARC pursuant to the terms of Public Law 100-637, a Federal 
agency can fulfill its Section 106 responsibilities, where applicable, 
by accepting the terms of this MOA and specifying that satisfactory 
fulfillment of the terms of this MOA will be a condition of any such 
undertaking. The Federal agency and ARC will provide documentation to 
the signatories to this MOA of the scope of the undertaking associated 
with the Project and the Federal agency's acceptance of the terms of 
this MOA.

7. Amendments

    If a signatory to this MOA determines that it cannot fulfill the 
terms of this agreement, or otherwise deems it necessary to seek an 
amendment, it will notify the signatories and request consultation 
concerning the terms of an amendment in accordance with 36 C.F.R. 
Section 800.5(e)(5).

8. Administrative Conditions

    A. Professional Qualifications. All historic documentation 
conducted pursuant to the terms of this MOA will be carried out by 
personnel who meet the Secretary of the Interior's Professional 
Qualification Standards, 48 Federal Register 44738, for the particular 
field of study in which they are working.
    B. Any and all obligations of ARC pursuant to the terms of this MOA 
shall only be carried out if ARC, in its sole discretion, determines to 
undertake construction of the Project.
    C. This MOA may be executed in multiple original counterparts, each 
of which will be deemed to be an original, and which together will 
constitute one and the same agreement.
    Execution of this agreement and implementation of its terms 
evidences that GSA, NCPC and CFA have taken into account the effect of 
the Project on historic properties and have afforded the Council a 
reasonable opportunity to comment on the Project and its effect on 
historic properties.

General Services Administration.
Nelson W. Alcalde,
Administrator, National Capital Region.

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date

National Capital Planning Commission.
Reginald W. Griffith,
Executive Director

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date

Commission of Fine Arts
Charles H. Atherton,
Secretary.
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date

American National Red Cross.
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Name/Title

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date

District of Columbia State Historic Preservation Officer.
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Name

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date

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Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
John M. Fowler,
Executive Director.
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date
    In addition, a copy of this notification and Draft Memorandum of 
Agreement will be placed in the West End Library, (24th and L Streets, 
NW, Washington, DC).
    Please submit your comments in writing within 30 days of this 
notice to Andrea Mones, Regional Cultural Asset Officer, General 
Services Administration, National Capital Region, (WPT), 7th and D 
Streets, NW, Washington, DC 20407.

    Dated: August 10, 1998.
Arthur M. Turowski,
Director, Portfolio Management Division, WPT.
[FR Doc. 98-22661 Filed 8-21-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-23-M