[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
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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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Commission of Fine Arts
Charles H. Atherton,
Secretary.
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American National Red Cross.
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Name/Title
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District of Columbia State Historic Preservation Officer.
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Name
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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