[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 121 (Monday, June 26, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41403-41404]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13438]


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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

[Notice-PBS-2023-03; Docket No. 2023-0002; Sequence No. 20]


Notice of Availability for the Record of Decision of the 
Environmental Impact Statement for the U.S. Food and Drug 
Administration, Muirkirk Road Campus Master Plan in Laurel, Maryland

AGENCY: Public Buildings Service (PBS), National Capital Region, 
General Services Administration (GSA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: GSA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) for the Food and Drug 
Administration (FDA) Muirkirk Road Campus (MRC) Master Plan, in Laurel, 
Maryland, on June 16, 2023. The ROD was prepared in accordance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, the Council on 
Environmental Quality Regulations, and the GSA PBS NEPA Desk Guide.

DATES: Applicable: Friday, June 16, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lindsey Veas, GSA, National Capital 
Region, PBS, Office of Planning and Design Quality, at 202-262-9236.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The General Services Administration, in cooperation with the FDA, 
has prepared a Master Plan for the MRC in Laurel, Maryland. The MRC 
Master Plan creates a framework to guide development and add capacity 
over the course of next 10 to 30 years. The FDA owns 249 acres of land 
at Muirkirk Road. The MRC West Parcel comprises 197 acres west of Odell 
Road. The remaining 52 acres makes up the MRC East Parcel located east 
of Odell Road. The FDA acquired the land for the Beltsville Research 
Facility (BRF) from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 1964. 
Today, the MRC is home to the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), the 
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), and support 
staff.
    Previous master plans approved by National Capital Planning 
Commission (NCPC) and Prince George's County include the 1966 Site 
Development Plan and the 1981 Master Plan. The MRC's current population 
is 300 employees; the 1966 and 1981 Master Plans limited future 
population growth to 1,800 employees. The MRC Master Plan evolved 
throughout the master planning process that began in September 2020. 
Initially, the Draft Master Plan included two phases of office 
buildings without any laboratories. The first phase accommodates 700 
additional staff, and the second phase 800 additional staff, bringing 
the total campus population up to 1,800.
    As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the workplace environment has 
gone through a fundamental change with a higher percentage of people 
working remotely. The FDA adopted the U.S. Department of Health and 
Human Services (HHS) 21st Century Workplace Space Planning Policy. 
Under this policy, a new workplace model based on increased telework 
provides efficient use of space and significantly reduces rent and rent 
related costs. Moving forward, HHS's policy is to provide dedicated 
workstations and offices only for staff who report to an office six or 
more days per pay period. Shared workstations and offices will be 
available for employees who predominantly telework fewer than six days 
per pay period. Based on current trends in teleworking, FDA's White Oak 
campus has significant capacity to absorb future growth and 
consolidation of FDA employees within the DC metropolitan area from 
leased space as the leases expire. For laboratory employees, remote 
work is not possible due to the nature of the work and existing 
laboratories at FDA's White Oak Campus are fully occupied. Therefore, 
FDA shifted its focus for the MRC from mostly new office space to also 
increasing the amount of laboratory space.
    The Master Plan provides a framework for development at the MRC to 
accommodate up to 1,800 FDA employees and support staff. GSA completed 
an EIS that assessed the impacts of the population increase and 
additional growth needed on the MRC to support the increased 
population.

Preferred Alternative

    GSA has chosen to implement Alternative B: Dual Campus, as defined 
in the Final EIS (GSA, April 2023). This decision is based on analyses 
contained in the MRC Master Plan Draft EIS issued

[[Page 41404]]

in December 2020, the MRC Master Plan Final EIS issued in April 2023, 
and the comments of Federal and State agencies, stakeholder 
organizations, members of the public and elected officials and other 
information in the Administrative Record.
    Implementation of Alternative B will be distributed between the MOD 
1 and MOD 2 buildings and the Beltsville Research Facility (BRF) site. 
Alternative B has been broken out into three phases which include:
     Phase 1--construction of an approximate 18,000-square-foot 
annex to the MOD 2 building. The population at the MRC West Parcel will 
remain at 300. The annex building will accommodate both staff from the 
BRF and the renovation occurring within MOD 2.
     Phase 2--construction of two laboratory buildings that 
will accommodate 168 scientists and support staff in approximately 
168,000 gross square feet (gsf) of lab space and 6,300 gsf of special 
use space. Phase 2 includes the removal of the surface parking lot 
adjacent to MOD 1 and the construction of a parking garage with 235 
spaces. An approximate 10,000 gsf maintenance/storage building adjacent 
to the new parking garage will also be built. Phase 2 will include 
maintaining the metal warehouse building and fitness center at the BRF, 
creating a temporary surface lot on the BRF site, and constructing a 
new entrance to Odell Road for truck screening. A visitor parking lot 
will be constructed and the Muirkirk Road entrance will be rebuilt with 
a shared drop-off.
     Phase 3--construction of two office buildings that will 
accommodate a population of 1,332 and shared use space to support the 
campus. The two new office buildings will be constructed on the site of 
the BRF. The total gross area is approximately 166,500 gsf of office 
space and 24,5000 gsf of special use space. This phase will also 
include a four-level parking garage for 665 spaces. Additionally, 
during Phase 3, temporary parking and all remaining existing buildings 
at the BRF site will be removed.
    An elevated boardwalk will be constructed within the natural 
landscape that will connect the laboratory buildings with the office 
buildings. A skybridge between the laboratory and office buildings will 
encourage collaboration. Alternative B will also include space for 
shared amenities including a conference center, cafeteria, and fitness 
center.
    Alternative B is necessary to continue to guide future long-term 
development of the MRC. Alternative B highlights views, improves 
connectivity and walkability, and conserves the natural landscape. 
Alternative B is in line with the Master Plan as both aim to:
     maintain a 100-foot landscape buffer along the perimeter 
of the campus,
     set the buildings back at least 75 feet from the interior 
roadways,
     respect the woodlands as much as possible and make them 
accessible for employees,
     create new view corridors into the woodlands at the heart 
of the campus,
     avoid development and human interference in the pasture 
areas as these are being used by FDA for research and the preservation 
of open space,
     connect the existing and Phase 2 buildings through a 
continuous service corridor,
     allow people to move between new buildings through a 
physical connection that protects them from the elements, and
     conserve the stream valleys and natural drainage patterns

Location of Record of Decision

    The ROD can be found on GSA's project website at www.gsa.gov/ncrnepa.

Mydelle Wright,
Director, Office of Planning and Design Quality, Public Buildings 
Service, National Capital Region, General Services Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-13438 Filed 6-23-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-34-P