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

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

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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]

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