›› Massachusetts: GSA rehabilitated the 1836 New Bedford Custom House, the oldest continuously operating custom house in the nation, and now it houses both CBP and NOAA operations. The building lies in the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park and contributes to the New Bedford National Historic Landmark District. Work initiated between 2015 and 2017 includes exterior repointing, marble floor repair, energy saving HVAC upgrades, thoughtfully integrated exterior accessibility, and minor interior changes to accommodate NOAA. GSA strategically reinvested outlease proceeds, combined with other funds, and the building is now fully occupied by federal agencies. ›› Florida: NASA has a lease agreement with SpaceX for use of the NRHP listed Launch Complex 39A Historic District at KSC. SpaceX has managed to maintain a majority of the historic structure while meeting the current technological/operational needs for launch. In the past few months they have used this pad for historic first launches, including the first-ever return of a rocket first stage. ›› Michigan: USACE’s Detroit District leases a building on the Soo Locks property for use as a maritime museum in the City of Sault Sainte Marie. ›› Washington, D.C.: GSA’s long-term lessor concluded a $200 million rehabilitation and adaptive use of the 1899 Old Post Office in Washington, D.C.’s Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site without any adverse effect to the historic building. The Romanesque Revival icon is now a hotel within pedestrian reach of museums, memorials, businesses, and government offices in Washington, D.C.’s monumental core. Revenue generated by the ground lease has already funded conservation of on-site art by Robert Irwin and the Benjamin Franklin statue on Pennsylvania Avenue. In 2017, the 315-foot bell tower reopened, offering panoramic views of the National Mall and landmarks of the nation’s capital. Operated by the NPS, access to the tower is free and open to the general public. Late in 2016, these two statutes were enacted that affect many real property-owning federal agencies. The Federal Property Management Reform Act (FPMR) tasks the FRPC with establishing a real property management template of measures, standards, milestones, etc. to reduce surplus federal property and achieve better utilization of underutilized property. Staff at GSA support the FRPC which issues the FRPP each year. Under the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act (FAST Act-Property), the yet-unfunded Public Buildings Reform Board is charged with identification of “high value assets” for disposal within a limited period of time. Both statues seek to advance the goals of earlier “Freeze the Footprint” and subsequent “Reduce the Footprint” White House policies. Federal agency “Reduce the Footprint” policies and procedures, and related legislation, address protection of historic properties, in various ways. Of the federal agencies that responded to this question in the ACHP’s reporting guidance, BLM, Reclamation, TVA, USPS, and the USCG are exempted from one or both laws by name. Other responding agencies, like DHS, own some properties that are specifically exempted “for reasons of national security.” The ACHP also supports the concept that Reclamation noted in its Section 3 report, regarding consideration of historic property values and significance as early as possible in disposal decision making because not all historic properties “hold a value that warrants their retention in the face of the expressed requirements to reduce the federal property inventory.” Meeting the requirements of the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act and the Federal Property Management Reform Act.
52 | IN A SPIRIT OF STEWARDSHIP: A REPORT ON FEDERAL HISTORIC PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 2018
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