FOSTERING INTER-AGENCY COORDINATION TO ENCOURAGE OUTLEASING OF FEDERAL HISTORIC BUILDINGS
The ACHP made a specific finding in its 2018 report that directly related to fostering and encouraging the reuse of historic facilities by federal agencies, or others, to create cost- effective preservation outcomes. Specifically, the ACHP tasked itself with convening an inter-agency workgroup to review impediments to outleasing and develop success stories and guidance on consolidation and inter-agency collaboration for co-location in federally owned historic buildings. Accompanying this analysis and guidance would be training for relevant agency personnel. Former Chairman Jorjani established the ACHP’s Leveraging Federal Historic Buildings Working Group (LWG) in the fall of 2019. The LWG membership included representatives from six key federal agencies that manage significant and complex property holdings and have leasing authority, as well as two nonfederal stakeholders that play an important role in the national preservation program.
• Department of Veterans Affairs • General Services Administration • National Aeronautics and Space Administration • National Park Service • Department of Agriculture • U.S. Postal Service • National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers • National Trust for Historic Preservation
The LWG was charged with helping the ACHP develop recommendations for overcoming obstacles to increased leasing of federal historic buildings to nonfederal partners (often referred to as outleasing), and providing guidance on agency reuse and consolidation in federal historic buildings. Early in the LWG’s discussions, members decided to focus their efforts solely on outleasing. To that end, the LWG endeavored to develop “best practices” for leasing federal historic buildings to nonfederal partners, identify leasing policy issues that may warrant attention from the Office of Management and Budget, and develop outleasing success stories that demonstrate how agencies have overcome outleasing challenges while preserving and using federal historic buildings. The LWG also considered the importance of fostering a supporting network across the federal government to serve as a resource for other federal agencies looking to improve and expand their outleasing programs. Goals also included assessing the status of federal outleasing, formulating recommendations, and advancing utilization of the nation’s historic federal buildings— perhaps identifying the need for possible executive action. The LWG’s recommendations have been incorporated into the findings and recommendations in Chapter 5. In recognition of the importance of leasing to nonfederal partners as a preservation stewardship strategy, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the ACHP presented the Award for Federal Partnerships in Historic Preservation to GSA’s Section 111 Outleasing Program in 2020. The award honors outstanding partnerships that advance the preservation of important historic resources and have an impact on the community. Led by the Center for Historic Buildings, Office of the Chief Architect, the GSA Section 111 Outleasing Program is an innovative federal agency model for the effective use of excess space in historic buildings. This nationwide program leases space in historic federally owned buildings for rehabilitation and reuse by the community, making federal buildings more accessible to the public and contributing to the vitality of the
IN A SPIRIT OF STEWARDSHIP: A REPORT ON FEDERAL HISTORIC PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 2021 | 47
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