Evening star., 1932-06-07
GOVERNMENT PAYS
INCREASED RENTS
DESPITE BUILDING
Report for 1881 Shows Jump
of S361,152.24 Over
1880 Bill.
COST WILL DIMINISH
BY CONSTRUCTION PLAN
Work on Addition to City Post Of
flee May Begin During
Week.

Although giant buildings have been
built and are under way for the Gov
ernment here, Uncle Sam Is still paying
a rent bill in the District of Columbia
of sl,268,o64 35, the 1881 report Of the
Public Buildings Commission, submitted
yesterday by its executive officer, Lieut..
Col. U. S. Grant, Sd, to President
Hoover, revealed. This represents a
jump over the 1880 rental figures, when
the amount was s907,712.1l. The gov
eminent has rented properties in As
buildings here and owns 140 buildings,
the report pointed out. During the
year. the government turned back build
ings to their owners, saving a rental
by this move Of s34, ,760.68.
With construction Of additional pub
lie buildings, the report, prepared under
direction Of Karl J. Hardy. the COM
missions secretary, asserted, Uncle
Sans rent bill in this city will diminish
progressively.
May Begin Work.
First work on the new addition to
the city post Office may get under way
this week when II Is likely that the
garage may be vacated so that the old
structure can be torn down to make
way for the addition.
w. F. Smith, vice president of the
B w. Construction Co., of Chicago, Ill.
said today his company was ready TO
go ahead with the wrecking Of the old
building, which will be the first step in
the new post Office annex, but can
take no steps until the garage is COM
pletely vacated
The construction company has about
two years from receipt of notice to pro-
ceed in which to complete its job
The contract is for 81 ,999 900.
Summarize Work.
Summarizing the years work, the
Building Commission report surveys the
downtown triangle development
This so-called triangle contains 70
acres Of land and affords rare oppor-
tunity for group of monumental
buildings so designed and related as to
constitute a single great architectural
composition
While, perhaps, the buildings to be
erected in this area would appear more
individualistic and prominent by each
having an individual setting like the
Lincoln Memorial, such an arrangement
would have been extravagant of ground.
further justification for planning
these buildings as group constituting
single architectural composition Is
found in the fact that by destroying old
property lines and disregarding existing
streets about Is per cent more floor
area can be obtained than would other
wise be possible. This utilitarian ele-
ment. coupled with the harmonious
grouping of executive buildings results
in an architectural composite that will
be a distinctive product of the early
goth century. depicting the revival of
classic architecture for the use Of mod
ern business demands.
Money Is Saved.
What is known as the Northeas.
Triangle Area was opened to use for
buildings of the Federal Government in
a more or less official way by the COM
pletion and occupation Of the Internal
Revenue Building in June. 1880. This
building is saving the Government, by
decrease in rents, a quarter of a nil
lion dollars annually. as well as CO.
ordinating in one building bureaus that
were divided among 10 widely separated
buildings. Other decreases will
result as building after building is COM
pleted to house the remaining executive
lishmentS."
The report shows there has been an
increase over the period 1927 to 1891
of 1894, ,542 square feet. In the calen-
dar year 1881 the report points out
that there have been 20 moves of gov
ernment agencies charged to the Public
Buildings Commission. Preparation for
these moves cost S6,583.83, general over
head, s3,58l.56 and actual moving. S5,-
32574. The total cost was SIS, ,490.38.
There were 10 other moves made by
the commission, but these were handled
on a reimbursable basis The report
invites attention to the increasing de-
mands made upon the commission for
providing additional space. and con-
Sequently within the last few years it
has been under the necessity "of in
creasing its force, of enlarging its scope
OF activity, and of handling consider
able correspondence dealing not only
with the mechanics of allocating space,
but also with the formulating of policy
and precedent"