Evening star., 1946-02-07
GAO Building,
Heating Plant
Funds Asked
$l1,303. IT'S Sought
Ahead Of Main Bill.
For Critical Projects

authorize construction of a $19,-
SOC, 900 home for the General Ac-
counting Office, now scattered in
20 buildings in Washington, and
completion of the West Central
Heating Plant, K street at Rock
Greek, started on its way through
Congress today.
The bill introduced yesterday
by Chairman Lanham of
the House Committee on Public
Buildings and Grounds, also would
provide 100000 to purchase land
for future Government building
sites here which are in immediate
danger of being greatly increased
in value by expensive building i'm
provements.
Mr.. Lanham, whose committee
now is considering the administra-
tion,s postwar Federal buildings
bill, which would authorize eventual
construction of about 5000, 900 900
worth of public buildings in and
near Washington, explained he had
introduced the interim measure SO
that handful of top critical build
ing projects would not have to wait
for passage of the main bill.
Also Provides Annex.
The interim bill authorizes in
creased cost for both the GAO and
heating plant projects, to meet the
rise in building costs. In addition
it would provide for construction
of an annex to the new GAO build
ing, for which $9,850, 900 was made
available in 1910.
OF this sum, $1,653,775 was spent
for land and excavation at Fifth and
G streets NV, leaving $8,196,2
unspent. Hence the bill introduced
yesterday would call for an addi-'
tional appropriation of $11 ,303,775
Land has not as yet been pur-
chased for the GAO annex, which
is expected to be located in block
adjacent to that already excavated
for the main building and connected
to the main building by a tunnel.
In the case of the West Central
Heating Plant a cost limit of
100000 was authorized in 194l.
Cost under the new bill would be
$7,750,0 900.
The bill does not specify what
sites would be purchased with the
$4,000, 900 earmarked out of pre-
vious appropriations, but 1t prob
ably will be spent to purchase land
for the proposed new Navy Depart
ment.
Cites Price Increase.
w. E. Reynolds, commissioner of
public buildings, last fall told Mr..
Lanham's committee:
The property in that area (pro-
posed Navy Department site, bound
ed by Virginia and New Hampshire
avenues, Twenty third street, Con-
stitution avenue and the Potomac
River) has been Increasing in price
very rapidly in the last few years.
"One reason we are anxious to
get authority at this time for the
purchase of the land - is that
the Heurich Brewing Co. has draw
ings prepared for a new brewery
on the present site. This location
for a Navy building is about the
only location in the District Of Co.
lumbia suitable for a project of
that kind. This would mean later
on-if you postponed the purchase
until such time as we received con-
struction money for the building
We would be required to buy new
buildings rather than old ones.
S46,500,O for Navy.
The new building for the Navy,
only Government department which
has no permanent building of its
own, is proposed in the main build
ing bill to cost $46, SOC, 900, including
purchase of land for the site.
The new bill would also authorize
PBA to maintain survey of use of
Government-owned and leased space
to determine the extent to which
consultations, reassignments and
reallocations" would be advanta-
|geous to the Government. PBA al
ready does this to some extent, but
its control of some space is weak
ened by the fact that some old line
agencies were accorded control over
specific buildings in basic construc-
ton legislation before there was
any PBA.
The bill would also authorize $13,-
100000 worth of other building and
land purchase projects outside of
Washington which are considered
critical. -