Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-03-16
GSA Proposes
Secondb BUILDING
For Southwest
Leuse-Purchuse
Plan to Include
SIG Million Structure
By GEORGE BEvERIDGE

The General Services ADMIN
istration asked Congress today
to approve second big Federal
Office building in Southwest
Washington to be built under
the new lease-purchase con-
struction program.
The new multi million- dollar
structure. with a separate build
ing proposed for the Southwest
last year, would permit demoli-
ton of perhaps one-third of all
temporaries in the Mall area.
Neither of the buildings is
marked for any particular
agency. But under the lease
purchase legislation, an equiva-
lent amount of tempo space
would be RACED for each of the
buildings.
Cost Put at $3.50 Million
The building proposed today
would cost $16.3 million, occupy
$4,000 square feet of gross floor
area and house about 1900 en-
ployes. The building proposed
last July would cost $20.2 mil
lion and house about $500
workers.
The structure proposed last
year will be located within the re-
development area being planned
by the zeckendorf firm Of Webb
& Knapp.
GSA officials said the site in
mind for the building proposed
today would definitely be out
side the Zeckendorf area but
within the Southwest SO as to
harmonic and contribute to
the success of redevelopment."
Spokesman said they could not
pinpoint the area because land
must be acquired.
Site Is Indicated
The sites exclusion from the
zeckendorf area. however, virtu-
ally assures that it will be i'm
mediately south of Independence
avenue and north of the Penn
sylvania Railroad tracks, prob
ably between the new House
Once Building and the existing
Health. Education and Welfare
Department.
The Zeckendorf area takes up
most of the rest of the South
west, or other uses already are
proposed for other areas, so
there would be little possibility
of any other location in the
Southwest.
GSA officials said they have
discussed the new proposal sin
formally" with the National
Planning Commission. The COM
mission is expected to take a
formal position on it at an April
meeting.
Officials said they felt the to-
tai of 5000 new Federal en-
ployes who would be housed in
the two buildings will meet the
planners standards for maxi
mum Federal employment in
that area.
Will Distribute Workers
Spokesman for Webb g. Knapp
said they were extremely pleased
at the new proposal. They said
the 3,700 employees to be housed
within the Zeckendorf rede-
velopment area would be suffi-
cient to comply with plans.
Although GSA proposed that all
these $500 employees be housed
within one building. Webb g.
Knapp officials said plans now
call for distributing them among
three structures which would
line a broad mall along Tenth
street S.W.
A GSA statement said the two
new Southwest buildings would
furnish space for Is to 20 per
cent of the personnel presently
in tempos assigned to GSA."
A number of GSA-controlled
tempos, however, are outside the
immediate downtown area. So
the construction of the new
buildings could result in a higher
percentage of shacks on the Mall
being torn down. The GSA does
not control a number of Mall
tempos occupied by the Central
Intelligence Agency which are
expected to be RACED when the
CHA moves to Langley. Va.
The Public Works Committee
Of both the House and Senate
must approve both the new
buildings before GSA can hire