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February 2, 2012
NCPC approved the final master plan submitted by the US Army Corps of Engineers for the Intelligence Community Campus-Bethesda, a federal facility on Sangamore Road in Bethesda, Maryland.
The Corps plans to completely redevelop the approximately 39-acre site. Plans call for the retention of three buildings with new façade treatments and the addition of two new infill buildings. A parking garage and new landscaping will replace existing surface parking lots and decrease impervious surfaces by 50 percent.
In its approval the Commission commended the Corps for its efforts in reusing and modernizing an existing federal facility while simultaneously acknowledging its historical significance. NCPC also commended the Corps and the local community for their extensive coordination in resolving issues regarding the size, location, and capacity of the parking garage, as well as the local community’s key concerns regarding tree loss, stormwater management, traffic, and parking.
In December 2011 the Commission deferred action on the master plan and required the Corps to analyze alternatives to the size, location, and capacity of the parking garage. Since then, the Corps, the community, and NCPC staff worked together extensively on revisions to the master plan that resulted in an improved overall site design, a smaller and reoriented parking garage, reduced onsite parking, and a substantial decrease in required tree removal than originally proposed. In its approval, the Commission also requested the applicant to strive to limit tree removal to no more than 0.2 acres, and to design storm water management facilities with the goal of treating and retaining 100 percent of storm water for a 25-year storm.
The campus components, including Phase 1/North Campus (including the parking garage, entry control facility, and visitor control facility) and Phase 2/South Campus (including redevelopment of, and new construction for, sit office facilities) will come before NCPC for review later this year.
The campus will have a maximum of 3,000 employees. This is approximately the same number as when it functioned as the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency headquarters prior to its relocation to Fort Belvoir as part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Act.
See the Commission Action and Recommendation
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[Begins at 7:07]
The Commission also approved plans submitted by the General Services Administration (GSA) for preliminary and final site development plans for streetscape and site improvements at the Lafayette Building, a federally owned building located at 811 Vermont Avenue, NW. The building is home to offices of the Veterans Administration and the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
GSA proposes a complete overhaul of the building’s surrounding public space including new trees, benches, street lighting, and pavement. The work will be done as part of the building’s current renovation expected to be complete in 2016.
See the Commission Action and Recommendation
Watch the Video
[Begins at 2:05:56]
Consent Calendar: The Commission voted on Consent Calendar items without staff presentations or public testimony.
Delegated Decisions: Projects for which the Commission delegated decision-making authority to the Chairman, Executive Committee, or Executive Director.