Description of document: General Services Administration (GSA) Determination of Eligibility Study for the J. Edgar Hoover Building, 2014 Requested date: 24-October-2020 Release date: 07-December-2020 Posted date: 25-January-2021 Source of document: U.S. General Services Administration FOIA Requester Service Center (H3A) 1800 F Street, NW, 7308 Washington, DC 20405-0001 Fax: 202-501-2727 FOIAonline The governmentattic.org web site (“the site”) is a First Amendment free speech web site and is noncommercial and free to the public. The site and materials made available on the site, such as this file, are for reference only. The governmentattic.org web site and its principals have made every effort to make this information as complete and as accurate as possible, however, there may be mistakes and omissions, both typographical and in content. 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Office of General Counsel FOIA Requester Service Center December 7, 2020 This letter is in response to your U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request number (GSA-2021-000120), submitted October 24, 2020, in which you requested: "a copy of all deliverable reports, particularly the determination of eligibility study, resulting from the delivery order GSP1113MK5006 of contract GS11 P12YAD0011GER, awarded by the Public Buildings Service - WPHBA - CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION BRANCH, to Geier Brown Renfrow Architects, LLC. The contract is for DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY STUDY FOR THE J. EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING (FBI)." Enclosed please find the document responsive to your request. In processing your request, GSA withheld confidential and proprietary financial information pursuant to the fourth exemption of FOIA, 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(4). The fourth statutory exemption requires an Agency to withhold "trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person that is privileged or confidential." In addition, information showing building plans and floor plans has been redacted pursuant to the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(5), as this information is related to the deliberative process associated with planning for building security. Additionally, pursuant to the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. § 552(7)(F), GSA has withheld agency specific security and related information, such as building plans/drawings, the release of which could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual. Finally, GSA also withheld a signature, pursuant to the sixth exemption of FOIA, 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(6). This was done because public disclosure of this information would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Furthermore, we have determined that the disclosure of this information would shed little or no light on the performance of the agency's statutory duties. U.S General Services Administration 1800 F. Street, Northwest Washington, DC 20405 Telephone: (877) 675-FOIA Fax: (202) 501-2727 2 As we have redacted information referenced in the above paragraphs with the aforementioned FOIA exemptions, this technically constitutes a partial denial of your FOIA request. You have the right to appeal the denial of the information being withheld. You may submit an appeal online at the following link (https://www.foiaonline.gov/foiaonline/action/public/home) or in writing to the following address: U.S. General Services Administration FOIA Requester Service Center (LG) 1800 F Street, NW, Room 7308 Washington, DC 20405 Your appeal must be postmarked or electronically transmitted within 90 days of the date of the response to your request. In addition, your appeal must contain a brief statement of the reasons why the requested information should be released. Please enclose a copy of your initial request and this denial. Both the appeal letter and envelope or online appeal submission should be prominently marked, "Freedom of Information Act Appeal." This completes action on your request. Should you have questions, you may contact me at [email protected] or contact our GSA FOIA Public Liaison, Duane Smith, at (202) 694-2934 or by email at [email protected] for any additional assistance and to discuss any aspect of your FOIA request. Additionally, you may contact the Office of Government Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is as follows: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road-OGIS, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001, email at [email protected]; telephone at (202) 741-5770; toll free at (877) 684-6448; or facsimile at (202) 741-5769. Sincerely, {;,av-I~ fuvi~ FOIA Program Manager Office of General Counsel General Services Administration Enclosure DC STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY FORM PROPERTY INFORMATION Property Name(s): J. Edgar Hoover Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Headquarters Street Address(es): 935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20535 Square(s) and Lot(s): Square 378, Lots 852 and 820 Property Owner(s): General Services Administration Please include a current map(s) to indicate the location of the property/properties. The property/properties is/are being evaluated for potential historical significance as/for: An individual building or structure. A contributing element of a historic district (specify): A possible expansion of a historic district (specify): A previously unevaluated historic district to be known as (specify): An archaeological resource with site number(s) (specify): An object (e.g. statue, stone marker etc.) (specify): A new multiple property/thematic study regarding (specify): Association with a multiple property/thematic study (specify): Other (specify): Source: Bing Maps, Microsoft 2014 DC STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY FORM Description, rationale for determination, photos & other pertinent information (enter below): Executive Summary Introduction The following study provides an evaluation of the eligibility of the J. Edgar Hoover Building Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Building in Washington, DC, better known as the FBI Building, for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The evaluation was prepared in accordance with the National Register Criteria for Evaluation. The General Service Administration’s (GSA) Eligibility Assessment Tool was utilized for the initial identification analysis that led to this Determination of Eligibility (DOE) but the formal evaluation was made in accordance with the National Register Criteria for Evaluation. As this property will not meet the typical minimum 50-year threshold for National Register consideration until the year 2025, Criteria Consideration G, Eligibility for Exceptional Importance, was applied. This DOE includes a brief discussion of the project purpose, the study methodology, and a context of the planning, design, and construction of the FBI Building. The report also provides a physical description of the building and site, an assessment of the FBI Building’s integrity of location, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, and a statement of significance (i.e. determination of eligibility). Purpose The purpose of this report is to provide the General Services Administration (GSA) with an objective and independent professional assessment of the eligibility of the FBI Building to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Under the regulatory requirements of Section 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (as amended), GSA is directed to identify, evaluate, and nominate to the National Register of Historic Places qualifying properties under its ownership. This Determination of Eligibility will allow the GSA to better guide planning and decision-making for the future disposition of the building and site. GSA commissioned this report to fulfill its Section 110 statutory obligations. Methodology To properly assess the potential eligibility of the FBI Building and place it in context, Quinn Evans Architects conducted research on the FBI Building directly related to the history of the building as well as the building’s place in history locally and nationally. Available primary and secondary source documentation was collected and reviewed to develop the background, context, and a statement of significance. Sources included materials provided by the GSA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA), the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Ryerson and Burnham Library at the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Chicago History Museum. These repositories provided published histories, newspaper articles, journal articles, oral histories, original drawings, correspondence, and meeting transcripts and minutes. In additional to published materials