NCPC Final Report for CONSTRUCT NEW COMFORT STATION AT U.S. MARINE CORPS WAR MEMORIAL GEORGE WASHINGTON MEMORIAL PARKWAY Arlington, Virginia GWMP 231335 Prepared for: United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Denver Service Center 12795 W. Alameda Parkway Denver, Colorado 80225 Prepared by: EYP Architecture & Engineering 1000 Potomac Street, NW Washington, DC 20007 July 24, 2018 Arlington Ridge Park George Washington Memorial Parkway US Marine Corps War Memorial Comfort Station Project NCPC Concept Report 2/47 Arlington Ridge Park George Washington Memorial Parkway US Marine Corps War Memorial Comfort Station Project NCPC Concept Report Table of Contents Page Project Overview…………………………………………………………………………6 Project Background and Purpose…………………………………………………..…6 Political History……………………………………………………………………....7 Description of Project Area…………………………………………………………….7 Arlington Ridge Park………………………………………………………...……….7 Memorial Grounds……………………………………………………………………7 Description of Proposed Development and Alternatives…………………………..….8 Proposed Development……………………………………………………………….8 Project Design Option 1………………………………………………………….….10 Project Design Option 2……………………………………………………………..13 Final Option Selection……………………………….……………………………....15 Master Plan Alignment………………………………………………………………...16 Schedule…………………………………………………………………………………16 Project Cost Estimate………………………………………………….……………….17 Outreach and Coordination………………………………….……………………….18 Updates to Previous Submissions…………………..………………………………...21 Commission Comment from Prior Review……………………………………………21 Proposed Building………………………………………………………………...…….21 Exterior Materials…………………………………………………………………….22 Renderings, Plans, and Building Sections…………………...……………………….23 Site Plan………………………………………………………………………………….28 Vicinity Map…………………………………………………………….……………….29 Architectural and Design Program…………………………………………………….29 Site Program………………………………………………………………………….29 Architectural Program……………………………………………………….……….30 Landscape and Streetscape Plan……………………………………………………….32 Existing Vegetation………………………………………………………….……….32 Existing Topography………………………………………………………...……….32 Existing Lighting……………………………………………………………………..32 Proposed Vegetation………………………………………………………...……….33 Proposed Topography……………………………………………………….……….33 Proposed Site Material and Furnishings……………………………………………..33 Transportation and Circulation……………………………………………………….33 Circulation and Materials…………………………………...……………………….34 Perimeter Security……………………………………………………….……………..34 Photographs…………………………………………………………………………….35 3/47 Arlington Ridge Park George Washington Memorial Parkway US Marine Corps War Memorial Comfort Station Project NCPC Concept Report Table of Contents - continued Page Environmental and Historical Considerations……………………………….…37 Historic Preservation………………………………………………….………………37 Historic Significance Statement of the Cultural Landscape……………...………...37 Compliance with NPS Cultural Resources Management Policies………………….41 Natural Resources……………………………………………………………………..41 Energy…………………………………………………………………………...……..41 Public Realm and Viewsheds…………………………………………..……………..44 Flooding……………………………………………………………………….………..46 Stormwater Management……………………………………………………………..46 Green Roof……………………………………………………………………………..46 Appendix A – PEPC Report GWMP 231335 092618………………………….47 Appendix B – 100% Construction Documents Appendix C – Final CFA Booklet and Letter 4/47 Arlington Ridge Park George Washington Memorial Parkway US Marine Corps War Memorial Comfort Station Project NCPC Concept Report 5/47 Arlington Ridge Park George Washington Memorial Parkway US Marine Corps War Memorial Comfort Station Project NCPC Concept Report Project Overview Project Background and Purpose The U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial, completed in 1954, is located at Arlington Ridge Park within the George Washington Memorial Parkway. The Memorial honors "United States Marine Corps who have given their lives to their country since November 10, 1775", and depicts five U.S. Marines and a U.S. Navy corpsman raising the American flag on Iwo Jima during World War II. This iconic Memorial is sited immediately adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery, and it is also part of the Memorial Core and complements a series of monuments and historic sites in and around the Nation’s Capital. The Memorial is designated as a Category II Landmark by the Joint Capital Region Office of Design Services. The U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial presently hosts well over 1.2 million visitors annually but offers no Architectural Barriers Act Accessibility Standards (ABAAS) compliant comfort stations, visitor service features or visitor contact station. Portable toilets are the only restroom facilities currently available at the site. The high volume of visitation requires frequent service calls to pump, clean and maintain the portable toilet facilities. It is difficult to maintain a high level of cleanliness at the portable toilets, particularly during special events such as the U. S. Marine Corps Sunset Parade, which takes place every Tuesday evening from late May through August. Each Sunset Parade is attended by thousands of visitors. This project will construct a small comfort/contact station facility at the United States Marine Corps War Memorial. The facility is planned with a footprint of approximately 1,200 square feet to make the smallest possible imprint on the landscape. The facility will be designed to a minimum LEED Silver level. The planned location of the comfort station is removed from the nearby Memorial, while remaining visible and easily accessible to the public. The facility will include three accessible restrooms (male, female, and unisex) with low flow fixtures to replace several portable toilets currently being utilized. A small visitor contact station, a water bottle filling station, janitor closet, mechanical closet, and below grade sewer pump station are included for the planned facility. The facility and immediate site area will meet all ABAAS requirements. An accessible route will be provided from the nearby existing accessible parking and planned facility. The comfort station accessible path will tie into the existing pedestrian walkways. Expansion of public and staff parking is not planned for this project. A paved/semi-paved area will be provided near the new facility adjacent to the pedestrian walkways for event related commercial vehicles (portable restrooms or concessions trucks) and/or for the erection of tents to minimize damage to turf areas during large events. The project will also improve the outdoor lighting at the site to facilitate wayfinding to/from the comfort station 6/47 Arlington Ridge Park George Washington Memorial Parkway US Marine Corps War Memorial Comfort Station Project NCPC Concept Report Arlington Ridge Park . Figure 1: Map of the George Washington Memorial Parkway Historic District and Cultural Landscape (Source: National Park Service) 7/47 Arlington Ridge Park George Washington Memorial Parkway US Marine Corps War Memorial Comfort Station Project NCPC Concept Report Political History There is substantial political interest regarding this project. House Resolution (H.R.) 4789 (114th Congress) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to “establish a structure for visitor services on the Arlington Ridge tract, in the area of the U. S. Marine Corps War Memorial”. H.R. 4789 was introduced on March 17, 2016, by Congressman Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (D-VA). The bill was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands. On May 24, 2016, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On June 14, 2016, the Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered, and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent on June 15, 2016. On July 14, 2016, this H.R. was committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed. Another resolution was passed through the House in February 2017, HR 1073, which included the same language as the 2016 version. The Department of the Interior supports the bill. Description of Project Area Arlington Ridge Park Arlington Ridge Park, one of 25 park units within the administrative unit of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, is a 27.5-acre site which surrounds two major memorials set within two distinct landscape treatments. To the north the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial is a symmetrical, formal landscape focused on the memorial statue and including the parade ground and the reviewing stands. To the south the Netherlands Carillon structure is in the center of a small plaza surrounded by a meandering, naturalistic landscape. To the west of the Carillon is an area of mature woods which visually separates the Carillon from the adjacent residential neighborhood. Changes to the natural topography have occurred to create the George Washington Memorial Parkway itself between the park and the river and to provide level ground for both memorials. Memorial Grounds The grounds of the U.S. Marine Corp War Memorial and Netherlands Carillon are open from 6am until midnight year-round. The National Park Service Division of Visitor Service provided the following rough sketch of the historic visitation to the Memorial in a February 3, 2016 memo and serves as the basis for the program requirements noted in this document. Peak (traditionally July and August) hourly visitation: o Estimated to be 250 – 300 at a single point in time