Section 106 Assessment of Effects Report Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library Rehabilitation & Modernization 901 G Street, NW, Washington, DC December 1, 2015 | Prepared on behalf of the National Capital Planning Commission MLK Library Project Team National Capital Planning Commission DC Public Library Mecanoo Martinez + Johnson EHT Traceries, Inc. Stantec Jair Lynch Development Partners TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 3 Description of the Undertaking �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 5 Description of the Project ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 7 Project Area ........................................................................................................................................7 Project Goals......................................................................................................................................7 Project Scope......................................................................................................................................7 Identification of Historic Resources ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 12 Delineation of Area of Potential Effects ............................................................................................12 Historic Properties Located within the Area of Potential Effect ........................................................12 Existing Conditions ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 25 Identification of Effects ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 31 Criteria of Adverse Effect .................................................................................................................31 Determination of Effect ...................................................................................................................31 MLK Library....................................................................................................................................31 Other Historic Properties in APE .....................................................................................................34 Summary of Determination of Effect ............................................................................................... 36 Documentation of Section 106 Consultation ...................................................................................38 List of Appendices Appendix A: Project Drawings Appendix B: Consulting Party Meeting Minutes and Written Comments Received All text and photographs by EHT Traceries unless otherwise cited. All renderings and floor plans by Mecanoo/Martinez + Johnson. December 1, 2015 2 Section 106 Assessment of Effects Report EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL) is proposing to rehabilitate and modernize the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial (MLK) Library located at 901 G Street, NW, in Washington, DC. The project proposes to add a fifth-floor addition to MLK Library and to rehabilitate and modernize the building and site. The project drawings are attached as Appendix A. The project is subject to the review of the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) under the National Capital Planning Act of 1952. An approval action by NCPC is an Undertaking subject to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, as amended, 54 USC § 300101 and its implementing regulations, 36 CFR § 800. NCPC is the lead federal agency responsible for Section 106 compliance for the proposed project as the District of Columbia government is not a federal agency and is not independently required to fulfill the requirements of Section 106 consultation. NCPC initiated consultation with the DC State Historic Preservation Office (DCHPO) regarding the MLK Library project on September 17, 2014 pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 800. At that time, NCPC identified a list of consulting parties as well as a preliminary Area of Potential Effects (APE). The identified organizations represent national and local interests in preservation and development, particularly those concerned with the planning of Downtown Washington. The preliminary APE was refined in consultation with DCPL, DCHPO, and other consulting parties. The APE boundaries are Eye, Thirteenth, F, Tenth, E, and Seventh Streets and New York Avenue, NW. The boundaries of the APE overlap with portions of the Downtown Historic District, the Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site, the L’Enfant Plan/Plan of the City of Washington, and the pending Downtown Historic District Boundary Expansion. It also includes a number of individual resources listed in the DC Inventory of Historic Sites and/or the National Register of Historic Places. Concurrently, with the Section 106 consultation process, NCPC is preparing an Environmental Assessment (EA) to analyze the environmental impacts of the project under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Three action alternatives are analyzed in the EA, and NCPC and DCPL have identified the Fifth Floor Trapezoidal Addition as the preferred alternative. NCPC has hosted a series of Section 106 meetings to discuss the alternatives including a joint NEPA/Section 106 meeting on October 7, 2014, and two additional Section 106 consulting party meetings on November 19, 2014 and July 14, 2015. The meeting minutes and consulting party comments have been included in Appendix B. The complete presentations from all Section 106 meetings can be found on NCPC’s website (http:// www.ncpc.gov/project/mlklibrary). This assessment of effects report analyzes the preferred alternative, the Fifth Floor Trapezoidal Addition and provides the following documentation required by 36 CFR 800.11(e): 1. Description of the Undertaking 2. Description of the project (preferred alternative) 3. Description of the Area of Potential Effects and identification of historic properties; 4. Assessment of effects on historic properties; and 5. Copies and summaries of views provided by consulting parties and the public. Based on the analysis presented in this report, and in consultation with DCPL, DCHPO, and other consulting parties, NCPC has determined that the rehabilitation of MLK Library will have an adverse effect on historic properties, specifically the MLK Library building and site. NCPC has determined that there would be no adverse effect to all other historic properties located in the APE. To resolve the adverse effects associated with the project, NCPC intends to pursue the negotiation and execution of a 3 EHT Traceries, Inc. MLK Library memorandum of agreement (MOA) according to 36 CFR 800.6(c). December 1, 2015 4 Section 106 Assessment of Effects Report DESCRIPTION OF THE UNDERTAKING The project is subject to the review of the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) under the National Capital Planning Act of 1952. An approval action by NCPC is an Undertaking subject to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, as amended, 54 USC § 300101 and its implementing regulations, 36 CFR § 800. NCPC is the lead federal agency responsible for Section 106 compliance for the proposed project as the District of Columbia government is not a federal agency and is not independently required to fulfill the requirements of Section 106 consultation. Summary of Section 106 Consultation NCPC initiated consultation with the DCHPO regarding the MLK Library project on September 17, 2014 pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 800. A joint NEPA public scoping meeting and consulting parties meeting was held on October 7, 2014, in which the NEPA alternatives were presented. Subsequent consulting parties meetings were held on November 19, 2014 and July 14, 2015. Minutes and comments received for those meetings have been included in Appendix B. The complete presentations from all Section 106 meetings can be found on NCPC’s website (http://www.ncpc.gov/project/mlklibrary). NEPA and Section 106 Coordination In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and in cooperation with DCPL, NCPC is also preparing an Environmental Assessment (EA) to analyze potential impacts associated with the range of alternatives under consideration. NCPC is coordinating the Section 106 and NEPA processes per the implementing regulations (36 CFR § 800.8) of the NHPA. The EA analyzes a no action alternative and three action alternatives including Alternative A: Fifth Floor Existing Screen Addition, Alternative B: Fifth Floor Trapezoidal Addition; and Alternative C: Fifth Floor Extruded Addition. The primary difference among the alternatives is the form of the proposed fifth floor addition. Alternative A limits the addition’s size to the existing footprint of the screen walls and core penthouse enclosures. The addition would generally have the same volume and visibility of the existing elements, although it would be clad in a more transparent material. The addition would provide access to a new roof terrace. Alternative B proposes a fifth floor addition with an expanded footprint as compared to the existing penthouse and screen wall enclosures, resulting in a larger building addition and smaller roof terrace. The addition would have a trapezoidal form with curved corners. Alternative