Government

Suitland Federal Center's new master plan, begun in March, is moving forward with Leo A. Daly as the prime contractor. Completion of a preliminary plan for the U.S. General Services Administration is anticipated in June 2000. Among the agencies housed at the 185-acre complex are the National Archives and Records Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Bureau of the Census. The master plan anticipates construction of a new 207,970-gsf facility for the NOAA at a cost of $51,737,000.

OSHA proposes new ergonomics standards. Under this new proposal about 1/3 of the general industry worksites will be affected and over 27 million employees covered. The proposal currently identifies several elements for a full implementation of an ergonomics program:

The General Services Administration (GSA) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) have plans for two new facilities. A new 350,000-sf ATF Headquarters Building will accommodate more than 1,100 ATF employees in Northeast Washington.

Construction began in January on the new 176,000-sf National Laboratory Center at a 35-acre site in Beltsville which will house support staff and 3 ATF labs: the Alcohol & Tobacco Laboratory, the Forensic Laboratory, and the Fire Research Laboratory.

The Department of Defense has contracted with Consolidated Engineering Services of Arlington for the operation and maintenance of three buildings in Northern Virginia and the District.

The management contract for a building that will house government contractors has been awarded to Cushman & Wakefield's Washington office. Completion of the facility is scheduled for early 2001.

The FBI has hired Clark Construction of Bethesda, Md., as general contractor for a $106 million project. A 460,000-sf forensics lab and a 28,000-sf utility plant will be built at Quantico for the laboratory division, which will relocate from the Bureau's District of Columbia headquarters.

National Museum of the American Indian, the Smithsonian's tenth museum on Capital Mall, began construction in September. The new five-story, $110 million museum is scheduled to open in 2002 and will focus on American Indians in the Western Hemisphere, including over 1,000 Indian communities.