This is the accessible text file for GAO report number GAO-04-933 
entitled 'Kennedy Center: More Information on Project Status and 
Budgets Needed to Understand the Impact of Future Funding Decisions' 
which was released on September 20, 2004.

This text file was formatted by the U.S. Government Accountability 
Office (GAO) to be accessible to users with visual impairments, as part 
of a longer term project to improve GAO products' accessibility. Every 
attempt has been made to maintain the structural and data integrity of 
the original printed product. Accessibility features, such as text 
descriptions of tables, consecutively numbered footnotes placed at the 
end of the file, and the text of agency comment letters, are provided 
but may not exactly duplicate the presentation or format of the printed 
version. The portable document format (PDF) file is an exact electronic 
replica of the printed version. We welcome your feedback. Please E-mail 
your comments regarding the contents or accessibility features of this 
document to Webmaster@gao.gov.

This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright 
protection in the United States. It may be reproduced and distributed 
in its entirety without further permission from GAO. Because this work 
may contain copyrighted images or other material, permission from the 
copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to reproduce this 
material separately.

Report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies, 
Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives: 

September 2004: 

KENNEDY CENTER: 

More Information on Project Status and Budgets Needed to Understand the 
Impact of Future Funding Decisions: 

GAO-04-933: 

GAO Highlights: 

Highlights of GAO-04-933, a report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on 
Interior and Related Agencies, Committee on Appropriations, House of 
Representatives

Why GAO Did This Study: 

Since fiscal year 1995, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing 
Arts (Center) has been responsible and received federal funding for 
implementing capital improvement projects and operations and 
maintenance activities. The Kennedy Center’s Comprehensive Building 
Plan identifies capital projects needed to renovate the Center and 
bring it into compliance with current life safety and accessibility 
codes. The Kennedy Center currently is planning to construct, with 
private funds, two new buildings to open in 2013 on a new plaza to be 
built adjacent to the existing facility. The Kennedy Center expects 
federal funding to operate and maintain these buildings. GAO was asked 
to examine (1) how much the Center has received in federal 
appropriations for capital projects, (2) the status of the 
Comprehensive Building Plan and updates, and (3) the potential impact 
of the Center’s plaza project on the need for future operations and 
maintenance funding. 

What GAO Found: 

For fiscal years 1995 through 2004, the Kennedy Center received 
approximately $152 million in federal appropriations for capital 
projects identified in its Comprehensive Building Plan. According to 
its fiscal year 2002 Comprehensive Building Plan, the Kennedy Center 
will need an additional $57 million in federal appropriations from 
fiscal year 2005 through fiscal year 2008 to complete its planned 
capital projects. 

The Kennedy Center has completed many of the capital projects 
identified in the Comprehensive Building Plan and has many more 
ongoing. However, we do not expect the Center to be able to complete 
all of the capital projects identified in the plan by fiscal year 
2008. This is in part because the Kennedy Center reprioritized the 
sequence of its planned projects to minimize disruptions to its 
patrons. Several of the projects that will likely not be completed 
include components, such as the installation of sprinklers, that are 
important in meeting the Kennedy Center’s goal of bringing the 
facility into compliance with current life safety codes. However, the 
Comprehensive Building Plan does not discuss changes to its 
prioritization of projects or the impact of those changes on 
completing its planned renovations. In addition, the updates to the 
plan do not include information on the status of projects identified 
in earlier plans or provide budget information for individual 
projects. As a result, the Comprehensive Building Plan is of limited 
use for understanding the Kennedy Center’s progress in completing its 
planned renovations. 

Operations and maintenance costs for the plaza project, including two 
new buildings, could range from $6 million to $11 million annually, in 
current dollars, based on data from a survey of museum facility 
management practices and Kennedy Center data. The Kennedy Center 
expects to request additional annual federal appropriations for these 
costs. However, because the project is currently in the early planning 
phase, the operations and maintenance estimate could change as designs 
are finalized. In fiscal year 2004, the Center received about $16 
million for the operations and maintenance costs of the existing 
facility. 
 
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts: 

[See PDF for image]

[End of figure]

What GAO Recommends: 

GAO recommends the Kennedy Center annually update the Comprehensive 
Building Plan, as required by law, and include project prioritization, 
status, and budget information for ongoing and planned capital 
projects. In commenting on a draft of this report, the President of 
the Kennedy Center agreed with our recommendation and provided 
clarifying comments.

www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-04-933.

To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on 
the link above. For more information, contact Peter F. Guerrero at 
(202) 512-4907 or guerrerop@gao.gov.

[End of section]

Contents: 

Letter: 

Results in Brief: 

Background: 

Kennedy Center Has Received Over $150 Million for Capital Projects: 

It Is Unlikely That Building Plan Will be Fully Implemented by 2008, 
and More Project Information Is Needed in the Plan: 

Kennedy Center Will Likely Request Additional Operations and 
Maintenance Funding for Its New Plaza Project: 

Conclusions: 

Recommendation: 

Agency Comments: 

Appendixes: 

Appendix I: Scope and Methodology: 

Appendix II: Kennedy Center Capital Projects: 

Appendix III: Comments from the John F. Kennedy Center for the 
Performing Arts: 

Appendix IV: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments: 

GAO Contact: 

Staff Acknowledgments: 

Tables: 

Table 1: Requested and Actual Federal Appropriations for Kennedy Center 
Capital Projects: 

Table 2: Status of the Kennedy Center's Projects Since Fiscal Year 
1995, as of February 29, 2004: 

Table 3: Capital Projects Completed by the Kennedy Center Since Fiscal 
Year 1995, as of February 29, 2004: 

Table 4: Capital Projects Ongoing or Under Way at the Kennedy Center as 
of February 29, 2004: 

Table 5: Capital Projects Planned for Future Years at the Kennedy 
Center as of February 29, 2004: 

Table 6: Capital Projects Not Implemented or Postponed at the Kennedy 
Center as of February 29, 2004: 

Figures: 

Figure 1: The Proposed Plaza Project: 

Figure 2: Kennedy Center Opera House during and after Renovation: 

Abbreviations: 

Building Plan: Comprehensive Building Plan: 

Center: John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts: 

O&M: operations and maintenance: 

OMB: Office of Management and Budget: 

Letter September 15, 2004: 

The Honorable Charles Taylor: 
Chairman: 
Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies:
Committee on Appropriations: 
House of Representatives: 

Dear Mr. Chairman: 

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Center) opened in 
1971 in Washington, D.C., as both a national cultural arts center and a 
memorial to the 35th President. The Kennedy Center, open every day of 
the year, is visited by nearly 5 million people annually. By 1990, the 
Kennedy Center suffered from severe deterioration and a backlog of 
capital repairs. Responsibility for managing the Kennedy Center was 
shared between the National Park Service and the Kennedy Center itself. 
Officials from both agencies acknowledged that the Center had reached a 
seriously deteriorated state due to the lack of a clear mandate as to 
which agency was responsible for identifying and completing capital 
repairs and alterations.

In 1994, Congress transferred responsibility for the management of the 
Kennedy Center facility from the National Park Service to the Kennedy 
Center. At that time, Congress also required the Kennedy Center to 
develop, and annually update, a comprehensive building needs plan. In 
response, the Kennedy Center developed a Comprehensive Building Plan in 
1995 that included an assessment of the facility and identified the 
capital projects it believed were necessary to restore the Center to 
the standards of a presidential memorial and bring it into compliance 
with current life safety and accessibility codes. The Kennedy Center 
has been gradually renovating the Center since 1995. Among other 
improvements, the Center has renovated its two largest theaters, 
replaced the roof, installed a new fire alarm system and improved its 
building systems, such as its heating and air-conditioning and plumbing 
systems.

The Kennedy Center is also working with the U.S. Department of 
Transportation and organizations within the District of Columbia to 
develop a new public plaza adjacent to the current facility, improving 
road and pedestrian access. The plaza project includes two new 
buildings located on the plaza to provide additional office, classroom, 
and rehearsal space and house permanent and rotating exhibits on the 
history of performing arts. These buildings will be constructed with 
private donations, but the Center expects to fund the operations and 
maintenance (O&M) of the buildings with federal appropriations.

To assist the subcommittee in its oversight role and in making future 
funding decisions related to the Center and plaza building project, our 
report discusses (1) how much the Kennedy Center has received in 
federal appropriations for capital improvement projects[Footnote 1] for 
fiscal years 1995 through 2004, (2) the status of the Comprehensive 
Building Plan and its updates, and (3) the potential impact of the 
Kennedy Center's proposed plaza project on the need for future federal 
funds to pay for the cost of operating and maintaining the new 
buildings and plaza.

To determine the amount of federal appropriations the Kennedy Center 
requested and received for capital improvement projects for fiscal 
years 1995 through 2004, we reviewed the Kennedy Center's Comprehensive 
Building Plan and its updates; its budget justifications and audited 
financial statements; and federal authorization and appropriation laws. 
To determine the status of the Kennedy Center's Comprehensive Building 
Plan and its updates we toured the Kennedy Center facility; obtained a 
status of the projects, including costs, from Kennedy Center officials 
and its financial system; and discussed the projects with Kennedy 
Center officials. To determine the potential impact of the Center's 
proposed plaza project on the need for future federal funds, we 
calculated the potential O&M costs based on museum survey data of 
facility management practices and the Kennedy Center's projected O&M 
rates. We discussed with Kennedy Center officials how these rates were 
determined, and we verified with the agency that conducted the survey 
that the museum rates provided were accurate. We researched building 
industry sources for estimates of O&M rates and determined that the 
Kennedy Center's projected rates were reasonable given the currently 
available information. We also determined that project status and cost 
data were sufficiently reliable for the purpose of our review. We 
conducted our work from January 2004 through July 2004 in accordance 
with generally accepted government auditing standards (see app. I for 
more information on our scope and methodology).

Results in Brief: 

The Kennedy Center received about $152 million in federal 
appropriations for capital improvement projects for fiscal years 1995 
through 2004. In each of these fiscal years, the Kennedy Center 
generally received the amount it requested. According to its 2002 
Comprehensive Building Plan, to complete the projects identified in the 
plan, the Kennedy Center will need an additional $57 million in federal 
appropriations for capital projects for fiscal years 2005 through 2008.

Most of the capital projects identified in the Kennedy Center's 
Comprehensive Building Plan and its updates have been completed or are 
ongoing. However, we believe that the Kennedy Center will be unable to 
complete all of the capital projects identified in its Comprehensive 
Building Plan with the anticipated future appropriations by the end of 
fiscal year 2008, as planned. Several large projects still remain to be 
done, and project budgets are preliminary and will likely increase as 
the projects are designed. Furthermore, the Comprehensive Building Plan 
has not been updated annually as required by law, and it does not 
provide specific project status and budget information. This limits the 
usefulness of the plan and inhibits Congress's ability to know the 
impact of funding decisions or judge the performance and progress of 
the Center's capital projects.

We calculated that operations and maintenance costs for the proposed 
plaza project, including the two new buildings, could range from $6 
million to $11 million annually, in current dollars. However, this is a 
preliminary estimate that will likely change as the building design is 
finalized. This calculation is based on the Kennedy Center's estimate 
that its operations and maintenance costs could range from $15 to $20 
per square foot for the proposed plaza project. In addition, we 
estimated that O&M costs for the proposed project could be $28 per 
gross square foot of space. The Kennedy Center expects to request 
federal appropriations for these costs, in addition to what it 
currently receives for operations and maintenance costs for the 
existing Center. In fiscal year 2004, the Center received about $16 
million for the operations and maintenance of the existing Center. The 
plaza and buildings project is in the early planning phase, and 
decisions made about the project through the design phase will affect 
actual O&M costs. The project is planned to be occupied in 2013, which 
would be the first year annual O&M funds would be needed for the new 
buildings.

We are making a recommendation to the Kennedy Center President and 
Board of Trustees to improve the usefulness of the Comprehensive 
Building Plan by including project updates, status, and budget 
information.

Background: 

The Kennedy Center opened in 1971 and is located on 17 acres along the 
Potomac River in Washington, D.C. The Center houses four major theaters 
and several smaller theaters, five public halls or galleries, 
educational facilities, rehearsal spaces, offices, and meeting rooms in 
about 1.1 million square feet of space. The Kennedy Center also has a 
recently expanded parking garage. The Center is open 365 days a year, 
and nearly 5 million people visit it annually to attend performances or 
tour the facility.

In 1972, the National Park Service, within the Department of Interior, 
assumed responsibility for services related to the nonperforming arts 
functions of the Kennedy Center facility, whereas the Kennedy Center 
Board of Trustees (Board)[Footnote 2] retained responsibility for all 
performing arts activities. Under this dual management, the Kennedy 
Center facility suffered from severe deterioration and a backlog of 
capital repairs in part because responsibility for identifying and 
completing capital repairs and improvements at the Center was unclear. 
As a result, legislation was enacted in 1990 that directed the National 
Park Service and the Board to enter into a cooperative agreement 
setting forth their responsibilities relating to maintenance, repair, 
and alteration of the Center. However, after the parties were 
ultimately unable to agree on a methodology to enter into the 
cooperative agreement, which would have been the foundation of a 
capital improvement plan, legislation was enacted in 1994 that gave the 
Board sole responsibility for carrying out capital improvement projects 
at the Kennedy Center facility. A purpose of the legislation was to 
provide autonomy for the overall management of the Kennedy Center, 
which included better control over its capital projects and bringing 
the Kennedy Center building from a state of deterioration to a 
condition of excellence. The legislation further required the Board to 
develop and annually update a comprehensive building needs 
plan.[Footnote 3]

In response to the legislation, the Kennedy Center developed a 
Comprehensive Building Plan (Building Plan) in 1995 to detail the 
existing condition of the Kennedy Center facility and planned 
renovations. The goals of the renovations were to address accessibility 
and life safety code deficiencies, such as the installation of 
sprinklers throughout the Center, replace inefficient building systems, 
and improve visitor services. The original Building Plan anticipated 
that the capital projects at the Kennedy Center would be completed in 
two stages. Projects in the first stage--fiscal years 1995 through 
1999--would address critical issues to protect the building from water 
intrusion, provide critical security and life safety measures, and 
provide improved accessibility. Projects undertaken in the second 
stage--fiscal years 2000 through 2009[Footnote 4]--would eliminate the 
backlog of deferred capital repair projects. However, the Kennedy 
Center changed its approach to renovating the Center. Rather than 
undertaking broad-scale projects that could disrupt the entire Center, 
the Kennedy Center has taken certain areas or theaters out of service 
and performed all of the necessary renovations in a particular area at 
one time. For example, rather than installing a new sprinkler system 
throughout the entire Center, which would have closed multiple theaters 
simultaneously, the Center is installing sprinklers in each theater as 
it is renovated. Thus, only one theater is closed at a time. According 
to Center officials, this approach minimizes the disruptions to ongoing 
operations in other areas of the Kennedy Center. When the Opera House 
was renovated, for example, it was closed for almost a year but 
performances continued in all of the other theaters.

The Kennedy Center receives federal funding annually for capital 
improvement projects based on its Building Plan. In fiscal year 2004, 
the Kennedy Center received approximately $16 million in federal funds 
for capital improvement projects. Revenue generated by performances at 
the Center are used for costs associated with the performances and are 
not used for capital projects in the Building Plan.

In addition to federally funded projects, the Building Plan also 
discusses other major projects that are being funded with private 
donations or other nonfederal funding sources, including the recent 
garage expansion and the proposed plaza project adjacent to the Kennedy 
Center facility. The plaza project, which will connect the Center to 
the National Mall, will relocate roadways to improve transportation and 
pedestrian accessibility to and from the Kennedy Center and surrounding 
streets. It will include a central fountain that runs from 23rd Street 
NW to the Kennedy Center, a pedestrian walkway, and a connection to 
the waterfront.[Footnote 5] In addition, the plaza will include two 
proposed buildings with about 200,000 gross square feet[Footnote 6] 
each, located on opposite sides of the central fountain (see fig. 1). 
The Kennedy Center plans for one building to house an exhibition 
devoted to the history of performing arts in America, include office 
space for the Kennedy Center staff, and be used as an education center 
for the performing arts. The other building will be used as rehearsal 
space for the Washington National Opera and the Kennedy Center and 
include some additional office space for Kennedy Center staff. These 
buildings will be constructed with private donations, and upon 
completion, the Kennedy Center Board will own, operate, and maintain 
the buildings and green space established on the plaza. In fiscal year 
2003, the Center received a pledge of $100 million to be used toward 
the construction of the planned plaza buildings. According to Kennedy 
Center officials, they are in the preliminary stages of designing and 
estimating the cost of the new buildings. Construction of the plaza 
project is expected to begin in fiscal year 2010, pending federal 
funding, and the Kennedy Center is expected to begin occupying the 
buildings in fiscal year 2013.

Figure 1: The Proposed Plaza Project: 

[See PDF for image] 

[End of figure] 

The 1994 legislation that gave the Kennedy Center responsibility for 
capital projects also authorized the Board to carry out the day-to-day 
operations and maintenance activities for the Kennedy Center facility. 
Operations and maintenance funds are used to cover expenses for 
utilities, security, daily cleaning, and maintenance, among other 
things. In fiscal years 2003 and 2004, the Kennedy Center received 
about $16 million in federal appropriations each year for the 
operations and maintenance of the current facility. Federal 
appropriations are not used for performance-related expenses. The 
Kennedy Center's total operating expenses in fiscal year 2003 were 
about $118 million. The Kennedy Center generates the majority of its 
revenue from programs at the Center, contributions, and investments.

Kennedy Center Has Received Over $150 Million for Capital Projects: 

The Kennedy Center has received approximately $152 million in federal 
appropriations for capital projects since it took responsibility for 
these projects in fiscal year 1995. In every fiscal year since 1995, 
the Kennedy Center has generally received the federal appropriations it 
requested. For example, in fiscal year 2004, the Kennedy Center 
requested $16 million in federal appropriations for capital projects 
and received $15.8 million after rescissions to the budget authority 
were taken into account. (see table 1).

Table 1: Requested and Actual Federal Appropriations for Kennedy Center 
Capital Projects: 

Fiscal year: 1995; 
Requested federal appropriations: $8,983,000; 
Federal appropriations available for capital projects: $8,982,810[A].

Fiscal year: 1996; 
Requested federal appropriations: $9,000,000; 
Federal appropriations available for capital projects: $8,983,000.

Fiscal year: 1997; 
Requested federal appropriations: $9,000,000; 
Federal appropriations available for capital projects: $12,400,000[B].

Fiscal year: 1998; 
Requested federal appropriations: $9,000,000; 
Federal appropriations available for capital projects: $9,000,000.

Fiscal year: 1999; 
Requested federal appropriations: $20,000,000; 
Federal appropriations available for capital projects: $20,000,000.

Fiscal year: 2000; 
Requested federal appropriations: $20,000,000; 
Federal appropriations available for capital projects: $19,924,000[A].

Fiscal year: 2001; 
Requested federal appropriations: $20,000,000; 
Federal appropriations available for capital projects: $19,956,000[A].

Fiscal year: 2002; 
Requested federal appropriations: $19,000,000; 
Federal appropriations available for capital projects: 19,000,000.

Fiscal year: $2003; 
Requested federal appropriations: 17,600,000; 
Federal appropriations available for capital projects: 17,485,600[A].

Fiscal year: $2004; 
Requested federal appropriations: 16,000,000; 
Federal appropriations available for capital projects: 15,802,848[A].

Total; 
Requested federal appropriations: $148,583,000; 
Federal appropriations available for capital projects: $151,534,258.

Source: GAO analysis of the Kennedy Center's annual budget 
justifications to Congress, federal appropriations for capital 
projects, and Comprehensive Building Plan.

[A] In these years, the Kennedy Center's appropriations for capital 
projects were reduced by rescissions to the budget authority for most 
government agencies and entities receiving appropriated funds.

[B] In fiscal year 1997, the Kennedy Center received an additional $3.4 
million for capital projects to address anti-terrorism requirements.

[End of table]

As shown in table 1, the Kennedy Center requested approximately $9 
million annually for capital projects for fiscal year 1995 through 
fiscal year 1998. The Center generally received what it requested in 
each of these years, but the actual funding available was reduced in 
some of these years due to a rescission of budget authority. In fiscal 
year 1997, additional appropriations were provided to the Kennedy 
Center to address antiterrorism requirements. In fiscal year 1999, the 
Kennedy Center requested and received $20 million in federal 
appropriations for capital projects, an increase from the $9 million it 
originally anticipated receiving in its initial 1995 Building Plan. 
This increase in funding was given to the Kennedy Center to address 
several critical projects over a 3-year period.[Footnote 7] Center 
officials requested the increased funding on the basis of studies 
conducted by its architecture and engineering consultants, who 
concluded an increase in "up front" funding could lead to overall cost 
savings on the Kennedy Center renovation in the long term. For fiscal 
years 2002 through 2004, the Kennedy Center gradually reduced its 
annual funding request from $20 million; however, the total requested 
funding for these years was about $17 million more than was anticipated 
in the initial 1995 Building Plan.

The Kennedy Center uses its Building Plan to communicate to Congress 
its planned capital improvement projects and to provide budget 
estimates for carrying out these projects. The Kennedy Center further 
describes its planned capital projects and requests federal 
appropriations for these projects in its annual budget justifications 
to Congress. Both the Building Plan and budget justifications present 
budget estimates for broad categories of projects, such as interior 
repair, accessibility, and egress, but they do not include budget 
information for specific projects. Unlike the General Services 
Administration, the Kennedy Center receives a lump sum appropriation 
for capital projects, and the appropriations are not dedicated to 
specific projects. The Kennedy Center has the flexibility to change the 
projects or sequence of projects it plans to fund on the basis of such 
factors as the need to minimize disruptions to the operations of the 
Center and budget constraints.

The Kennedy Center has requested about $16 million for capital projects 
in fiscal year 2005. The 2002 Building Plan anticipates the Kennedy 
Center will receive another $41 million in appropriations through 
fiscal year 2008 to carry out its planned capital projects, for a total 
of $209 million. This is consistent with the funding amounts 
anticipated in the 1997 Building Plan; however, it is $44 million more 
than was anticipated in the initial 1995 Building Plan to accomplish 
the same goals.

It Is Unlikely That Building Plan Will be Fully Implemented by 2008, 
and More Project Information Is Needed in the Plan: 

The Kennedy Center has completed or has ongoing 100[Footnote 8]of the 
projects it identified in its initial Building Plan and its 
updates,[Footnote 9] and has decided not to implement or has postponed 
15 of the identified projects. Seventeen projects are planned for 
fiscal years 2005 through 2008 and include several large projects with 
life safety components, such as the installation of sprinklers. We 
believe it is unlikely that the Center will be able to complete the 
planned projects by the end of fiscal year 2008 or within the 
appropriation amounts anticipated in the current Building Plan. Several 
large projects remain to be done because, in part, the Kennedy Center 
changed the order of projects to minimize disruption to the operations 
of the Center. The budget estimates for the capital projects planned 
through fiscal year 2008 are preliminary and will likely increase as 
the projects are designed. Furthermore, the Comprehensive Building Plan 
has not been updated annually as required, and it does not provide 
specific project status and budget information. This limits the 
usefulness of the plan and inhibits Congress's ability to know the 
impact of funding decisions or judge the performance and progress of 
the Center's capital projects.

Status of Projects in Building Plan: 

Since the first Building Plan was developed in 1995, 132 capital 
projects have been identified in the plan, and the updates to the plan, 
to address the deterioration and backlog of capital repairs, and an 
additional 12 capital projects that were not in the plan have been 
completed. (See app. II for a list of the specific projects and their 
status.) The completed projects that had not been identified in the 
Building Plan were relatively small projects totaling $1.2 million, and 
include such projects as kitchen repairs and engraving restoration. The 
Building Plan lacks individual project information necessary to 
determine if projects are being completed within the original budget 
estimates and on schedule. Table 2 shows the status of all of the 
Kennedy Center's projects since fiscal year 1995.

Table 2: Status of the Kennedy Center's Projects Since Fiscal Year 
1995, as of February 29, 2004: 

Status: Completed; 
Number of projects: 74; 
Actual or estimated cost of projects: (in millions): $97.6[A].

Status: Ongoing; 
Number of projects: 38; 
Actual or estimated cost of projects: (in millions): $67.2.

Status: Planned for future years; 
Number of projects: 17; 
Actual or estimated cost of projects: (in millions): $38.5[B].

Status: Not implemented or Postponed; 
Number of projects: 15; 
Actual or estimated cost of projects: (in millions): $0.6[ C].

Total; 
Number of projects: 144; 
Actual or estimated cost of projects: (in millions): $203.9.

Source: GAO analysis of Kennedy Center data.

[A] Five of these projects were completed using O&M funds or energy 
savings performance contracts that are paid for with O&M funds.

[B] Kennedy Center officials reported that the budgets for these 
projects would be confirmed and adjusted as necessary during design. 
Estimated cost information was not provided for 2 of the projects in 
this category.

[C] Capital project funding was spent to study 2 projects that the 
Kennedy Center later decided not to implement. Estimated cost 
information was not available for the other 13 projects in this 
category.

[End of table]

The following describes each of the status categories and examples of 
projects in each category as of February 29, 2004: 

Completed Projects: 

Seventy-four capital projects have been completed at a total cost of 
about $98 million. Examples of major projects completed include the 
replacement of chillers; renovation and installation of sprinklers in 
the two largest theaters--the Concert Hall and Opera House; and 
installation of a new fire alarm system throughout the building. Figure 
1 shows the Opera House during and after the renovation. The Kennedy 
Center has also completed many smaller projects ranging from the 
installation of safety rails on the roof terrace to new directional 
signs in the Center.

Figure 2: Kennedy Center Opera House during and after Renovation: 

[See PDF for image] 

[End of figure] 

Ongoing Projects: 

Thirty-eight capital projects are currently ongoing at a total 
estimated cost of $67.2 million. Many of these projects, originally 
planned to begin in different fiscal years, have been combined into 
single projects for implementation. For example, 15 projects reported 
in the Building Plan, originally planned to begin as early as fiscal 
year 1998, have been combined under the one current site improvements 
project, beginning in fiscal year 2003. Kennedy Center officials expect 
this project to be completed by the end of calendar year 2004. The 
ongoing projects include elevator modernization, the installation of 
sprinklers in areas outside of the theaters, and a smoke evacuation 
system in the Grand Foyer and Halls of State and Nations. According to 
Center officials, some of these projects are in the design phase, and 
their actual costs could increase.

Planned Projects: 

Seventeen projects are planned for future years (through fiscal year 
2008), with initial budget estimates totaling over $38 million for 15 
of the projects. The Kennedy Center did not provide an estimate for 2 
of these projects--design and restoration of the windows on the roof 
terrace level--because officials expect the scope of the restoration 
project to change significantly based on early design work for window 
restoration on other levels. Major projects planned for the future 
include renovations of the Family Theater, Eisenhower Theater, and the 
Terrace Theater. Kennedy Center officials have cautioned that initial 
budget estimates are preliminary and are expected to change as the 
projects are designed. In addition, project estimates are based on the 
year the project is expected to start; as projects are postponed, costs 
are expected to increase.

Not Implemented and Postponed Projects: 

Fifteen projects will not be implemented or have been postponed beyond 
fiscal year 2008. Eleven of these projects, including the relocation of 
a theater, will not be implemented because Center officials have 
determined the projects were not financially viable or were no longer 
needed. The Kennedy Center spent about $600,000 studying two of the 
projects it decided not to implement. The other 4 projects, related to 
office renovations and public space improvements, have been postponed 
because other projects have higher priority. While the Kennedy Center 
decided to postpone or not implement these 15 projects, the Building 
Plan did not reflect any changes in the amount it reported as necessary 
to implement the plan.

It is Unlikely the Building Plan Will be Fully Implemented by 2008: 

Given the number and size of the renovation projects that remain to be 
done and the current likelihood that project estimates may increase, we 
believe it is unlikely the Kennedy Center will be able to fully 
implement its Building Plan with the anticipated future appropriations 
by the end of fiscal year 2008.

Each year, the Kennedy Center receives federal funding for capital 
projects at the Center that is not tied to specific projects. Although 
the Building Plan includes a proposed construction order for the 
projects, the Kennedy Center has the flexibility to change the sequence 
of projects or change specific projects that will be done in any given 
year. According to Kennedy Center officials, capital projects are 
prioritized according to a combination of factors, including (1) life 
safety issues, (2) risk and impact to patrons and staff, (3) needed 
upgrades to the building systems, (4) theater accessibility, and (5) 
the need to minimize disruptions to the Center's operations. As a 
performing arts center, in fiscal year 2003, the Kennedy Center 
generated about 70 percent of its income from performances and programs 
held at the Center and from contributions. Center officials stated that 
it must continue operations during renovations to the extent possible 
to continue generating revenue.

The need to minimize disruptions to the Center's operations appeared to 
be the key consideration when determining the order of capital 
projects. To minimize disruptions to the Center's operations and 
patrons, the Kennedy Center changed its original approach of doing 
critical life safety projects by the end of fiscal year 1999 to 
renovating the Center a particular area at a time. For example, the 
recent renovation of the Opera House included all necessary projects in 
the theater, such as the removal of asbestos, the installation of a 
sprinkler system, and the installation of new wall coverings. This 
approach is less disruptive to the operations of the Kennedy Center; 
however, many of the life safety projects that the initial Building 
Plan anticipated would be completed by the late 1990s, although 
currently ongoing, will not be completed until fiscal year 2006. In 
addition, three theaters--Family, Eisenhower, and Terrace--still 
remain to be renovated, including the installation of sprinklers.

The renovation of the Family Theater is currently being designed and 
the Kennedy Center plans to complete this renovation in fiscal year 
2005. The Eisenhower Theater renovation is currently in the preliminary 
design phase. The renovation of the Eisenhower Theater was originally 
planned for fiscal year 2006, but according to Center officials, the 
actual renovation has been postponed until fiscal year 2007 or 2008. 
Finally, the 2002 Building Plan reports that the complete renovation of 
the Terrace Theater will not be completed until after fiscal year 2008 
but indicates complete sprinkler coverage and accessible railings would 
be added to the theater by the end of fiscal year 2008.

Finally, we believe the funding anticipated in the Building Plan may 
not be sufficient to complete all of the planned projects. Since fiscal 
year 1995, the Kennedy Center has received almost $152 million for 
capital projects, and the Center anticipates another $57 million in 
appropriations for capital projects, through fiscal year 2008, for a 
total of $209 million. As noted earlier, this is $44 million more than 
was anticipated in the initial 1995 Building Plan to accomplish the 
same goals. As of February 29, 2004, the Center has spent over $98 
million since fiscal year 1995 on the capital projects it has completed 
so far or studied but did not implement. It estimates the remaining 
projects will cost almost another $106 million to complete, for a total 
of about $204 million. Although the current project budget estimates 
fall within the anticipated appropriations, many of these estimates are 
based on preliminary or no design work and are expected to change as 
the project design is refined and construction begins. According to the 
Construction Industry Institute, actual project costs may vary by as 
much as 30 percent to 50 percent from project estimates developed in 
the early stages of design.[Footnote 10]

The Comprehensive Building Plan Is of Limited Use in Understanding the 
Status of the Kennedy Center's Renovations: 

The Building Plan is of limited use in understanding the Kennedy 
Center's progress in implementing its plan to renovate the Center 
because it does not include the status of projects identified in prior 
plans or provide budget information for individual projects. Instead, 
the plan includes a proposed sequence of work that lists the projects 
expected to be implemented each fiscal year through fiscal year 2008. 
In addition, budget information is provided only at a summary level for 
seven broad categories[Footnote 11] and not for individual projects. 
For example, the Building Plan shows that in fiscal year 2004 the 
Center planned to spend $7.4 million on life safety and security but 
does not show the amounts budgeted to individual projects such as the 
installation of smoke evacuation systems. Our 1998 Executive Guide on 
Capital Planning highlights the importance of sound capital planning, 
noting that clear communication and good data are essential to 
supporting sound capital planning and decision making.[Footnote 12]

The Building Plan does not clearly explain how the Center prioritizes 
and restructures capital projects. For example, the Kennedy Center 
combined several life safety projects identified in the Building Plan 
into one project that is currently under way and the Center expects to 
be completed in fiscal year 2006. The Building Plan had originally 
identified some of these projects to be started as early as 1996. While 
the Building Plan updates state that projects may be combined, they do 
not clearly communicate the decision to combine these projects and that 
this decision would delay the Center's progress in meeting life safety 
codes. In addition, Center officials have said that the potential of 
future federal funding below the levels identified in the Building Plan 
will require some projects to be delayed. Without sufficient 
information in the Building Plan on the prioritization of projects, 
congressional decision makers will not be able to gauge the Center's 
progress in implementing the Building Plan or the impact of funding 
decisions on individual capital projects.

The Kennedy Center reports monthly to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) the status of individual projects and budget information 
for ongoing projects. Specifically, for each project, it includes the 
estimated budget, expenditures to date, and changes in project 
schedule, which could be used to determine if these projects are on 
budget and on schedule. However, the report does not include 
information for projects in future years. Including information on 
planned projects as well as ongoing projects in the Building Plan would 
ensure that the Kennedy Center is held accountable for the cost and 
schedule of its capital projects and is achieving the goals of the 
Building Plan. Such information could also help the Kennedy Center 
Board support its requests for appropriations and explain the potential 
effect on the implementation of the Building Plan if lesser amounts are 
appropriated.

In addition to lacking sufficient information on which to gauge the 
Kennedy Center's progress in implementing the Building Plan, the 
Building Plan has not been updated annually as required in the John F. 
Kennedy Center Act Amendments of 1994. The Kennedy Center recognizes 
that annually updating and implementing the Building Plan could help 
guard against a recurrence of severe deterioration of the facility and 
over the long term should ultimately reduce the public costs of 
operating and maintaining the monument. According to a Kennedy Center 
official, the Center has continued to implement the December 2002 
Building Plan but has not updated it because officials did not believe 
there had been significant changes at the Center and the plan was still 
applicable. The Kennedy Center has recently hired a new Director of 
Capital Projects, who expects to issue an update to the Building Plan 
by the end of 2004.

Kennedy Center Will Likely Request Additional Operations and 
Maintenance Funding for Its New Plaza Project: 

In fiscal year 2004, the Kennedy Center received about $16 million for 
operations and maintenance costs for the existing Center and will 
likely need additional federal appropriations for O&M expenses when the 
new plaza project is complete. We calculate that annual additional O&M 
costs could range from $6 million to $11 million, in current dollars, 
for the proposed new plaza and two buildings. However, this preliminary 
estimate will likely change before fiscal year 2013, the first year 
annual O&M funds may be needed. The plaza project is in the early 
planning phase, and decisions made about the project through the design 
phase will affect actual O&M costs. For example, the planning phase 
could result in smaller buildings and a plaza with less square footage, 
reducing O&M costs.

O&M Costs for the Existing Center: 

The Kennedy Center currently receives federal appropriations for O&M 
costs at the existing Center. O&M refers to activities that keep a 
facility running on a daily basis and routine maintenance required 
based on the use of the facility. Specifically, O&M includes costs for 
such items as utilities, daily cleaning and maintenance for the 
building and grounds, minor repair and maintenance, security, and 
salaries for support staff. In fiscal year 2004, the Kennedy Center 
received over $16 million in federal funds for O&M related to the 
existing Center.

O&M Costs for the Proposed Plaza Project Could Range from $6 Million to 
$11 Million: 

On the basis of data from a survey of museum facility management 
practices and Kennedy Center data, we calculate that the potential O&M 
costs for the proposed plaza project could range from $6 million to $11 
million, in current dollars. Kennedy Center officials said they have 
not formally estimated O&M costs for the proposed plaza project because 
it is in the early planning phase and decisions on the design of the 
buildings, which can affect O&M costs, have not been finalized. They 
expect to estimate O&M costs after the project is designed. However, 
for purposes of our report, Kennedy Center officials used current O&M 
costs and O&M cost data obtained from an existing survey of six museums 
in Washington, D.C., to estimate that O&M costs for the proposed 
project could range from $15 to $20 per gross square foot of space, in 
current dollars. Using a slightly different set of assumptions, we 
estimated O&M costs for the proposed project could be $28 per gross 
square foot of space.

O&M costs are usually estimated on the basis of cost per square foot; 
if the size of the project changes, the O&M estimate is easily 
adjusted. O&M rates also vary by type of space because different types 
of space have different maintenance needs. For example, cleaning and 
maintaining private office space is generally less expensive than 
cleaning and maintaining space open to the public that gets more 
traffic and would require items such as carpeting to be replaced more 
often. Building industry data is available for the average O&M cost for 
office space. However, the current plaza project plan indicates that a 
combination of office, museum quality exhibition space, and rehearsal 
space will be included in the proposed buildings. Given the combination 
of the different types of space in the proposed buildings, we estimated 
potential O&M costs per square foot for the proposed project on the 
basis of (1) O&M costs for the current Kennedy Center building, (2) a 
2002 museum benchmarking survey of facility management practices, and 
(3) Kennedy Center officials' estimates. Using these sources, estimates 
for the potential O&M costs of the buildings were developed as follows: 

* Kennedy Center officials determined that the minimum potential rate 
for O&M would be based on the rate for the current building. The Center 
currently pays about $15 a gross square foot for O&M, based on the size 
of the current facility (1.1 million gross square feet).

* Kennedy Center officials provided O&M data for six Washington, D.C., 
museums based on a 2002 museum benchmarking survey of facility 
management practices conducted by Facility Management Services Ltd., a 
consulting practice specializing in facility management.[Footnote 13] 
The survey obtained information on the costs per square foot of space 
for five categories of O&M services--janitorial, utilities, building 
maintenance, exterior grounds maintenance, and building security--for 
each of the six museums. The O&M costs per square foot of space for 
each of these categories varied widely among the museums. For example, 
building maintenance costs ranged from $3.38 to $22.88 per square foot 
of space. Building maintenance costs can vary depending on the type of 
building materials used to construct the building and the type of 
equipment inside the building. Similarly, building security costs 
ranged from $2.66 to $23.43 per square foot of space. Factors that 
could affect building security costs include the value of the museum's 
contents (e.g., fine art) and the location of the facility. Because the 
proposed new plaza buildings are still in the early planning phase and 
many factors, including the size of the proposed buildings and the 
types of building materials used, could change before designs are 
finalized, we estimated the potential O&M rate for the proposed 
buildings by averaging the aggregate O&M costs for the six museums. 
This resulted in an O&M rate of $28 per gross square foot.

* Kennedy Center officials also estimated the potential O&M rate for 
the proposed buildings using the museum data described above, and 
adjusted the data based on such factors as the size of the other 
museums relative to the proposed new buildings and plaza, estimates 
from the Kennedy Center's current janitorial provider, and the 
difference in security levels needed at the two proposed buildings. In 
addition, Kennedy Center officials discounted the information from the 
museums with the highest and lowest O&M costs and projected O&M costs 
on the basis of data from the other four museums. As a result, Kennedy 
Center officials estimated that the average O&M rate for the two 
buildings could be $20 per gross square foot.[Footnote 14]

On the basis of the potential O&M rates--$15, $20, and $28 per gross 
square foot--and the current proposed size of the two new buildings--a 
total of about 402,000 gross square feet--we calculate that total O&M 
for the new plaza and buildings could range from $6 million to $11 
million annually, in current dollars.

Many Factors Could Substantially Affect Actual O&M Costs: 

The plaza and buildings project is in the early stages of the planning 
phase, and many factors could affect the actual O&M costs. Some of the 
factors that will affect O&M costs are within the control of the 
Kennedy Center, and others are not.

Examples of factors within the Kennedy Center's control that may affect 
O&M costs are as follows: 

* The current plaza proposal includes a large fountain located above a 
roadway that connects the Kennedy Center to the National Mall. 
Fountains are expensive to maintain, and locating the fountain above a 
roadway could present additional security risks from the traffic below, 
which may increase security costs.

* The size of the plaza and buildings has not yet been 
finalized.[Footnote 15] A reduction or increase in the size of the 
plaza and buildings would have a direct affect on O&M costs.

* The selection of building materials, such as the current plan to use 
a large amount of glass on the outside of the buildings, will affect 
O&M costs. Buildings with a large amount of glass on the outside are 
more expensive to cool due to the heat that is absorbed by the glass. 
In addition, glass is more expensive to clean than other materials, 
such as brick.

The plaza and buildings project is not expected to be occupied until 
2013, and economic factors that are not within the Kennedy Center's 
control may affect actual O&M costs. For example, utility and labor 
rates have generally increased at a higher rate than the rate of 
inflation. It is difficult to anticipate these rates so far in the 
future. Furthermore, the actual O&M costs may not be known until the 
buildings are in operation for at least one annual cycle of using the 
plaza and for heating and cooling the new buildings. At the end of that 
cycle, the Kennedy Center's appropriations request should be based on 
the actual O&M costs it incurred.

As discussed earlier in this report, Congress currently funds Kennedy 
Center capital improvement projects not related to performances. Given 
the current precedent of providing funding for capital improvement 
projects at the Center, Congress may also be expected to provide 
additional funds in the future for capital improvement costs associated 
with the plaza project.

Conclusions: 

The requirement to develop and annually update a Comprehensive Building 
Plan was intended to help improve management of the Kennedy Center's 
capital projects and, over the long term, help reduce the public costs 
of operating and maintaining the facility. The current plan anticipated 
that projects addressing life safety and accessibility issues--needed 
to meet current codes--would be completed by the end of fiscal year 
2008. However, it is unlikely the Kennedy Center's Building Plan will 
be fully implemented by 2008, including life safety projects in some 
areas. This is due, in part, to changes in the sequence of its planned 
projects. Furthermore, the current Building Plan has not been updated 
since December 2002, and it does not provide individual project budgets 
or prioritize capital projects; thus, it is unclear which projects 
might be delayed or not implemented due to budget constraints. It is 
also not possible to determine from the Building Plan if individual 
projects are completed within project budget estimates. Including this 
information in its annual Building Plan, as well as the progress that 
has been made in renovating the Center and in meeting life safety and 
accessibility codes, would make the Kennedy Center's use of federal 
funds to carry out its capital renovations more transparent and make 
the Kennedy Center more accountable for the use of federal funds. This 
information could also help the Kennedy Center support its request for 
federal funding and communicate more clearly the potential impact of 
federal funding decisions on the day-to-day operations of the Kennedy 
Center facility.

Recommendation: 

To help congressional decision makers oversee the capital projects at 
the Kennedy Center and make funding decisions, we recommend that the 
President of the Kennedy Center, in conjunction with the Chairman of 
the Board of Trustees, annually update the comprehensive building plan, 
as required, and include (1) the prioritization of projects, (2) 
project status, and (3) updated budget information for planned and 
ongoing projects.

Agency Comments: 

We provided a draft copy of this report to the President of the Kennedy 
Center. On August 18, 2004, the Kennedy Center President provided us 
with written comments on behalf of the trustees and staff (see app. 
III). The President agreed with our recommendation and stated that 
Kennedy Center staff will plan to implement it immediately. Kennedy 
Center officials also provided technical comments that have been 
incorporated throughout the report, as appropriate.

The letter also emphasized that the Comprehensive Building Plan is 
primarily a management tool and that other reports are the vehicles for 
keeping Congress informed of the Center's progress in its renovation 
program. As part of our work, we reviewed the reports to the Operations 
Committee and a monthly report to OMB. While some of the information we 
are recommending be included in the Comprehensive Building Plan is 
provided in these reports, other recommended project information is 
not. For example, neither report provides information on project 
prioritization or projects planned for the future. The project 
information that is provided is not presented in a format that allows 
stakeholders to easily track the overall progress of the Kennedy Center 
renovations or specific capital projects from the building plan. It 
also appears that this information is not being conveyed to all 
congressional stakeholders. We believe that having project specific 
information available in one document that is provided to the 
stakeholders annually, as described in our recommendation, will help 
congressional decision makers and other stakeholders oversee the 
capital projects at the Kennedy Center.

In addition, the letter did not agree with how we counted the projects 
identified in the Comprehensive Building Plan. However, it stated that 
the Comprehensive Building Plan has not been consistent in how it has 
identified projects and that the most recent plan lists design and 
implementation as two separate projects, while the earlier plans listed 
them as one project. As we noted in our report, the Comprehensive 
Building Plan does not clearly explain how projects are restructured or 
reported in different updates. Since our objective was to compare the 
actual projects undertaken with those reported in the Comprehensive 
Building Plan, we have identified and numbered the projects as listed 
in the plan and its updates to the plan. We understand the Kennedy 
Center's concern that how the projects are counted can change the 
reported percentage of projects completed. Thus, we have deleted the 
reference to the percentage of projects completed as an indication of 
the Kennedy Center's progress in implementing the Comprehensive 
Building Plan and only report actual numbers of projects. We believe 
that if the Kennedy Center implements our recommendation and provides 
more clear project information, this type of analysis should be 
possible in the future.

As agreed with your office, unless you publicly announce the contents 
of this report earlier, we plan no further distribution until 5 days 
from the report date. At that time, we will send copies to the 
appropriate congressional committees, the Chairman of the Kennedy 
Center Board of Trustees, and the President of the Kennedy Center. We 
will also make copies available to others on request. In addition, the 
report will be available at no charge on the GAO Web site at 
[Hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov].

If you or your staff has any questions, please contact me on (202) 512-
2834 or at [Hyperlink, guerrerop@gao.gov]. See appendix IV for a list 
of the major contributors to this report.

Sincerely yours,

Signed by: 

Peter F. Guerrero: 
Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues: 

[End of section]

Appendixes: 

Appendix I: Scope and Methodology: 

To determine the amount of federal appropriations the John F. Kennedy 
Center for the Performing Arts (Center) requested and received for 
capital projects for fiscal years 1995 to 2004, we reviewed the Kennedy 
Center's annual budget justification to Congress and Comprehensive 
Building Plan and its updates; federal authorization and appropriation 
laws; and the Kennedy Center's audited financial statements. The 
Kennedy Center's budget justifications to Congress contain the Kennedy 
Center's request for federal funding for its capital repairs and 
rehabilitation. We compared the amount the Kennedy Center requested 
with the actual appropriations the Kennedy Center received from fiscal 
year 1995 through 2004, taking into account rescissions to budget 
authority. We also compared the amounts of the appropriations 
identified in the law with the amounts identified in the Kennedy 
Center's audited financial statements and verified rescission amounts 
with Kennedy Center officials. Finally, we relied on the Kennedy 
Center's 2002 Comprehensive Building Plan to determine the amount of 
federal appropriations the Center expects to request through fiscal 
year 2008. We also reviewed the budget justifications and Building 
Plans to determine why changes were made to the Kennedy Center's 
funding request.

To determine the status of the Kennedy Center's Comprehensive Building 
Plan and its updates, we reviewed the initial 1995 Comprehensive 
Building Plan and subsequent updates to the plan. We developed a list 
of capital projects the Kennedy Center reported it was planning to 
complete. We discussed with Kennedy Center officials the project status 
and cost information for these projects and other projects that it had 
completed with federal funds appropriated for capital projects since 
fiscal year 1995. We reviewed the Kennedy Center's annual financial 
statements and supporting capital project schedules. We determined that 
the information provided for project costs appeared reasonable based on 
the annual capital expenditures and capital projects in progress listed 
in the financial statements. We toured the Kennedy Center and visually 
saw many of the projects listed in the Building Plan. We also 
interviewed the Kennedy Center's external auditor to determine what 
testing was performed on internal controls over federal expenditures. 
Thus, we determined that project status and cost data were sufficiently 
reliable for the purpose of our review. Finally, we compared the 
information the Kennedy Center provided on the status of the capital 
projects in the Building Plan and its updates and capital 
appropriations received since fiscal year 1995 to evaluate the 
likelihood that the plan would be fully implemented as planned by the 
end of fiscal year 2008. We did not evaluate whether individual capital 
projects were completed within their original budgets or on schedule.

To determine the potential impact of the Center's proposed plaza 
project on the need for future federal funds, we calculated the 
potential operations and maintenance (O&M) costs based on data from a 
survey of museum facility management practices and the Kennedy Center's 
projected O&M rates. Kennedy Center officials provided data for five 
categories of O&M expenses for six Washington, D.C., museums based on a 
2002 museum benchmarking survey of facility management practices 
conducted by Facility Management Services Ltd. Since one of the 
buildings in the proposed plaza project will contain space that the 
Center officials said would be maintained at the same level as a 
museum, we agreed that it was appropriate to use museums in Washington, 
D.C., to estimate the potential O&M costs. We estimated the potential 
O&M rate for the proposed plaza project by averaging the aggregate O&M 
costs for the six museums. We used the average O&M costs to develop our 
estimate because the proposed plaza project is still in the early 
planning phase and many factors, including the size of the buildings, 
could change before designs are finalized. The Kennedy Center 
officials' projections were based on its current O&M costs and the O&M 
cost data for six museums in Washington, D.C., described above. Kennedy 
Center officials believe that the new buildings will cost at least as 
much to maintain and operate per square foot as the current Center. 
They could not identify any category of O&M expenses they believed 
would be less expensive to operate than the current building. The 
Center officials said they disregarded the information from the museums 
with the highest and lowest O&M costs and projected O&M costs on the 
basis of data from the other four museums. According to the officials, 
they adjusted the rates for the different categories that make up the 
O&M costs, based on a number of factors, such as the size of the other 
museums relative to the proposed new plaza project. For example, the 
Center officials said they increased the expected cost of grounds 
maintenance over the other museums because the proposed plaza project 
includes a large fountain, which will be expensive to maintain. In 
addition, because the plaza will be suspended over a roadway, all of 
the plants will have to be in containers, which will also increase 
operations and maintenance costs. Since there are a wide variety of 
types of proposed space in the buildings, ranging from museum space to 
rehearsal rooms, the Kennedy Center officials said they averaged rates 
based on the different types of space. We independently researched 
building industry groups' rates, including the Building Owners and 
Managers Association and the International Facility Management 
Association, but did not identify any O&M rates that would have been 
appropriate to use for the type of space planned for the proposed plaza 
buildings. We discussed the methodology used in conducting the museum 
survey with Facility Management Services Ltd and discussed the measures 
incorporated into the survey to maximize accuracy of the data. We 
determined that the data on O&M costs for the six Washington, D.C., 
area museums is reliable for purposes of this report and that the 
Kennedy Center's estimated rates were rational given the currently 
available information.

We conducted our work from January 2004 through July 2004 in accordance 
with generally accepted government auditing standards.

[End of section]

Appendix II: Kennedy Center Capital Projects: 

The following tables show the cost or expected cost of the Kennedy 
Center's capital projects as identified in its Comprehensive Building 
Plan and its updates. The tables show those projects that are 
completed, ongoing, or planned for future years, and those that have 
not been implemented or have been postponed.

Table 3: Capital Projects Completed by the Kennedy Center Since Fiscal 
Year 1995, as of February 29, 2004: 

Projects identified in Kennedy Center's Comprehensive Building Plan[A]:

1; 
Cooling coils--replacement; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1995; 
Project status: Completed 1996; 
Cost: $305,881.

2; 
Fountain piping and valves--replace; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1995; 
Project status: Completed 1996; 
Cost: $1,392,321.

3; 
Planters and fountains--repair; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1995; 
Project status: Completed 1996; 
Cost: Included in project above.

4; 
Service tunnel and drive--repair (phase 1); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1996 moved 
to fiscal year 1997; 
Project status: Completed 1996; 
Cost: Included in project above.

5; 
Service tunnel and drive--repair (phase 2); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1997; 
Project status: Completed 1997; 
Cost: Included in project above.

6; 
Garage ventilation renovation and piping insulation installation; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1997; 
Project status: Completed 1997; 
Cost: Included in project above.

7; 
Condenser water tank--repair; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1995; 
Project status: Completed 1996; 
Cost: $1,690,345.

8; 
Concert Hall--rehabilitation; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1996; 
Project status: Completed 1996; 
Cost: $21,292,808.

9; 
Office space--partial phased renovation (administrative office phase 
1); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1996; 
Project status: Completed 1996; 
Cost: $262,624.

10; 
Sprinkler system (phase 1); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1997 moved 
to fiscal year 1998; 
Project status: Completed 1996; 
Cost: $4,687.

11; 
Chiller replacement; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1995; 
Project status: Completed 1997; 
Cost: $209,557.

12; 
Hall of Nations/States wall lighting--replace; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1995; 
Project status: Completed 1997; 
Cost: $387,778.

13; 
Roof--tear off and replace; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1995; 
Project status: Completed 1998; 
Cost: $16,290,411.

14; 
Roof Terrace paving--removal and replacement; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1995; 
Project status: Completed 1998; 
Cost: Included in project above.

15; 
Marble fascias and soffits--repair; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1995; 
Project status: Completed 1998; 
Cost: Included in project above.

16; 
Centrally controlled security system installation (security systems 
phase 1); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1995; 
Project status: Completed 1998; 
Cost: $2,657,361.

17; 
Security system--construction (phase 3); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1997; 
Project status: Completed 1998; 
Cost: Included in project above.

18; 
Exterior marble wall at Plaza level--clean; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1995; 
Project status: Completed 1998; 
Cost: $443,138.

19; 
Office space--partial phased renovation (administrative office phase 
2); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1997; 
Project status: Completed 1998; 
Cost: $156,638.

20; 
Plaza paving--interim repair; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1995; 
Project status: Completed 1999; 
Cost: $207,000.

21; 
Fire alarm system--replace (phase 1); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1996 moved 
to fiscal year 1997 and 1998; 
Project status: Completed 1999; 
Cost: $426,592.

22; 
Security system--construction (phase 2); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1996; 
Project status: Completed 1999; 
Cost: $37,074.

23; 
Remove/replace underground storage tanks; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1999; 
Project status: Completed 1999; 
Cost: $157,649.

24; 
Education/rehearsal space modifications; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2001 moved 
to fiscal year 1999; 
Project status: Completed 1999; 
Cost: $1,716,861.

25; 
Minor repairs--Plaza uplights; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1999; 
Project status: Completed 1999; 
Cost: $97,688.

26; 
Repairs to technical system; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1999; 
Project status: Completed 1999; 
Cost: $795,755.

27; 
Office space--partial phased renovation (administrative office phase 
4); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1999; 
Project status: Completed 1999; 
Cost: $115,808.

28; 
Theater lab renovation; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2001; 
Project status: Completed 1999; 
Cost: $39,488.

29; 
Space modification (phase 2)--loading dock #2; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1997 moved 
to fiscal year 1998; 
Project status: Completed 2000; 
Cost: $19,647.

30; 
Office space--partial phased renovation (administrative office phase 
3); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1998; 
Project status: Completed 2000; 
Cost: $1,214,864.

31; 
Roof Terrace safety railing; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1998; 
Project status: Completed 2000; 
Cost: $11,430.

32; 
Technical systems; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2000; 
Project status: Completed 2000; 
Cost: $1,100,483.

33; 
North gallery bathroom; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2000; 
Project status: Completed 2000; 
Cost: $354,561.

34; 
Memorial Interpretation (phase 1); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2001 moved 
to fiscal year 1997; 
Project status: Completed 2001; 
Cost: Included in project below.

35; 
Memorial interpretation (phase 2); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2002 moved 
to fiscal year 1998; 
Project status: Completed 2001; 
Cost: $2,591,628.

36; 
Space modifications at 56-foot and 69-foot level; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1997 moved 
to fiscal year 1999; 
Project status: Completed 2001; 
Cost: $1,503,493.

37; 
Administrative office 69-foot level; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2000; 
Project status: Completed 2001; 
Cost: Included in project above.

38; 
Replace temp Millennium Stage; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1999; 
Project status: Completed 2001; 
Cost: $1,606,106.

39; 
Backstage repairs to concert hall; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1999; 
Project status: Completed 2001; 
Cost: $1,617,125.

40; 
Minor repairs--Terrace theater catwalk; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1999; 
Project status: Completed 2001; 
Cost: $87,753.

41; 
Administrative office renovation (phase 5); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2000; 
Project status: Completed 2001; 
Cost: $55,504.

42; 
Galleries and atrium, accessibility and rehab interior; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2000; 
Project status: Completed 2001; 
Cost: $69,832.

43; 
Interior signage (phase 1); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2000; 
Project status: Completed 2001; 
Cost: $727,207.

44; 
Administrative office renovation (phase 6); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2001; 
Project status: Completed 2001; 
Cost: $354,947.

45; 
Office support (phase 1); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2001; 
Project status: Completed 2001; 
Cost: $108,516.

46; 
Technical systems; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2001; 
Project status: Completed 2001; 
Cost: $649,185.

47; 
Accessibility (phase 1)--Grand Foyer improvements; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1997; 
Project status: Completed 2002; 
Cost: $2,469,939.

48; 
Rehab Concert Hall public lobbies and restrooms; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2002; 
Project status: Completed 2002; 
Cost: Included in project above.

49; 
Terrace Level interpretive graphics; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2000; 
Project status: Completed 2002; 
Cost: $22,432.

50; 
Technical system; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2002; 
Project status: Completed 2002; 
Cost: $633,265.

51; 
Interior signs (phase 2); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2002; 
Project status: Completed 2002; 
Cost: $246,628.

52; 
Building automation system--install; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1995 moved 
to fiscal year 1999; 
Project status: Completed 2003; 
Cost: $3,501,224.

53; 
Restaurant kitchen rehabilitation/floor replacement; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2001 moved 
to fiscal year 2003; 
Project status: Completed 2003; 
Cost: $889,058.

54; 
Terrace Theater--install Americans with Disabilities Act handrails; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2003; 
Project status: Completed 2003; 
Cost: $54,298.

55; 
Fire alarm system--replace; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1997 moved 
to fiscal year 2003; 
Project status: Completed 2004; 
Cost: $4,551,223.

56; 
Opera House renovations; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1998 moved 
to fiscal year 2003; 
Project status: Completed 2004; 
Cost: $22,239,000.

57; 
Exterior plaza lighting--installation; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2003; 
Project status: Completed 2004; 
Cost: $1,050,669.

58; 
Exterior column restoration; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Not in Building Plan; 
Project status: Completed 2002; 
Cost: $371,465.

59; 
Garage repairs; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Not in Building Plan; 
Project status: Completed 2001; 
Cost: $44,848.

60; 
Kitchen repairs; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Not in Building Plan; 
Project status: Completed 1997; 
Cost: $23,808.

61; 
Restaurant planning; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Not in Building Plan; 
Project status: Completed 2001; 
Cost: $90,417.

62; 
Terrace Theater seats; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Not in Building Plan; 
Project status: Completed 1997; 
Cost: $126,685.

63; 
Theater accessibility projects (various); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Not in Building Plan; 
Project status: Completed 1997; 
Cost: $37,824.

64; 
Theatre box seats and theater repairs; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Not in Building Plan; 
Project status: Completed 1999; 
Cost: $134,735.

65; 
Gift shop floor--repair; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Not in Building Plan; 
Project status: Completed 2001; 
Cost: $53,411.

66; 
Wheelchair lift in American Film Institute Theater; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Not in Building Plan; 
Project status: Completed 2000; 
Cost: $73,110.

67; 
Grand foyer sconce and mirror--repair; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Not in Building Plan; 
Project status: Completed 2001; 
Cost: $107,056.

68; 
Orientation film; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Not in Building Plan; 
Project status: Completed 2000; 
Cost: $118,851.

69; 
Engraving restoration; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Not in Building Plan; 
Project status: Completed 2001; 
Cost: $27,175.

70; 
Energy conservation (phase 1); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2001; 
Project status: Completed using Energy Saving Performance Contract; 
Cost: Energy Saving Performance Contract.

71; 
Energy conservation (phase 2); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2002; 
Project status: Completed using Energy Saving Performance Contract; 
Cost: Energy Saving Performance Contract.

72; 
Ventilation system--garage, offices, theaters and public spaces; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2002; 
Project status: Completed using Energy Saving Performance Contract; 
Cost: Energy Saving Performance Contract.

73; 
Minor repairs--fire damper and separation assemblies; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1999; 
Project status: Completed 1999; 
Cost: O&M funds used.

74; 
Install fire pump and risers; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2003; 
Project status: Completed using O&M funds; 
Cost: O&M funds used.

Total; 
$97,626,866.

Source: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

[A] This table includes 12 capital projects that were not listed in 
the Comprehensive Building Plan but, according to Kennedy center 
officials, were completed using appropriations for capital projects.

[End of table]

Table 4: Capital Projects Ongoing or Under Way at the Kennedy Center 
as of February 29, 2004: 

Projects identified in Kennedy Center's Comprehensive Building Plan:

1; 
Asbestos removal from building automation system; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1996; 
Project status: Ongoing as needed; 
Estimated cost: $,951,091.

2; 
Elevator and escalator modernization--commencement; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2001 moved 
to fiscal year 2005; 
Project status: Ongoing as other projects allow; 
Estimated cost: $3,500,000.

3; 
Elevator and escalator modernization--continue; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2002 moved 
to fiscal year 2006; 
Project status: Ongoing as other projects allow; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

4; 
Elevator and escalator modernization complete; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2003 moved 
to fiscal year 2007; 
Project status: Ongoing; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

5; 
Garage expansion and site improvement projects; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2003; 
Project status: Under way; 
Estimated cost: $46,532,299.

6; 
Design and planning to move entrance road; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1998; 
Project status: Under way; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

7; 
Site improvements funded by anti-terrorism supplemental; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1998; 
Project status: Under way; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

8; 
Repair median; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2000; 
Project status: Under way; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

9; 
Rehabilitate entrance drive; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2000; 
Project status: Under way; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

10; 
Improve exterior signage; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2000; 
Project status: Under way; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

11; 
Site phase 1--north and east sides, service tunnel repairs; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2000; 
Project status: Under way; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

12; 
Existing garage--restraining, exiting, ventilation, etc; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2000; 
Project status: Under way; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

13; 
Site (phase 2) south side; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2001; 
Project status: Under way; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

14; 
Plaza repairs--east Plaza; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2001; 
Project status: Under way; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

15; 
West Fascia, planters, railing; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2001; 
Project status: Under way; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

16; 
Existing garage systems (remove ramp); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2001; 
Project status: Under way; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

17; 
Fascia and soffits (phase 1); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2002; 
Project status: Under way; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

18; 
Plaza paving and repairs (west, north, and south sides); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2002; 
Project status: Under way; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

19; 
Plaza planters and fountains; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2002; 
Project status: Under way; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

20; 
Site elements (phase 1); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2002; 
Project status: Under way; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

21; 
Design--complete renovation of American Film Institute Theater; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2004; 
Project status: Under way; 
Estimated cost: $1,195,000.

22; 
Security system (phase 2A); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2000; 
Project status: Under way--to be completed fiscal year 2005; 
Estimated cost: $2,500,000.

23; 
Visitor services and assisted listening device desks-install new in 
Hall of States; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2003; 
Project status: Under way--to be completed fiscal year 2004; 
Estimated cost: $700,000.

24; 
Security command center construction; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2003; 
Project status: Under way- -to be completed fiscal year 2005; 
Estimated cost: $1,000,000.

25; 
Design work--new training room and security break room; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2003; 
Project status: Under way--to be completed fiscal year 2005; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

26; 
Training room and security break room; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2004; 
Project status: Under way- -to be completed fiscal year 2005; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

27; 
Design work--miscellaneous life safety improvements; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2003; 
Project status: Under way--to be completed fiscal year 2006; 
Estimated cost: $445,183.

28; 
Miscellaneous life safety improvements--Grand Foyer, Halls of States 
and Nations smoke evacuation system; sprinkler systems; create fire 
rated enclosure; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2004; 
Project status: Under way--to be completed fiscal year 2006; 
Estimated cost: $3,769,000.

29; 
Fire separation--garage and Plaza level and rehabilitation interior 
finishes; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1996; 
Project status: Under way--to be completed fiscal year 2006; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

30; 
Egress stairs and exit ways--panic hardware and egress deficiencies 
(phase 1); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1996; 
Project status: Under way--to be completed fiscal year 2006; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

31; 
Egress stairs and exit ways--panic hardware and egress deficiencies 
(phase 2); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1998; 
Project status: Under way--to be completed fiscal year 2006; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

32; 
Egress stairs and exit ways (phase 3); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2003; 
Project status: Under way- -to be completed fiscal year 2006; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

33; 
Sprinkler system (phase 2); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1998 moved 
to fiscal year 2001; 
Project status: Under way--to be completed fiscal year 2006; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

34; 
Sprinkler system (phase 3) infrastructure for buildingwide system; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1999 moved 
to fiscal year 2002; 
Project status: Under way--to be completed fiscal year 2006; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

35; 
Sprinkler system (phase 4) infrastructure for buildingwide system; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2003; 
Project status: Under way--to be completed fiscal year 2006; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

36; 
East and west Plaza curtainwall restoration; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2004; 
Project status: Under way- -to be completed fiscal year 2006; 
Estimated cost: $2,229,000.

37; 
Design work--motor lobby renovation; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2003; 
Project status: Under way--to be completed fiscal year 2006; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

38; 
Motor lobbies renovation; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2001 moved 
to fiscal year 2004; 
Project status: Under way--to be completed fiscal year 2006; 
Estimated cost: $3,366,000.

Total; 
$67,187,573.

Source: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

[End of table] 

Table 5: Capital Projects Planned for Future Years at the Kennedy 
Center as of February 29, 2004: 

1; 
Design Level A backstage and support areas; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2004; 
Project status: Planned/ ongoing--to begin fiscal year 2002-2008; 
Estimated cost: With theater renovations.

2; 
Backstage and support area renovations; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2005; 
Project status: Planned--to begin fiscal year 2005-2008; 
Estimated cost: With theater renovations.

3; 
Design--Roof Terrace renovations; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2005; 
Project status: Planned--to begin fiscal year 2006-2007; 
Estimated cost: Included in project below.

4; 
Roof Terrace renovation (phase I) to begin after completion of 
American Film Institute Theater renovation; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2006; 
Project status: Planned--to begin fiscal year 2007; 
Estimated cost: $9,107,000.

5; 
Design--Roof Terrace renovation (phase II), including sprinkler 
coverage of Roof Terrace; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2006; 
Project status: Planned--to begin fiscal year 2007; 
Estimated cost: $4,515,000.

6; 
Roof Terrace level renovations (phase II); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2007; 
Project status: Planned--to begin fiscal year 2008; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

7; 
Design--Eisenhower Theater renovation; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2005; 
Project status: Planned--to begin fiscal year 2004-2005; 
Estimated cost: $1,358,000.

8; 
Eisenhower Theater renovation (phase I); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2006; 
Project status: Planned--to begin fiscal year 2007-2008; 
Estimated cost: $11,895,500.

9; 
Eisenhower Theater renovation (phase II); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2007; 
Project status: Planned--to begin fiscal year 2007-2008; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

10; 
Design--Roof Terrace curtainwall restoration; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2007; 
Project status: Planned--to begin fiscal year 2008; 
Estimated cost: TBD[A].

11; 
Roof Terrace curtainwall restoration; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2008; 
Project status: Planned--to begin fiscal year 2008-2009; 
Estimated cost: TBD[A].

12; 
American Film Institute Theater renovation commencement; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2005; 
Project status: Planned--to begin fiscal year 2005; 
Estimated cost: $7,400,000.

13; 
Toilet room renovations; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2005; 
Project status: Planned--to begin fiscal year 2006-2009; 
Estimated cost: $2,580,000.

14; 
Toilet room renovations--continue; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2006; 
Project status: Planned--to begin fiscal year 2006-2009; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

15; 
Toilet room renovations (final phase); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2007; 
Project status: Planned--to begin fiscal year 2006-2009; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

16; 
Design Level A visitor area renovation; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2003; 
Project status: Planned--to begin fiscal year 2006; 
Estimated cost: $1,648,000.

17; 
Level A visitor area construction; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2004; 
Project status: Planned--to begin fiscal year 2006; 
Estimated cost: Included in project above.

Total; 
$38,503,500.

Source: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

[A] Budget will be confirmed and fine-tuned in conceptual design phase.

[End of table]

Table 6: Capital Projects Not Implemented or Postponed at the Kennedy 
Center as of February 29, 2004: 

1; 
Space modifications (phase 3)--modifications at 69-foot level; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1998; 
Project status: Not implemented; 
Cost: N/A.

2; 
Relocate American Film Institute Theater; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2000; 
Project status: Not implemented; 
Cost: N/A.

3; 
New office windows; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal years 2000 and 
2002; 
Project status: Not implemented; 
Cost: N/A.

4; 
New production shop; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2002; 
Project status: Not implemented; 
Cost: N/A.

5; 
Interpretive theater modernization; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1998 moved 
to fiscal year 2002; 
Project status: Not implemented; 
Cost: N/A.

6; 
Egress from River Terrace; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2002; 
Project status: Not implemented--part of Plaza project; 
Cost: N/A.

7; 
Administrative office renovation (phase 7); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2002; 
Project status: Not implemented; 
Cost: N/A.

8; 
Administrative office renovation (phase 8); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2003; 
Project status: Not implemented; 
Cost: N/A.

9; 
Administrative office renovation (phase 9); 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2004; 
Project status: Not implemented; 
Cost: N/A.

10; 
Design--office renovation; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2004; 
Project status: To be determined; 
priority given to other projects; 
Cost: N/A.

11; 
Office renovations; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2005; 
Project status: To be determined; 
priority given to other projects; 
Cost: N/A.

12; 
Public space improvements--commence; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2006; 
Project status: To be determined; 
Cost: N/A.

13; 
Continue public space improvements; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2007; 
Project status: To be determined; 
Cost: N/A.

14; 
Mezzanines (phase 1)--visitor amenities; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 1998; 
Project status: Studied 1998; 
not implemented; 
Cost: $564,206.

15; 
Terrace level reorganization; 
Year plan identified project to be undertaken: Fiscal year 2000; 
Project status: Studied 2001; 
not implemented; 
Cost: $55,539.

Total; 
$619,745.

Source: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

[End of table]

[End of section] 


Appendix III: Comments from the John F. Kennedy Center for the 
Performing Arts: 

The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts:

MICHAEL M. KAISER: 
PRESIDENT:

August 18, 2004:

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20566-0001 

202 416-8010:
FAX 202 416-8018:

Mr. Peter F. Guerrero:
Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues: 
United States General Accounting Office: 
441 G St. NW:
Washington DC 20458:

Dear Mr. Guerrero:

On behalf of the Trustees and staff of the John F. Kennedy Center for 
the Performing Arts, I want to thank you and your team from the General 
Accounting Office for forwarding the draft report, "Kennedy Center: 
More Information on Project Status and Budgets Needed to Understand the 
Impact of Future Funding Decisions."

We found your analysis revealing and insightful and plan to implement 
your one major recommendation immediately. We are also investigating 
ways to address your many helpful comments.

In an effort to ensure that the report is as accurate and helpful as 
possible, we would like to clarify a few points.

* In reference to the total appropriations anticipated by the Kennedy 
Center through 2008, the total of $209 million represents the amounts 
appropriated in fiscal years 1995 through 1998 plus the amount of 
funding for fiscal years 1999 through 2008 suggested by the 1997 
Building Plan, on which Congress based the John F. Kennedy Center for 
the Performing Arts Authorization Act of 1998. The Center's requested 
appropriations have not changed since the amount was agreed to with 
Congress at that time.

The Comprehensive Building Plan (CBP) serves as the primary management 
tool for capital project planning and as a general implementation plan 
for the future based on assumed financial and operational constraints. 
However, it has not been the primary vehicle for understanding the 
Center's progress in implementing its renovation plan. Internal 
planning documents (including individual project budget spreadsheets 
and five-year financial projections, sometimes updated as frequently as 
monthly) are used for such purposes.

The CBP is also not the central vehicle for keeping Congress and other 
agencies informed of the Center's progress in its renovation program. 
Specific project status and budget information is maintained in 
supplemental documents that are regularly presented to Congress. For 
example, periodic reports that delineate the past year's expenditures, 
the projected expenditures for the current year and the budget for the 
following year, project by project, are provided to the Kennedy Center 
Operations Committee, comprised of Trustees and Congressional 
representatives. In addition, monthly reports that delineate the 
budget, prior month's obligations and expenditures, current month's 
projected obligations and expenditures, and obligations and 
expenditures to-date for each project are provided to OMB.

We concur that clear communication and good data are essential to sound 
capital planning and decision-making and in that respect rely on these 
internal tools, which can be updated more frequently than the CBP, to 
facilitate that process. Projects are evaluated and re-prioritized 
continually throughout the year as specific details and drawings are 
developed for each project and more specific and accurate budgets are 
developed. This re-prioritization is also necessary when appropriations 
are reduced due to rescissions and budget cuts.

The Center always tries to spend its appropriated funds most prudently 
and expeditiously. So that as the environment, appropriations levels, 
the economy and Center programming changes, the renovation plan is 
changed accordingly. For example, no one developing the 1995 CBP could 
have conceived of the impact of September 11, 2001 and the resulting 
need for devoting more funds to security. The current restrictive 
federal budget environment has also had an impact, projects planned for 
the coming years are postponed or cancelled as planned appropriated 
funds levels are falling precipitously. I hold regular meetings with 
key managers and trustees to reevaluate renovation plans based on new 
institutional priorities and updated budget information.

Although we understand the methodology on which the analysis of 
percentage of projects completed and ongoing was based, we do not fully 
agree with this methodology for two reasons:

1. In past Comprehensive Building Plans, the design and implementation 
of a project were listed as one project. In the most recent CBP, design 
and implementation were listed as two separate projects. To obtain the 
proper ratio of projects 
completed, one must treat all projects identically. Either one must 
count design and implementation separately for every project or one 
must count every project only once. We believe the latter approach is 
more appropriate for this evaluation. 2. Some plans counted the 
continuation of a project as a new and separate project. Again, we 
believe that every project should be counted only once.

If the total number of projects is developed by naively adding up every 
project mentioned in every plan, as was done in this study, the number 
of total projects is inflated and the ratio of projects completed and 
ongoing is skewed.

We have completed a thorough review of every project mentioned in every 
CBP in an effort to treat every project consistently and to avoid all 
double-counting. Our analysis suggests that there were 115 separate 
projects identified of which 96 have been completed and ongoing. This 
results in a ratio of 83% project completion rather than the 75% 
mentioned in your study.

The vast majority of the projects delineated in the 1995 CBP were 
either completed or are in process. Of the projects delineated in the 
1995 CBP, there are essentially only five major projects that will not 
be implemented: the interpretive IMAX theater (five of the listed 
projects are related to the conversion of a theater into an 
interpretive IMAX theater), addition of a mezzanine, installation of 
office windows, creation of the west terrace stairs, and some 
administrative office renovations. The first three were determined not 
to be a good use of government funds after more careful analysis and 
the west terrace stairs were incorporated into the larger Plaza Project 
that is currently awaiting government funding. Staffing changes removed 
the need to renovate the offices planned in the 1995 CBP. It is 
important to note that there are projects not included in the 1995 CBP 
that the Trustees of the Center felt of great importance including the 
development of a Family Theater and the renovation of the Eisenhower 
Theater needed to make it fully accessible and ADA compliant.

Although these changes have been regularly communicated to Congress, in 
response to this GAO report, the Comprehensive Building Plan will be 
revised annually to include project status information and any 
revisions to future project planning. We believe detailed budget 
information may be most beneficial as a supplementary document, perhaps 
attached as an appendix, because of frequent changes.

We appreciate the time, effort and thoughtfulness of the GAO team that 
completed this project and will use your recommendations to better 
communicate the status and budgets of the Center's capital projects.

Sincerely yours,

Signed by: 

Michael M. Kaiser: 

[End of section]

Appendix IV: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments: 

GAO Contact: 

Susan Fleming, (202) 512-4431: 

Staff Acknowledgments: 

In addition to the individual named above, Omar Beyah, Maria Edelstein, 
Brandon Haller, Nancy Lueke, Julie Phillips, and Susan Michal-Smith 
made significant contributions to this report.

(543091): 

FOOTNOTES

[1] Capital projects are improvements to capital assets, which are 
defined as land, structures, equipment, intellectual property, and 
information technology that have an estimated useful life of two years 
or more. 

[2] The current composition of the Kennedy Center's Board of Trustees 
consists of 23 government positions, including congressional members, 
as well as 36 general trustees appointed by the President of the United 
States. Each general trustee serves a term of 6 years.

[3] 20 U.S.C §76j(a)(F).

[4] The 2002 Building Plan shows the projects being completed in fiscal 
year 2008.

[5] The John F. Kennedy Center Plaza Authorization Act of 2002 
authorized the Secretary of Transportation to spend up to $400 million 
for fiscal year 2003 through fiscal year 2010 to create a plaza. In 
fiscal year 2004, Congress appropriated about $6 million for this 
project. 

[6] Gross square feet is a unit of measurement of the total floor area 
of the building as measured from the outer surface of exterior walls 
and windows. 

[7] These projects included Opera House renovations; security, fire 
alarm, and building automation systems updates; and fire safety 
improvements. 

[8] The Kennedy Center completed another 12 capital projects that were 
not identified in the plan.

[9] According to a Kennedy Center official, the updates to the building 
plan have not been consistent in how projects have been listed. For 
example, some updates list design and implementation of a project as 
separate projects, while other projects combine design and 
implementation and are listed as one project. For purposes of this 
report, we list and count projects as they were listed in the original 
building plan and its updates. 

[10] The Construction Industry Institute is a research organization 
composed of construction contractors and owners seeking to improve the 
construction and capital investment process.

[11] These categories are exterior building envelope; life safety and 
security; interior repair, accessibility, and egress; building systems; 
memorial interpretation and visitor services; parking and site 
circulation; and comprehensive planning and project management.

[12] GAO, Executive Guide: Leading Practices in Capital Decision-
making, GAO/AIMD-99-32 (Washington, D.C.: December 1998).

[13] Museum Benchmarks 2002, Survey of Facility Management Practices, 
Facility Management Services Ltd.

[14] According to Kennedy Center officials, they developed an average 
O&M rate for the two buildings because of the difference in the cost to 
maintain the different space. They said the cost of O&M for the new 
building with the exhibition space will be much higher than the O&M for 
the other new building because much of the space must be climate-
controlled to preserve the exhibits, additional security is needed for 
securing the objects, and additional maintenance is needed given the 
anticipated high volume of visitors.

[15] According to a Kennedy Center official, the Federal Highway 
Administration was expected to construct an underground garage in the 
new buildings, but the garage has been eliminated due to budget issues. 
The official believes the current garage should provide sufficient 
parking for the proposed buildings. 

GAO's Mission: 

The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of 
Congress, exists to support Congress in meeting its constitutional 
responsibilities and to help improve the performance and accountability 
of the federal government for the American people. GAO examines the use 
of public funds; evaluates federal programs and policies; and provides 
analyses, recommendations, and other assistance to help Congress make 
informed oversight, policy, and funding decisions. GAO's commitment to 
good government is reflected in its core values of accountability, 
integrity, and reliability.

Obtaining Copies of GAO Reports and Testimony: 

The fastest and easiest way to obtain copies of GAO documents at no 
cost is through the Internet. GAO's Web site ( www.gao.gov ) contains 
abstracts and full-text files of current reports and testimony and an 
expanding archive of older products. The Web site features a search 
engine to help you locate documents using key words and phrases. You 
can print these documents in their entirety, including charts and other 
graphics.

Each day, GAO issues a list of newly released reports, testimony, and 
correspondence. GAO posts this list, known as "Today's Reports," on its 
Web site daily. The list contains links to the full-text document 
files. To have GAO e-mail this list to you every afternoon, go to 
www.gao.gov and select "Subscribe to e-mail alerts" under the "Order 
GAO Products" heading.

Order by Mail or Phone: 

The first copy of each printed report is free. Additional copies are $2 
each. A check or money order should be made out to the Superintendent 
of Documents. GAO also accepts VISA and Mastercard. Orders for 100 or 
more copies mailed to a single address are discounted 25 percent. 
Orders should be sent to: 

U.S. Government Accountability Office

441 G Street NW, Room LM

Washington, D.C. 20548: 

To order by Phone: 

Voice: (202) 512-6000: 

TDD: (202) 512-2537: 

Fax: (202) 512-6061: 

To Report Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in Federal Programs: 

Contact: 

Web site: www.gao.gov/fraudnet/fraudnet.htm

E-mail: fraudnet@gao.gov

Automated answering system: (800) 424-5454 or (202) 512-7470: 

Public Affairs: 

Jeff Nelligan, managing director,

NelliganJ@gao.gov

(202) 512-4800

U.S. Government Accountability Office,

441 G Street NW, Room 7149

Washington, D.C. 20548: