Editing Watergate complex (section)

===Approval controversies===
Because the District of Columbia is the seat of the United States government, proposals for buildings in the city (particularly those in the downtown area, near federal buildings and monuments) must pass through an extensive, complex, and time-consuming approval process. The approval process for the Watergate complex had five stages. The first stage considered the proposed project as a whole as well as the first proposed building.<ref name="GoAhead" /> The remaining four stages considered the four remaining proposed buildings in turn.<ref name="GoAhead" /> At each stage, three separate planning bodies were required to give their approval: The [[National Capital Planning Commission]] (NCPC), the District of Columbia Zoning Commission (DCZC), and the [[United States Commission of Fine Arts]] (USCFA) (which had approval authority over any buildings built on the Potomac River to ensure that they fit aesthetically with their surroundings).<ref name="White">{{cite news |last=White |first=Jean M. |title=Woes Stall Watergate Project |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 18, 1963}}</ref>

In December 1961, 14 months after the project was publicly announced, the NCPC voiced its concern that the project's 16-story buildings would overshadow the Lincoln Memorial and the proposed "National Cultural Center" (later to be called the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts).<ref name="Clopton">{{cite news |last=Clopton |first=Willard |title=Board Opposition Rises to Watergate Apartment Project |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 24, 1961}}</ref> At the time, the District of Columbia had a {{convert|90|ft|m|adj=on}} height limit on all buildings except for those located exclusively along business streets.<ref name="Clopton" /> To obtain a height waiver, SGI would have to include retail office space in the complex, but the site was then zoned only for apartment buildings.<ref name="Clopton" /> Thus, initial approval first had to be won from the District of Columbia Zoning Commission.<ref name="Opponents" />

By the time the DCZC met to consider approval in mid-April 1962, the cost of the project had been scaled back to $50 million.<ref name="Opponents">{{cite news |title=Watergate Project Foes Present Views to Zoners |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 14, 1962}}</ref> Because the District of Columbia lacked [[District of Columbia home rule|home rule]], DCZC planners were reluctant to act without coordinating with agencies of the federal government.<ref name="Opponents" /><ref name="GoshkoChange" /> Additionally, many civic leaders, architects, [[Businessperson|business people]], and [[Urban planner|city planners]] opposed the project before the DCZC because they feared it was too tall and too large.<ref name="Opponents" /> By the end of April, DCZC had announced that it would delay its decision.<ref name="Isaacs">{{cite news |last=Isaacs |first=Stephen |title=Watergate Zoning Hearing Scheduled |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 30, 1962}}</ref> The Commission of Fine Arts also had concerns: it felt some of the land should be preserved as public space<ref name="Clopton" /> and objected to the height of the proposed buildings as well as their [[Modern architecture|modern]] design.<ref name="FineArtsDelay">{{cite news |title=Fine Arts Wins Delay In Watergate Zoning |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 19, 1962}}</ref> Three days after the DCZC meeting, the USCFA announced it was putting a "hold" on the Watergate development until its concerns were addressed.<ref name="FineArtsDelay" /> To counter this resistance, SGI officials met with members of the USCFA in New York City in April 1962 and defended the complex's design.<ref name="Isaacs" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Huxtable |first=Ada Louise |title=Controversy Widens on Design Of Development in Washington |newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 29, 1962}}</ref> SGI also reduced the planned height of the Watergate to 14 stories from 16.<ref name="Livingston">{{cite news |url=http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2002/06/17/focus11.html |last=Livingston |first=Mike |newspaper=Washington Business Journal |date=June 14, 2002 |title=Watergate: The Name That Branded More Than A Building |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090223075238/http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2002/06/17/focus11.html |archive-date=February 23, 2009 }}</ref><ref name="Wheeler" /> In May 1962, the NCPC reviewed the project. Additional revisions in the design plan pushed the cost back up to $65 million, even though only 17 villas were now planned.<ref name="RomanGiant" /> Based on this proposal, the NCPC approved the Watergate plan.<ref>{{cite news |title=NCPC Reaffirms Watergate Stand |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 11, 1962}}</ref>

With the support of the NCPC, SGI dug in its heels: It declared it was not interested in developing the unsightly, abandoned commercial site unless its basic curvilinear design (now called "Watergate Towne") was approved, and it lobbied DCZC commissioners in late May, lecturing them on the District's architectural heritage and the beauty of modern architecture.<ref name="Sanchez" /><ref name=GoshkoMay1962130Feet>{{cite news |last=Goshko |first=John M. |title=130-Ft. Height Or Nothing, Say Towne Backers |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 16, 1962 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Commissioners Hear Watergate's Designer |last=Goshko |first=John M. |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 18, 1962}}</ref> SGI officials also lobbied the USCFA. Meanwhile, [[White House]] staff made it known that the [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy administration]] wanted the height of the complex lowered to {{convert|90|ft|m}}.<ref name="Livingston" /> Three key staff were opposed to the project on height grounds: [[Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.]], Special Assistant to the President; August Heckscher III, Special Consultant on the Arts; and William Walton, a Kennedy family confidant.<ref name="SternWH">{{cite news |last=Stern |first=Laurence |title=White House Acts to Cut Height of Huge Watergate Development |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 5, 1962}}</ref> The three briefed President [[John F. Kennedy]] on the issue, but it was not clear who made the decision to request the height reduction or who made the request public.<ref name="SternWH" /> The White House announcement surprised many, and offended federal and city planners, who saw it as presidential interference in their activities.<ref name="SternWH" />

SGI's chief architect, [[Gabor Acs|Gábor Ács]], and Watergate chief architect Luigi Moretti flew to New York City on May 17 and defended the complex's design in a three-hour meeting with USCFA members.<ref name="Livingston" /><ref name="GoshkoChange">{{cite news |last=Goshko |first=John M. |title=Watergate Apartment Designs Changed by Architect Agreement |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 19, 1962}}</ref> SGI agreed to shrink three of the planned buildings in the development to 13 stories (112&nbsp;ft), with the remaining building rising to {{convert|130|ft|m}}.<ref name="Livingston" /><ref name="Wheeler" /><ref name="GoshkoChange" /> SGI also agreed to add more open space by reducing the size of the Watergate to {{convert|1.73|e6sqft|m2}} from {{convert|1.911|e6sqft|m2}} and by reorienting or re-siting some of the buildings.<ref name="GoshkoChange" /> The USCFA gave its assent to the revised construction plan on May 28, the White House withdrew its objections, and the DCZC gave its final approval on July 13.<ref name="Livingston" /><ref name="Isaacs" /><ref name="GoshkoWins">{{cite news |last=Goshko |first=John M. |title=Design for Watergate Towne Development Wins Fine Arts Commission Endorsement |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 29, 1962}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Goshko |first=John M. |title=Zoning Board Yields on 130 Feet As Height for Towne Apartments |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 30, 1962}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Stern |first=Laurence |title=New Watergate Towne Plan Favored |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 12, 1962}}</ref><ref name="FinalDCApproval">{{cite news |last=Stern |first=Laurence |title=High-Rise Watergate Towne Given Final D.C. Approval |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 14, 1962}}</ref> The final plan broke one building into two, creating five rather than four construction projects.<ref name="GoshkoWins" /><ref name="FinalDCApproval" /> Moretti later admitted he probably would have lowered the height of the buildings anyway,<ref name="EisenTouch" /> and thought that the approval process had gone relatively smoothly.<ref name="WillmanShudders" /> Construction was expected to begin in spring 1963 and last five years.<ref name="FinalDCApproval" />

The Watergate project faced one final controversy. The group [[Americans United for Separation of Church and State|Protestants and Other Americans United for Separation of Church and State]] began a national letter-writing campaign opposing the project, alleging that the zoning waivers would not have been given had [[Catholic Church|the Vatican]] not been a major investor in SGI.<ref name="Sanchez" /><ref name="Protestants">{{cite news |title=Towne Plan Stirs Row by Protestants |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 17, 1962}}</ref> By mid-November 1962, more than 2,000 protest letters had been sent to Congress and another 1,500 to the White House.<ref name="Protestants" /> But the group's attempt to stop construction failed, and the project went forward.

The project won its $44 million financial backing in late 1962, and its construction permits in May 1963.<ref name="White" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Willenson |first=Kim |title=Watergate Towne Gets Financing, Awaits Permit |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 14, 1962}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Willenson |first=Kim |title=Watergate Plan Clears Final Zoning Hurdle |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 4, 1963}}</ref> Construction began on the first building, the Watergate East apartment, in August 1963.<ref name="Wheeler" /><ref name="WGEast">{{cite news |title=Watergate Noses Up |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 3, 1964}}</ref> The builder was Magazine Bros. Construction.<ref name="Livingston" /> Groundbreaking occurred in August 1963, and major excavation work was complete by May 1964.<ref name="Livingston" /><ref name="Wheeler" />

The U.S. Commission on Fine Arts attempted once more to revise the project. In October 1963, the USCFA alleged that the height of the Watergate complex, as measured from the parkway in front of it, would exceed the agreed-upon height restrictions.<ref name="White" /> SGI officials, however, contended that architects are required by law to measure from the highest point on the property on which they are to build; using this measurement, the building met the May 1962 agreement stipulations.<ref name="White" /> On January 10, 1963, SGI and the USCFA agreed that the height of the complex would not exceed {{convert|140|ft|m}} above water level (10&nbsp;inches below that of the nearby Lincoln Memorial), that fewer than 300 apartment units would be built (to reduce population congestion), and to eliminate the proposed luxury villas (to create more open space).<ref name="GoAhead">{{cite news |title=Development of Watergate Towne Gets Go-Ahead on Ground Breaking |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=January 25, 1964}}</ref> Luxury penthouse apartments, however, could extend above the {{convert|140|ft|m|adj=on}} limit if they were [[Setback (architecture)|set back]] from the edge of the building and the 14th floor was foregone.<ref name="GoAhead" /> With these adjustments, the total cost of the first apartment complex (excluding plumbing, electricity, and decoration) was estimated at $12,184,376.<ref name="GoAhead" />