NARA records center set for St. Louis.

• Position: National Archives and Records Administration

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), working through the General Services Administration (GSA), said it will lease a new built-to-suit facility in St. Louis, Missouri. The new facility will replace the 1950s-era Military Personnel Records Center now at 9700 Page Avenue in St. Louis and a portion of the Civilian Personnel Records Center on Winnebago Road in St. Louis.

NARA said the new building is scheduled to open in March 2010. The new facility will house the National Personnel Records Center, part of the NARA's Federal Records Center Program. The center contains 56 million personnel files of 20th-century military service veterans, and 25 million federal civilian personnel files dating from the early 1900s to the 1970s. All these files are designated as permanent, historic records.

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Each year, a portion of the military personnel files are transferred from military services' ownership to the legal custody of the National Archives, when 62 years has elapsed since an individual's separation from service. Civilian personnel files will also be accessioned into NARA's custody in the near future.

In addition to records storage, the new facility will contain public research rooms, an archival preservation laboratory, public meeting rooms, and staff offices. "The new facility is specially designed for the...