Washington, D.C. (Map, News) - The oft-overlooked National Aquarium in D.C. is fighting plans by the federal government to charge rent for its space in the basement of the Herbert C. Hoover Building, after putting in more than 70 years in the same location at no cost.

Not nearly as well-known as its affiliate in Baltimore, the nonprofit National Aquarium welcomes roughly 175,000 people a year to what Executive Director Robert Ramin called a “charming, intimate experience.” But it could face a financial crisis if it is forced to pay what the General Services Administration is seeking for the basement expanse.

“Most of our modest admission does not cover our operating costs,” Ramin said. “To put rent on top of that would make it an extremely difficult situation for us.”

The 20,000-square-foot aquarium was a federal institution for 50 years until it went private in 1982. By law, the GSA does not have authority to provide free space to a non-federal entity and has since proposed a “reasonable” $15-per-square-foot lease, agency spokesman Mike McGill said.

Ramin has his backers in Congress. Language in the recently approved 2008 omnibus spending bill noted that the proposed GSA lease “does not equitably reflect the unique history and mission of the Aquarium, nor does it adequately reflect the current state of conditions in the basement” of the Hoover Building. The GSA was directed to strike a revised deal “either through waiver, deferral, or reduction.”

A spokeswoman for D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, who has oversight of the GSA, said Holmes

Norton will “look for federal funds for [the aquarium] to upgrade and move.”

The National Aquarium has undergone a $1.5 million, two-year renovation “to bring it up to modern aquarium status,” Ramin said. The work, featuring new tanks, graphics, monitors, carpeting and diagnostic areas, is slated to be completed this spring. A marketing campaign will coincide to generate some much needed buzz.

The facility simply isn’t a draw despite an entrance on 14th Street and exhibits that include a young giant octopus, four species of small sharks, piranhas, seahorses, alligators, clownfish, a snakehead and a baby loggerhead sea turtle.

“It’s really that they don’t know we’re here,” Ramin said of D.C.’s tourists.

IF YOU GO

» Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

» Entrance fee $5 for adults and $2.50 for children

» Provides free programming to D.C. public school

mneibauer@dcexaminer.com