GSA’s 2017 Budget Proposes $1.5 Billion in CRE Investments

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$760 Million for New FBI HQs Included in Administration’s Proposed Budget

By Mark Heschmeyer

February 17, 2016

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced significant new real estate investments as part of the agency’s proposed fiscal year 2017 budget request.

While the proposed budget is subject to change, it currently includes plans for expenditures covering major repairs and alterations at federal facilities as well as new property purchases.

The GSA is an independent agency that manages real estate leasing and acquisition services for most other federal government agencies. The GSA’s Public Buildings Service is one of the largest and most diversified public real estate organizations in the world. Its portfolio consists of 376.9 million rentable square feet in 8,721 active assets across the United States, in all 50 states, six U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia.

GSA Administrator Denise Turner Roth said the proposed FY17 budget is in keeping with GSA’s mission to strengthen and develop existing federal infrastructure.

“This funding allows us to meet building requirements, benefiting the agencies within our space and American taxpayers by reinforcing our cost efficiency and commitment to sustainable property,” Roth said.

The largest project in the budget is $759 million for the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Headquarters consolidation project.

This month, the GSA issued a Phase II Request for Proposals (RFP) to the bidders competing for ownership of the FBI’s current headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue in exchange for the construction of a new 2.1 million rentable square-foot replacement facility.

“The administration is committed to acquiring a consolidated new headquarters facility for the FBI, a member of the intelligence community,” said Bill Dowd, project executive for GSA’s Public Buildings Service.

The FBI has occupied the J. Edgar Hoover Federal building since 1974. Developers covet the redevelopment potential of the prime location encompassing 6.7 acres of land in downtown Washington, DC.

Three potential replacement sites in Greenbelt MD, Landover MD, and Springfield, VA have already been identified for the new FBI headquarters facility.

Other major commercial real estate projects included in the proposed FY 2017 budget are:

  • $267 million for a new headquarters for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the next phase of the federal government’s plan to consolidate the Department of Homeland Security on the campus of at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital at 1100 Alabama Ave. SE in Washington.
  • $248 million to undertake the last phase a two-phase construction project for the reconfiguration and expansion of the Calexico West Land Port of Entry, the third-busiest land port in California.
  • More than $92 million for two facilities in Detroit — $81.3 million to renovate 985 Michigan Ave. for a planned consolidation of federal agencies in the facility, and $10.72 million to pay for critical structural and related system upgrades of the Patrick V. McNamara Federal Building Garage at 477 Michigan Ave.
  • $40 million to replace the roof, chiller and ventilation air duct (VAD) systems and upgrade the lighting controls system in the John F. Kennedy Federal Building at 15 Sudbury St. in Boston.
  • $22.78 million for improvements to the 46-year-old Austin Finance Center at 1500 W. Parmer Lane in Austin, TX.
  • $15.52 million to complete, repair and expand the plaza system at the Carl B. Stokes U.S. Courthouse in Cleveland.
  • $12.75 million to acquire the IRS Annex Building at 2021 Woodward St. in Austin, TX. Owning the currently leased property is projected to save the government $1.16 million a year in lease payments.
  • $10.78 million to pay for structural and related system upgrades of the parking garage at the Minton-Capehart Federal Building 575 N. Pennsylvania St. in Indianapolis.

·  $8.5 million for the design of a repair and alteration project for the Joseph P. Addabbo Federal Building at One Jamaica Center Plaza in Queens, NY. The project will reconfigure space to allow the Social Security Administration to consolidate onto the lower floors and free the higher floors for additional federal tenants currently housed in leased space in and around Queens.