GSAXCHANGE, the investment sales arm of Colliers Government Solutions, has published its Spring 2014 “Government-Leased Assets” report, which includes an overview of sales activity and trends in the federal sector. Driven by the lack of product with long lease terms, investors have been forced to adjust their acquisition criteria by shortening minimum lease term requirements. Coupled […]
Founded in 1974, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is an independent agency charged with regulating the futures and options markets. As these markets have grown with the “financialization” of the economy, the scope and work of the CFTC have grown accordingly—no surprise, since it’s estimated that some two-thirds of the leading hedge funds […]
As further evidence that the federal government has begun the process of downsizing, a number of federal agencies have recently made —or will soon make—voluntary buyout and early retirement offers to employees. More than a dozen agencies made such offers last year, and even more are in the works. Specifically: On January 12, the Internal […]
Today the Washington Business Journal reported that Vornado has selected a buyer for its Washington Office Center (409 3rd Street, SW) and Washington Design Center (300 D Street, SW) properties in Washington, DC’s Southwest submarket. The two…
Though the federal lease inventory continued to shrink in 2015, there was plenty of action, especially in the Washington, DC area where most of the big federal tenants reside. Here is a selection of the most notable transaction activity…
Before closing up shop for July Fourth, the Senate confirmed Dan Tangherlini as Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA). Tangherlini had served as acting administrator since April 2012 and has been praised for reforms already instituted at the troubled agency. His widely anticipated confirmation occurred on June 27 by unanimous consent. Tangherlini’s predecessor, Martha […]
Even as construction began on a long-awaited, 600,000 SF courthouse in Los Angeles this fall, efforts to downsize or close federal court facilities picked up in pace. Last week, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts announced that $1.7 million in incentives will be claimed by releasing underused space in 31 court facilities back to […]
The following post was written by Andrea Cross, Colliers’ National Office Research Manager | USA. Latest data, as of July 2013 Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Colliers International Despite a slow recovery in the office market, growth in office-using employment has outpaced overall employment growth during the last few years. As of July 2013, the […]
Expatriat British novelist and travel writer Lawrence Durrell, writing in Reflections on a Marine Venus, described a “rare but by no means unknown affliction of spirit” that he dubbed “islomania.” “These are people,” he stated, “who…
Bob Peck in Foreground With Martha Johnson in Background (Photo: GSA) GSA Chief Administrator Martha Johnson resigned today (April 2) and two of her deputies—Public Buildings Service Commissioner Bob Peck and Johnson’s top adviser, Stephen Leeds—were fired, according to White House officials cited in a Washington Post report. In a statement released this afternoon, GSA […]
The House of Representatives passed a bill yesterday designed to speed up the sale of large amounts of excess federal properties. The Civilian Property Alignment Act (H.R. 1734), commonly referred to as the “Civilian BRAC” bill), which passed 259 to 164, would create a process similar to the Defense Department’s BRAC, with a nine-member commission […]
In honor of the Mars rover Curiosity’s successful landing on the Red Planet early yesterday morning (Monday, August 6), we’ve decided to take a look at the agency behind that impressive feat: the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Its vision—“to reach for new heights and reveal the unknown so that what we do and […]
If you are a GSA leased property owner, have you considered that now may be an excellent time to sell? Among other trends, we are noticing that GSA investors are pursuing acquisitions of shorter lease term deals with increasing frequency where the renewal story is strong. As expected, pricing for these shorter lease term deals […]
If you begin discussing government facilities security, sooner or later “standoff” will enter the conversation. Standoff, sometimes used synonymously with “setback”, is the term used to describe the distance between a building and the perimeter of its site. In high security facilities such as FBI field offices it is typical to require 100 feet of […]
