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 find islands somehow irresistible.” In that spirit, we continue our series on federally owned islands, the first of which […]
Less than two weeks from what is shaping up to be a very close presidential election there is no shortage of pundits offering theories on which candidate will prevail. Many so-called experts look to the past to predict the future. Comic-strip creator Randall Munroe does the same with hilarious results…
As the Northeastern United States begins what looks to be a prolonged and expensive recovery from the damage wrought by Hurricane Sandy earlier this week (beginning on Sunday, October 29), we thought this an appropriate time to profile the federal agency whose mission is “to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as […]
GSAXCHANGE, the investment sales arm of Colliers Government Solutions, has published its Fall 2013 “Government Market Insight” report, which includes an overview of sales activity and trends in the federal sector. Despite the dire headlines and GSA’s current budget woes, the reliance on leased space by the federal government will likely only increase, albeit at a […]
Which small agency within the U.S. Department of the Treasury auctions and issues more than $9 trillion in securities every year? The Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD)—under authority derived from Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, which empowers Congress to borrow money on the credit of the United States—borrows the money needed to […]
Recent revelations of secretive Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) data collection, in consort with the NSA, may lead some to wonder: what does the DEA do, anyway? It is a forty-year-old agency under the Justice Department (DOJ), and pursues a mission to enforce laws and regulations that combat illegal use of narcotics and other controlled substances. […]
Our GSAXCHANGE team, the investment sales and finance arm of Colliers Government Solutions, just published their inaugural “Government Market Insight” report, which includes an overview of sales activity and trends in the federal sector. Among their findings: 1. The trend of 10-year U.S. Treasuries versus GSA-leased property cap rates demonstrates that the spread widened significantly […]
In response to an official request by Mayor Gray and effective May 23, 2012, GSA has expanded the District of Columbia’s Central Employment Area (CEA) to include the St. Elizabeths East Campus and the Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District (highlighted in yellow) paving the way for federal agencies to locate there. While the existing office […]
As we reported back in February, GSA has been planning to move about 1,000 employees from its Heartland Region Headquarters at the Bannister Federal Complex to leased space in downtown Kansas City, Mo. Earlier this month (on Dec. 5), GSA announced that it is seeking 146,572 to 153,901 square feet of office space within the downtown […]
Since 2003, the General Services Administration (GSA) has required basic LEED certification for all federal buildings, and it upped the ante in 2010 by requiring LEED-Gold. But every five years, thanks to the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, the GSA must review green building certification systems, then report its findings to the Secretary […]
Which federal agency’s mission is to “Advance freedom for the benefit of the American people and the international community by helping to build and sustain a more democratic, secure, and prosperous world composed of well-governed states that respond to the needs of their people, reduce widespread poverty, and act responsibly within the international system”? The […]
We’ve been wondering since last Monday who would replace Bob Peck as GSA’s commissioner of public buildings, who was fired that day as part of the now infamous “GSA Las Vegas Scandal.” The answer came yesterday afternoon (Monday, April 9), when GSA announced that it has appointed Regional Commissioner Linda Chero acting head of GSA’s […]
From Quincy, Florida, to Ketchikan, Alaska, field offices of the Social Security Administration (SSA) are being shuttered. Since 2010, 64 field offices have closed around the country, the largest number in the agency’s 79-year history. In…
Colliers today released its Q1 report profiling the North America industrial market. It demonstrates that the overall outlook is bullish for manufacturing, intermodal transportation, port activity, and thus for industrial real estate. The increase in specialized manufacturing…
