Photovoltaic panels on high performance buildings can significantly cut energy costs and carbon emissions. But distributed, intermittent renewable energy sources are a challenge to integrate with the aging U.S. electrical grid. The vital goal of a smarter, more resilient national energy system moved closer on September 11, with the dedication of the Energy Systems Integration […]
Any observer of the federal leasing market will agree that the pace of new leasing has slowed considerably. This is to say that there are few requirements for new space or expansions of existing leases. Landlords hoping to lease space to the federal government must focus instead on what it will take to poach tenants […]
Election 2012 is, mercifully, behind us. President Obama’s term is renewed, albeit by a fairly narrow majority of the popular vote. Most Representatives and Senators are also back for another term and though some seats changed the overall result is that the 113th Congress will look almost exactly like the much-reviled 112th. Can anything be […]
Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA) Have we seen the last of BRAC? Although the Defense Department has used the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process five times within the past 15 years, and although President Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta have proposed sixth and seventh rounds of BRAC commissions (in 2013 and 2015)—and have said that […]
From left to right: Constitution Center, the Old Post Office, 601 New Jersey and 1800 M Street (renovation rendering) GSA now has a plan to lease all of the remaining 358,000 square feet of space at Constitution Center and distribute it among the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National […]
With today’s post we take a break from our usual review of government real estate to instead focus on a unique social giving campaign: Everyone Gives. This event—the most inclusive initiative of its kind—enables charities, companies and public figures to collaboratively mobilize their networks, raising awareness of a global charitable effort, demonstrating the collective power we all […]
What little-known agency occupies the third-largest federal facility in the Washington, D.C., area (after the Pentagon and the Ronald Reagan building)? Last year, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), part of the Department of Defense, moved into…
U.S. Postal Service Headquarters at L’Enfant Plaza, Washington, DC (photo: Coolcaesar at en.wikipedia) The fiscal woes of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) have been widely documented, discussed and dissected in recent years. The most recent 10-K posted by the USPS notes that it has accumulated a net deficiency of $25.4 billion, intensifying the urgency to […]
“CEA” is the abbreviation for “Central Employment Area”. The term has significance in federal leasing dating back to August 16, 1978, when President Jimmy Carter signed Executive Order 12072. The Executive Order included a key provision that has greatly impacted the location of federal offices ever since: Except where such selection is otherwise prohibited, the […]
The government right now is, well, it’s in turmoil. That’s voiced as an opinion but it feels like actual, quantifiable fact. The United States is still fighting its way out of a deep and prolonged recession,…
If you think getting an immigration bill, say, or healthcare reform through a bitterly divided Congress is hard, try an annual budget. In mid-September, Congress, having been unable to agree on that budget, passed what is called a continuing resolution (CR), an instrument that, absent just such an agreed-upon budget, allows for the ongoing funding […]
Earlier this week we wrote that Moodys had announced that it is considering a downgrade of U.S. sovereign debt, this following a similar downgrade by Standard & Poor’s last year. At that time, as now, federal government-leased property investors find themselves engaging in a gut-check. After all, there are only two reasons to invest in […]
What federal agency has shrunk to its smallest size in more than a century? The answer—the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO)—is no surprise, given the huge changes in printing and information technology that have taken place in recent decades. The agency that once printed, bound, and distributed about 25,000 copies of the Congressional Record every […]
An eerie quiet has descended over much of the 354 million square feet of real estate owned and leased by the General Services Administration (GSA). Facilities around the U.S. and its territories emptied on October 1 when the new fiscal year arrived without a budget approved by Congress. As required by law for all federal […]
