This is what it looks like when a few hundred real estate developers and advisors descend upon the security desk at GSA headquarters. Yesterday (January 17) GSA hosted an “industry day” conference to provide additional background relating to their Request For Information soliciting developer input on ideas to replace the existing J. Edgar Hoover (JEH) […]

“BRAC” is the abbreviation for Base Realignment and Closure.  Though, to be technically correct, it is formally used by DoD as the acronym for Base Closure and Realignment.  Either way, BRAC is the process by which…

Last week, we profiled the U.S. Courts; this week we take a look at the agency whose employees represent the federal government in those courts—the Office of the U.S. Attorneys (USA). Under the direction of the U.S. Attorney General (AG), the 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the nation are the chief federal law enforcement officers […]

In 2010, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the fiscal watchdog within the federal government, issued an order requiring that federal agencies consolidate data centers in order to save money and reduce redundancies. Twenty-four agencies,…

According to our research, the answer is very rarely.  As of the December 2011 GSA lease inventory, there are a total of 339 GSA leases within the District of Columbia, totaling approximately 25.5 MSF.  Of those,…

Think of the many ways in which computers control buildings, from HVAC systems to electronic door locks and the flow of gas, water, and electricity. Now think of the many ways in which those computers can go haywire, from corrupt software to a power surge. Finally, think of what a person with bad intentions might […]

Article 1, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution states that “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law….” The Antideficiency Act (ADA), originally enacted in 1884 and most recently codified at 31 U.S.C. § 1341, is one means by which Congress enforces this fundamental principle. The Act’s […]

The Colliers Government Solutions team represents owners of government-leased properties nationally. So, we travel a lot. This slideshow profiles my trip earlier this year to Corpus Christi, Texas. (Use arrow buttons to advance slides) https://www.capitolmarkets.com/wp-content/uploads/slideshow-gallery/View From Plane-edit.jpg Corpus Christi is located on Texas’ Gulf Coast, halfway between Houston and the Mexican border. It is far enough […]

Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) Leadership changes in the 113th Congress already are having an impact on federal real estate decisions.  Maryland lawmakers—led by Democratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski, who recently took over as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee—announced last week (Thursday, January 3) that the Treasury Department and GSA have agreed to delay plans to […]

If the Farm Service Agency (FSA) sounds as if it might be some forgotten holdover of the alphabet-soup New Deal of nine decades ago, there is good reason. Although it was formally instituted only in 1996, during the last months of Bill Clinton’s first term as president, it harkens back to several programs of the US […]

The Southwest EcoDistrict showing locations of the Cotton Annex, the Dept. of Energy’s Forrestal Building, the Federal Aviation Administration HQ and GSA’s Regional Office Building (ROB) for the National Capital Region (NCR). The November 19 hearing, “Federal Triangle South: Redeveloping Underutilized Federal Property Through Public Private Partnerships,” began with optimistic opening remarks. Lou Barletta (R-PA), […]

1801 N Lynn Street (Photo: CoStar) As the Washington Business Journal reported earlier this month, GSA has canceled its efforts to replace the 343,000 RSF State Department lease at 1801 N. Lynn Street in the Rosslyn submarket of Northern Virginia. In its posting on FedBizOpps GSA wrote that “the Government is now evaluating federal ownership for this […]

The U.S. government leases space all across the nation–including in some pretty remote locations. Yet, the bulk of federal government tenancy can be found in just 20 markets. The map above shows the 20 largest markets for U.S. Government leases as measured by Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA)*. We track nearly 7,000 properties that are leased in whole or […]

Despite increasing congressional pressure to improve the number of long, firm-term leases, GSA and its tenant agencies have proven that they are not yet serious about weaning themselves from their addiction to termination rights. As measured from the leasing peak in 2010 (note: some of the leases in that year are due to short term Census leases), the number […]