The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) (we pronounce it “Eee-sa”) is sometimes called the light bulb bill for phasing out most incandescents. It has been called “the most sweeping energy efficiency legislation in U.S. history” by the nonprofit Alliance to Save Energy. Originally named the Clean Energy Act of 2007, the bill […]
Dr. Stephen S. Fuller at an AIA conference last October presenting an analysis that one million defense industry jobs could be lost as a result of expected defense budget cuts. This was the pre-cursor to the study released this week. As the threat of sequestration looms ever larger, the results of a new study released […]
Which federal agency is the world’s largest public engineering, design and construction management agency? The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (also known as USACE or simply “the Corps”) is made up of some 37,000 civilian and military personnel delivering engineering services to customers in more than 90 countries worldwide. Although we typically associate it with […]
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 […]
