GSA Reveals Updated Site Plan for Suburban FBI Campus
By CN Staff
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) recently announced an updated site selection plan for the new suburban FBI headquarters campus, following consultations held with the Virginia and Maryland delegations – as directed by Congress in the Fiscal Year 2023 Appropriations Act.
“The consultations with the delegations provided valuable feedback, and helped us refine our plan to maximize value for the FBI and the public,” said Nina Albert, GSA Commissioner of the Public Buildings Service. “While the core elements of the site selection plan remain the same, we have updated the plan to incorporate new government-wide directives and to increase the consideration of cost to deliver better value for taxpayers. We believe these adjustments will support a process that results in a site that best serves the FBI and the public for years to come.”
“The FBI appreciates GSA’s collaborative approach throughout the process,” said Nicholas Dimos, FBI Assistant Director for the Finance and Facilities Division. “Under the updated plan, our priorities for the new headquarters remain the same: fulfill FBI mission needs, meet the needs of the FBI workforce, and provide maximum value for taxpayers, relying on GSA’s expertise and best practices in site selection. The FBI looks forward to continuing the partnership with GSA and the expeditious selection of a new suburban headquarters site.”
The updated site selection plan simplifies the scoring methodology, increases the consideration of cost to deliver better value for taxpayers, and reflects the Administration’s commitment to sustainability and equity, including by incorporating Executive Order 14091 (issued February 2023). It also adjusts the weighting of the criteria to reflect these changes. Details on each adjustment are included in a fact sheet and the updated site selection plan. Both documents can be found in GSA’s FOIA Reading Room.
The updated site selection plan is intended to align with GSA’s principles to create a process that is fair and transparent, is grounded in the agency’s best practices for site selection, and results in selecting a site that best meets the needs of the FBI and the public for years to come, while maximizing value to taxpayers.
The three sites under review (in Greenbelt, Maryland; Landover, Maryland; and Springfield, Virginia) were selected in 2014 by GSA. These sites were identified because they all met the baseline requirements of the FBI, including being able to accommodate the size of a new headquarters facility and meet the federal government’s unique security requirements, among other items. In the Fiscal Year 2022 Appropriations Act, Congress directed GSA to select the location for the FBI’s suburban campus from among these three sites. In the Fiscal Year 2023 Appropriations Act, Congress directed GSA to hold consultations with representatives of each site; these consultations were held in March 2023.
GSA anticipates making a site selection in the coming months. In parallel, efforts are underway to identify space for an FBI downtown DC facility, complementing the new suburban campus, in accordance with the FY 2023 and FY 2024 President’s Budgets. This site will allow for continued FBI accessibility to the Department of Justice and other key partners.