Dive Brief:
- The General Services Administration has postponed site selection for the new $2 billion Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters until Congress has firmed up funding decisions, according to the Washington Business Journal.
- The GSA said it must have appropriations secured before it can announce the chosen property and move forward to the next step of the project, which is the environmental impact study. After that phase is complete, the GSA can issue a contract to one of the management teams in the running.
- According to the Business Journal, the process could be influenced by newly elected President Donald Trump's real estate background and the fact that House Republicans were not completely in favor of a property swap with the existing headquarters.
Dive Insight:
The GSA has narrowed down possible sites to three locations in Maryland and Virginia, and this marks the second delay since October of last year. Maryland's congressional delegation urged Congress to fully fund the project.
Despite the delays, the GSA put out a call for construction managers interested in overseeing the building of the new FBI facility. According to the agency's pre-solicitation notice, the contract delivery method will be design-build, and the winning construction manager will supervise, design and manage all financial aspects of the project, as well as organize documentation and processes. The GSA also said bidders must have an "established local presence" in the Washington, DC, area and must have all necessary security clearances.
The House has already set conditions on the $834 million it is expected to allocate to the FBI headquarters project.
The GSA has also put out feelers in the DC area for potential sites for a new Department of Labor headquarters. Although the process is still in the early stages, four of the area’s biggest developers are already clamoring to present attractive options to the GSA.
