The General Services Administration (GSA) has
proposed plans to redevelop a deteriorating federal office complex by
L'Enfant Plaza. GSA informed that developers have been showing great
interest for more than a year ago. The agency has issued a request for
qualifications seeking developers to offer construction and development
services in exchange for two federally owned properties at Federal
Triangle South.
The selected developer would be responsible for
offering the space planning, construction service and other aspects of
shifting about 1,500 workers from the GSA's regional headquarters to the
GSA's national headquarters at 1800 F St. NW. Besides, the developer
will also renovate three historic buildings at the St. Elizabeths campus
in Southeast D.C. for the Department of Homeland Security.
The winning bidder would take
title to the GSA regional headquarters, 301 Seventh St. SW, and the
adjacent Cotton Annex, which is currently an empty building near the
regional building. Both are expected to present great redevelopment
potential.
Dan Tangherlini, GSA Administrator, informed
that the idea of a building exchange for services could play a larger
role in how the agency does business if the current proposal is
successful. The GSA regional headquarters and Cotton Annex are test
cases to that end. He also added that doing these exchanges is
relatively new to GSA.
It is expected that request for qualifications
will be due by May 22, and the GSA will be able to issue a more formal
request for proposals to qualified bidders over the summer, putting the
agency in position to make an award by next spring or summer.
The GSA has obtained funding
for both projects after great efforts and the building exchange proposal
offers the agency a way around the congressional appropriations
process. The project would also set the stage for the possible
demolition and redevelopment of the old federal buildings.
Federal Triangle South is
bounded by Independence Avenue, Sixth Street, Maryland Avenue and parts
of D and 12th streets. The Department of Energy and Federal Aviation
Administration are also based there, and their buildings could also be
considered for a exchange in the future.
Tangherlini informed that
this is an opportunity for them to re-examine how to use these buildings
and reassess how this space fits within the surrounding community,
making sure they are maximizing the utilization of the assets, getting
underutilized or vacant properties off their rolls and back into
contributing to the economies of the communities of which they are
hosted. He said that the GSA requires considering a range of ideas given
the tight budgets with which it has had to work over the past few
years.
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Published By
Arka Roy
www.washington.quantity-takeoff.com
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