by Brianna Crandall — February 28, 2014—The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has announced several steps it has taken in recent weeks in accordance with the Fiscal Year 2014 Consolidated Appropriations Act, including two listed below that can serve as examples to other companies with large real estate portfolios in the continual pursuit to save energy, manage space, and lower real estate costs, while increasing sustainability.
The legislation provides important funding to repair and maintain U.S. public infrastructure, pay rent for leased buildings, consolidate offices to save money, and upgrade land ports of entry to secure the nation’s borders and facilitate trade and economic growth. GSA says the more than $9.3 billion investment in the nation’s public buildings enables the agency to properly maintain and improve the real estate assets owned and paid for by the American people, and is expected to have an impact on numerous facilities and communities nationwide.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
GSA announced a new lease agreement for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland. The deal saves taxpayers approximately $29 million over the 15-year term of the lease, and provides needed space for the CDC to remain at its Hyattsville location.
The building will be renovated to accommodate additional personnel, allowing the CDC to reduce its need for other leases and shrink its footprint by more than 70,000 square feet. The reduced space accounts for the savings over the course of the lease. Additionally, the lease incorporates many sustainable upgrades, resulting in a building that is expected to be Energy Star certified, and the tenant space will be certified under the LEED-Commercial Interiors rating system.
National Labor Relations Board
GSA also announced a new lease agreement for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) headquarters in Washington, DC. The lease agreement provides needed space for NLRB and reduces the agency’s footprint. NLRB will occupy 143,116 square feet of office space at 1015 Half Street SE, Washington starting in December 2014.
The ten-year lease agreement will save taxpayers more than $4.2 million annually compared to the current lease. The new space will decrease NLRB’s footprint by 92,000 square feet. NLRB is also participating in GSA’s Total Workplace initiative, which provides resources and expertise to help federal agencies reduce their office space, foster collaboration, better manage information technology (IT) and furniture spending, and increase energy efficiency.
See also “GSA announces major investments to construct, repair, consolidate U.S. public buildings” on FMLink.
