by Brianna Crandall — August 16, 2013—On August 8, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) issued an official Request for Information (RFI) seeking ideas from the real estate development community on exchanging the Metro West Federal facility in Baltimore, Maryland. In this innovative approach to its property disposal process, GSA is asking the industry to submit ideas that would allow the government to exchange the building for construction and repair services on other federal facilities. The building will be vacant in 2014 and no longer needed by the government, so GSA expects that the suggestions will provide insight into revitalizing and leveraging the value of the property in Baltimore’s central business district, and saving taxpayer dollars.
Submissions will allow GSA to make informed decisions and possibly create a deal structure that will allow the government to leverage the building for necessary improvements to other government buildings. The current tenant, the Social Security Administration, will vacate the building in 2014, and this RFI is the first part of the overall process to put the facility to new use and get the best deal for the taxpayers. This is the latest in GSA’s ongoing efforts to make more efficient use of the government’s real estate assets while also getting properties that are no longer needed off of the government’s books.
The Metro West facility is located at 300 N. Greene Street in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a 1.1 million gross square foot facility constructed in 1980. The facility is located in the west central business district of Baltimore, Maryland. It includes two buildings connected by a two-story wing. The property features 410 garage parking spaces and surface parking for 108 cars, and sits on nearly 11 acres of land.
The commercial real estate industry and developers can submit ideas in the 45 days following the August 8 announcement, via the Federal Business Opportunities Web site. GSA is planning to host an industry day, presently slated for August 29, which will allow interested parties to learn more about the RFI and the property.
