Since 2011, there have been plans to build a brand new FBI headquarters in the D.C. area, but those plans are now over. The Washington Post reports that the General Services Administration (GSA), which manages federal real estate, canceled the search due to “inordinate costs.”
When former U.S. President Barack Obama sought funding for the project, Congress left it underfunded by more than a half-billion dollars. The Washington Post further reported that after Congressional leaders rounded up over $500 million for the project, House appropriators rescinded $200 million in June.
The FBI headquarters staff long ago outgrew the J. Edgar Hoover building with many employees now housed in short-term leases throughout the region. There is cracked concrete in the building as well as makeshift work stations in former storage areas.
The final locations that were being decided upon for the new headquarters were Greenbelt, Maryland, Springfield, Virginia, and Landover, Maryland.
• Federal government cancels costly, decade-long search for a new FBI headquarters [The Washington Post]
• Timeline: The looooooong search for a new FBI headquarters [Washington Business Journal]