GSA recommends FBI headquarters stay put in same location

The FBI is in need of a new headquarters, and that new headquarters may end up taking the place of its current one. As first reported by Washington Business Journal, the General Services Administration (GSA) has officially recommended establishing a new headquarters at 935 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, the site of the J. Edgar Hoover Building.

The cost of the project would total approximately $3.3 billion with $1.93 billion for design and construction, $923 million for tenant fit-out, and $479 million for swing space. By leaving the FBI headquarters on the same site, this could save the federal government up to $250 million, according to the Washington Business Journal.

Before the FBI headquarters search was canceled in July 2017, the potential locations being weighed were Greenbelt, Maryland, Springfield, Virginia, and Landover, Maryland. The cost of moving to one of these locations is estimated to cost $3.57 billion.

When the search was canceled, the responses from public officials were largely negative. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen described the decision as “reckless,” while Maryland Senator Ben Cardin described it as “an abuse of power.” At the time, Mayor Muriel Bowser also said, “The FBI needs to move. We see what the federal constraints are with funding, so I think that everybody should put their thinking caps on and see where we go from here.”

• GSA report backs Hoover site as choice for a new FBI headquarters [Washington Business Journal]