Tuesday, September 5, 2017

The FBI wants to build a new headquarters building.

The J Edgar Hoover office building on a prime lot in downtown DC, built especially for the FBI back when Hoover was director, is loosing its cool with the Bureau.  Could it be traffic and parking?  Moving out to the Beltway would make for easier commuting, and free parking. 
   Seems like money ran out, and GSA canceled a plan to buy new land, erect a new building big enough for 11,000 workers, and in return, the winning bidder gets the Hoover building and the downtown land for redevelopment. 
   The FBI and GSA had requested $1.4 billion in the 2017 federal budget to get the project started.  Congress cut that down to $523 million, meaning a smaller lass jazzy building.  In July GSA announced the project was dead.  Apparently the FBI figured they would do better in their old digs than in a half priced project out on the Beltway. 
   The contractors, who had put time and money into bids, are annoyed.  Doing a bid is a lot of work, especially bidding on Government work for which there is always double paperwork.  To find that all the time and money is wasted 'cause the Government decides it cannot afford it, is a PITA.  Industry sources are threatening to no-bid the next big Government job. 

No comments: