GSA Finds New Landlord for D.C. Agency HQ Move
By Nick Trombola September 17, 2024 6:25 pm
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The General Services Administration has identified a new headquarters location for yet another federal agency, continuing its trend of downsizing the federal government’s office footprint.
This time, the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA), along with the Pretrial Services Agency (PSA), will consolidate several offices into 198,000 square feet at 501 Third Street NW in Washington, D.C. The GSA’s $178 million deal with landlord Communications Workers of America is for 20 years, but the GSA will retain an option to end the lease after 15 years, according to Bisnow, which cited a source familiar with the deal.
Todd Valentine, Emmett Miller and Bryant Porter of Savills represented the GSA in the deal. CSOCA is expected to relocate in late 2026.
The agency’s current home is at 633 Indiana Avenue NW, and it operates seven other offices and field locations within the District, according to its website, though it was not immediately clear how many sites would remain after the agency’s move.
A fiscal year 2019 prospectus for the agency initially proposed a new 201,000-square-foot lease for the CSOSA, PSA and Public Defender Service (PDS), down from the 209,000 square feet shared by the agencies across multiple locations.
Yet 633 Indiana Avenue landlord Zuckerman Gravely Management filed suit against the GSA in late 2019, arguing that the federal government was unfairly limiting competition in its search for a new headquarters for the agency. The GSA rekindled its effort in 2023 after an apparent deal with Monumental Realty fell apart in 2021.
The GSA, which for years has focused on downsizing the federal government’s real estate portfolio, kicked into overdrive earlier this year by the “optimization program” pitched by the Biden Administration in its 2025 budget proposal. The agency in recent months has shrunk or consolidated offices of the U.S. Department of State, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Treasury Department.
Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.
