Thirty-two U.S. Senators stayed up all night on March 10, speaking non-stop to stir Congressional colleagues into action on climate change. Overnight talking points emphasized state-by-state economic damage such as crop losses from California droughts, coastal…
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The Bounceback: GSA’s Budget Returns to “Normal” (and what that means for lessors)
We’ve often said on this blog that you need only look at GSA’s budget as the bellwether for leasing demand. In recent years we’ve noted that budget reductions imposed by Congress have put GSA in a…
New Cybersecurity Center Planned
The President’s 218-page FY 2015 federal budget request was released a week ago and it underscores the growing importance of cybersecurity. The word “cyber”, for example, appears 40 times in the budget. Collaboration is another major…
Spotlight: Federal Bureau of Prisons
A highly-efficient HVAC system, locally sourced stone and recycled construction waste are just a few of the sustainable features at a new federal building complex in Hazelton, West Virginia. An innovative laundry water recycling system is…
The Pile-Up
Several times on this blog I’ve observed that GSA has been engaged in a spirited game of can-kicking when it comes to leasing. Much of this has been due to intense budget distress from record deficits, rising…
Spotlight: Executive Office for Immigration Review
President Obama has said that immigration reform is the most important domestic policy agenda of his second term, and hope springs that Congress will pass legislation acceptable to both parties. But in the meantime, it’s worthwhile…
National Targeting Center to Consolidate
Two days after planting a car bomb in Times Square, Faisal Shahzad boarded a plane for Dubai at JFK International Airport. But a routine post-boarding check discovered Shahzad on the no-fly list, and US Customs and…
Spotlight: NLRB
January 31 brought another announcement of a long-awaited federal relocation. Since 1993, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has been headquartered at Franklin Court, on 14th Street in Northwest, D.C., but come December, the independent agency…
Energy Efficiency Initiative Finds Broad Support
Even before the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, Congressional Republicans and Democrats sought common ground over energy efficiency. Most of the bills and other efforts have stalled or struck out, including the broadly supported but so…
A LEED System for Tenants: LEED-CI
When the new Department of the Interior (DOI) headquarters opened in 1936, employees enjoyed the latest in building amenities and technologies: a gymnasium, movable steel office partitions, a soda fountain, and the first air conditioning system…