Earlier this month, the US General Services Administration (GSA) and Department of Energy (DOE) issued a joint request for information calling on vendors to propose innovative building technologies in support of federal guidelines and goals, or, as…
Author: Kurt Stout
Top Federal Property Owners (2015 Edition)
Welcome to our third year tracking the largest property investors in the federal space. For those of you who have reviewed the 2013 and 2014 editions of our “top 10” list, you know that we limited…
Sales Market Insights – Mid-Year 2015
GSAXCHANGE, the investment sales arm of Colliers Government Solutions, has published its Mid-Year 2015 “Government-Leased Assets” report, which includes an overview of sales activity and trends in the federal sector. Some insights from this report: Cap rates…
GSA’s Leasing Capacity
In a recent Washington Business Journal article entitled “Time is running out for the feds to take advantage of Washington’s tenant market” (*paywall*), the reporter noted that GSA will struggle to take full advantage of the current tenant’s market…
Which Way The Political Wind Blows
During the first half of this year Congress has hosted a number of hearings, both on Capitol Hill and in various cities across the United States, that provide a clear view of its objectives regarding federal real estate. All of…
The Key Sustainable Products Initiative
Is your bathroom tissue squeezably soft? Does your soap leave your hands germ-free? Advertisers lie awake at night worrying about whether consumers are worrying sufficiently about such things. And as for the federal government—well, officials there…
Non-Cancelable GSA Leases Are Now Even Scarcer
Despite increasing congressional pressure to improve the number of long, firm-term leases, GSA and its tenant agencies have proven that they are not yet serious about weaning themselves from their addiction to termination rights. As measured from the leasing peak…
GSA Occupancy of New Buildings Has Dwindled
Long-time participants in the federal sector have clearly sensed that the volume of new lease-construct (i.e. build-to-suit) projects has declined substantially in recent years and that the government has been engaged in a spirited game of kick-the-can, leading to…
Freeze. Measure. Reduce: New Steps for Downsizing Federal Real Estate
In 2012, the Obama administration’s Freeze the Footprint policy order mandated that the federal government reduce its real estate footprint and curb its accumulation of unused or underused properties. The following year, the Office of Management…
How the Murrah Building Bombing Changed Federal Facilities Security
Twenty years ago, on April 19th, 1995, Timothy McVeigh parked a rented Ryder truck at the curb, directly in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. In the back of that truck was a…