GSA’s effort toward execution of long-term leases has been a popular topic among investors. Going back to the earliest days of this blog, we observed that the remaining term of GSA leases was dwindling. When GSA…
Category: Leasing Policy
A GSA Audit Faults Its Public Buildings Service for Rampant Lease Extensions
The Public Buildings Service (PBS) is the largest public real estate organization in the United States, under whose aegis more than 1.2 million federal employees are provided with workspaces. The agency, a branch of the federal…
GAO Finds Fault with GSA’s Delegated Leasing
The federal entity principally charged with leasing property for the use of government agencies is the U.S. General Services Administration. In keeping with decentralization efforts in many areas of government, however, GSA long ago created a…
SIOR Conference Presentation
Last week the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) held its Spring World Conference in Washington, DC. I was fortunate to be asked to participate in a panel discussion entitled “Federal Real Estate Opportunities” alongside,…
Prospectus Authorization: What Does It Really Mean?
Looming large in the federal lease portfolio and in the minds of federal property investors is the “prospectus lease.” Numbering just over 200 nationwide, these are the GSA leases that exceed $3.095 million in annual levelized…
GSA Lease Terms are Poised for Growth
Recently, pre-solicitation notices posted to the Federal Business Opportunities website (FBO) have been indicating GSA’s desire to enter into longer lease contracts. FBO notices advertise GSA’s requirements for upcoming procurements, including the length of lease term…
CRE Insider Podcast
Recently, Ross Litkenhous of Altus Group invited me to participate as a guest on his CRE Insider podcast series. We covered a variety of subjects including the SWAMP Act, downsizing, GSA lease terminations and more. The conversation…
The REAL Reform Act of 2018
On June 27th, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee considered and ordered to be reported H.R. 6194, the Real Estate Assets and Leasing (REAL) Reform Act of 2018. The bill is a mostly recycled grab-bag of initiatives…
“Reduce the Footprint” Faces Public and Political Headwinds for the Social Security Administration
With over 1,000 leased facilities, often in single-tenant buildings, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is a staple of many federal investor portfolios. Like other federal agencies, however, SSA has been dutifully implementing the “Reduce the Footprint”…
The “Holdover” Problem
If you are the owner of a GSA-leased property, you’ve probably recognized by now that there is no holdover clause in your lease. This doesn’t mean the government cannot hold over; it only means that it…