GSA Proposes Cheaper Plan for St. Elizabeths Consolidation
GSA's new proposal would dial back the hefty $4.5B price tag to $3.7B by cutting the utilization rate (the amount of space per worker) from 230 SF to 144 SF, reports Washington Business Journal. This will allow space for more workers than the initially planned 12,800. The new plan also puts the 717,500 SF FEMA headquarters on the federally controlled west campus with the other DHS agencies instead of the city-controlled east campus. Plans for the site formerly slated for FEMA have yet to be decided. The GSA and DHS would split the costs for the remaining work on the massive project, with GSA covering $2.5B and DHS covering $1.3B. Additionally the president’s budget request includes $379.7M to go towards the consolidation. The plan has yet to be approved by the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts.
