PGP Files Protest Over Search For New SEC Headquarters
The General Services Administration's search for a new Securities and Exchange Commission headquarters could leave Property Group Partners with a major vacancy, but the landlord is putting up a fight.
A PGP affiliate filed a protest bid Oct. 12 with the Government Accountability Office over the search terms for the SEC, which is currently headquartered in a PGP-owned complex near Union Station, the Washington Business Journal reports.
The GSA in April received congressional approval to begin searching for a new 1.3M SF headquarters for the SEC, and in July the GSA released the official request for lease proposals. It is looking to keep the agency in D.C. Three sites likely in contention are the finalists for the now-stalled Department of Labor search, which included parcels in NoMa, Capitol Riverfront and Poplar Point.
PGP owns the Station Place complex next to Union Station, the current home of the SEC at 100 F St. NE, 600 Second St. NE and 700 Second St. NE. It is also developing the Capitol Crossing megaproject about a half-mile to the west.
The strategy of protesting GSA search requirements for a major headquarters move has worked for at least one D.C.-area landlord in recent years. Boston Properties protested the awarding of the Transportation Security Administration headquarters to Victory Center in Alexandria, resulting in a judge voiding that lease and the GSA ultimately selecting Boston Properties' Springfield site in April 2017.
