The federal government selected the Greenbelt, Maryland, site for the new FBI headquarters, according to a General Services Administration spokesperson.
The decision follows years of discussions over the fate of the dilapidated J. Edgar Hoover Building in downtown D.C.
A three-member voting panel, comprised of two GSA employees and one FBI employee whose identities were kept secret, evaluated three suburban sites: Greenbelt and Landover in Maryland, and Springfield, Virginia.
“GSA determined Greenbelt to be the best site because it was the lowest cost to taxpayers, provided the greatest transportation access to FBI employees and visitors, and gave the government the most certainty on project delivery schedule,” the spokesperson said.
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The site is at the Greenbelt Metro station.
“It also provided the highest potential to advance sustainability and equity,” the spokesperson said
Equity was one of the criteria considered. Greenbelt’s median income is almost $76,000 a year, and 45% of its residents identify as Black.
“We’ve wanted something, a headquarters, here so that people don’t look at the county as just a bedroom community, where people have to leave to go to work,” said lifelong Prince George’s resident Rose Johnson. “People will still be here to work, and it’ll draw other businesses in. It’s great for the economic development.”
Other criteria included transportation, cost to acquire and build, site development flexibility, and the site's proximity to places like the White House, Department of Justice and Quantico.
Three of those criteria – transportation, equity and cost – were worth 20% of a location’s portfolio. The site’s development flexibility was worth 15%, and its proximity to Quantico and other “mission-related locations” was worth 25%.
That last criteria proved most controversial, dividing lawmakers from Maryland and Virginia when the GSA first announced the location criteria was worth 35%. In response, Maryland called a press conference that included its entire delegation. Virginia doubled down with its own presser, but to the commonwealth's disappointment the GSA eventually lowered the percentage to a quarter.
“We’re deeply disappointed that despite the clear case that Virginia is the best home for the FBI, the administration went a different direction," read a statement from U.S. Sens' Tim Kaine and Mark Warner. "It’s especially disappointing that the FBI’s initial criteria for this decision—developed independently by the GSA and affirmed by Congress just last year—were changed at the 11th hour by the administration following political pressure."
Members of Maryland’s federal, state and local governments released a statement, saying in part, “We agree with the GSA’s determination that based on merit the Greenbelt site is best suited to serve the present and future FBI and the dedicated public servants who work tirelessly to protect America and uphold the law. Considering cost to the taxpayer, equity, construction timeline, transportation access, and the FBI’s mission requirements, we have long believed that Greenbelt is the best site for this crucial facility."
The statement went on to say, "Our decades-long, bipartisan effort to bring the Maryland sites’ many merits to the GSA’s attention was never about politics. It was always about making the case for what is best for the FBI, our region, and the country."
FBI leadership unsuccessfully lobbied for its headquarters to remain in downtown D.C. It’s expected to keep a smaller office of roughly 750 to 1,000 workers in the District.
“GSA looks forward to building the FBI a state-of-the-art headquarters campus in Greenbelt to advance their critical mission for years to come,” GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan said.
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