PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — The new headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation will be built in Greenbelt, Md., various officials confirmed Wednesday night, edging out a competing site in Virginia.
The Washington Post first reported the decision late in the afternoon, with DC Now Now confirming the decision, which the General Services Administration (GSA) later announced.
The choice to move the FBI to Maryland is a significant win for first-year Gov. Wes Moore who relentlessly lobbied President Joe Biden to bring the agency’s national headquarters to the state even before Moore was sworn in as governor in January. Moore also led a delegation in March to make the pitch to GSA officials.
Given the state of the aging, dilapidated headquarters in Washington, D.C., FBI officials were looking to move for more than a decade, with Maryland and Virginia vying to compete for the new location.
A change in criteria in the selection process made proximity to the FBI Academy in Quantico a top priority in 2022, angering Maryland officials, including then Gov. Larry Hogan who complained that the process was unfair to his state.
Lawmakers from Virginia pushed for a location in Springfield, where the GSA has a sprawling facility, and, it seemed for a time, that might be where the headquarters was headed.
Maryland officials had two sites in Prince George’s County in mind, one in Landover and one in Greenbelt. They touted the fact that either location was ready to go and would provide the government with substantial taxpayer savings when it came to construction, compared to the Springfield, Virginia, site.
Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, who was part of the delegation addressing the GSA in March, expressed her belief that a location in the county was the better choice because of cost as well equity, given Prince George’s diverse makeup.
“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. It also provided the highest potential to advance sustainability and equity,” a GSA spokesperson said in a statement.
GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan said in a statement, “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. Thank you to everyone at GSA, DOJ, FBI, Congress, and others who helped reach this important milestone after a comprehensive, multi-year effort.”
