Norton Asks GSA to Examine Ways to Include Retail Space at New NoMa DOJ Facilities

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today released her letter to U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) National Capital Region Commissioner Mary Gibert regarding two of GSA’s leases for the U.S. Department of Justice in the NoMa neighborhood of the District of Columbia. Norton expressed her disappointment that, unlike other secure federal buildings in NoMa, such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, both DOJ buildings lack retail space for employees and the community. As a past chair and ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management, Norton’s legislation and efforts have transformed the NoMa neighborhood from vacant land near the Capitol to a new community of residential housing, federal agencies, and retail.

In her letter, Norton wrote “I recognize that the leases for the Three and Four Constitution Square buildings are for secure DOJ facilities, but I hope GSA is not giving in to an agency without objection based on questionable security concerns. I thought we had put behind us GSA’s reflex to accept the position of agencies like DOJ, and ignore the importance of retail to DOJ’s own staff and the needs of the local community where a federal agency is located and it must be part of.

“Therefore, I ask GSA to look at ways to accommodate retail at Three and Four Constitution Square. After the construction of the ATF building, it has been routine for GSA to include retail in the buildings it leases.”

Norton’s full letter is below.

Mary Gibert
Public Buildings Service Regional Commissioner
National Capital Region
General Services Administration
301 7th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20407

Dear Regional Commissioner Gibert:

I am writing regarding two of the General Services Administration’s (GSA) newest leases for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in the NoMa neighborhood of the District of Columbia. The leases are for 839,000 square feet to fill Three Constitution Square and to trigger construction of Four Constitution Square, located immediately adjacent to the NoMa Metro Station. GSA officials will remember our work in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that finally began the development of this centrally located area and the lower cost leases for federal agency space that have resulted. I was shocked and disappointed to learn that, unlike other secure agencies in NoMa, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF), both buildings lack retail space.

You are aware of our work opposing GSA’s almost complete deference to agency preferences for the center of the city over equally conveniently located areas at far greater cost to taxpayers. As a result, we include language in each GSA resolution authorizing lease procurements that make it impossible for GSA to avoid moving to areas such as NoMa, where the new ATF building is located. We also got a new Metro station – funded by the federal government, the District of Columbia, and the private sector – located in NoMa, with the result that major federal agencies are moving there. Today, NoMa is a hot spot of mixed-use development of apartments, condos, restaurants, and shops. A GSA requirement that the ATF building include 8,000 square feet of retail that would serve both ATF employees and the surrounding neighborhood has been a successful part of the development of federal buildings in NoMa. In 2007, GSA signed an agreement with a master lessor to build out and manage the retail space. This building is a Level IV secure building.

I recognize that the leases for the Three and Four Constitution Square buildings are for secure DOJ facilities, but I hope GSA is not giving in to an agency without objection based on questionable security concerns. I thought we had put behind us GSA’s reflex to accept the position of agencies like DOJ, and ignore the importance of retail to DOJ’s own staff and the needs of the local community where a federal agency is located and it must be part of.

Therefore, I ask GSA to look at ways to accommodate retail at Three and Four Constitution Square. After the construction of the ATF building, it has been routine for GSA to include retail in the buildings it leases. Please provide my office with a response addressing retail needs at Three and Four Constitution Square buildings within 30 days. I ask that this request be given full and fair consideration consistent with applicable law, rules, and regulations.

Sincerely,

Eleanor Holmes Norton