FBI HQ: Loudoun Offers Best Site for New Location

Loudoun County, Virginia leadership announces its continued support for Loudoun as the best location for the FBI’s new headquarters. “Loudoun clearly remains the top choice for the FBI’s new location,” said Chairman of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Scott York. “While we understand Governor McDonnell’s position, that he needed to endorse one Virginia site for political purposes, we respectfully remain unchanged in our opinion that Loudoun offers the best options in the metropolitan Washington area.”

In January, the General Services Administration released a request for information regarding a new location for a consolidated FBI headquarters facility. At a briefing held in January, both the GSA and the FBI stated that a 2011 Senate resolution would not limit GSA considerations, and that all site proposals within the national capital region would be considered pending further specification presented in a future request for proposals. Loudoun County and its developers have responded directly to the GSA process, and will continue to respond to the GSA and its requirements.

“The potential sites in Loudoun County have important ingredients that other sites do not – flexibility and space,” said Loudoun County Supervisor Matt Letourneau, chairman of the Board’s Economic Development Committee. “The governor’s endorsement of another site does not in any way change our commitment or strategy. We remain focused on working with the development community to provide the best possible site – not on politics and endorsements that aren’t part of the GSA criteria.”

Loudoun County Economic Development Business Development Officer Jim Herbert explained, “We anticipate that an RFP will be released in the near future, and we will coordinate with developers who will propose their sites that meet and exceed the FBI’s requirements for a build-to-suit secure facility that has proximity to allied organizations, offers multiple transit options for employees, and is close to two airports that will provide expedited access to global hot spots. The GSA is not going to rule in or rule out viable options on the basis of unsolicited endorsements before it has developed site and building criteria into an RFP, and reviewed industry submittals to the RFP.”

Loudoun is the only county along the 23-mile Silver Line Metro Rail route with greenfield opportunities. The new FBI site will require at least 40-55 acres for a 2.1 million square-foot facility for 11,000 employees, and Loudoun has more than 1,400 acres of available land near the metro rail route.

“These greenfield sites offer the lowest cost per square foot, and the highest flexibility of any sites under consideration for the new FBI headquarters,” said Loudoun County Economic Development Director Tom Flynn.

In a related video, Herbert explains how Loudoun’s reputation as the world’s Data Center Alley makes Loudoun the best choice for the new FBI headquarters.