GSA Updates Site Selection Plan For New FBI Headquarters: Prince George's County Executive

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — The General Services Administration recently released an updated site selection plan for the new FBI headquarters that has Prince George's County officials hopeful one of the three final sites to be chosen will be in the county.

Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks shared that the selection process will continue to move forward in a "more fair way." There are three sites as finalists, two of which are in Prince George’s, specifically in Greenbelt and Landover. The third site under consideration is in Springfield, Virginia, in Fairfax County.

"The future location of the FBI headquarters has the potential to help transform our county and our state, just as other large federal employers have helped transform jurisdictions across the National Capital Region," Alsobrooks said. "Following the GSA’s recent announcement, the two sites in Prince George’s County remain the best option for a new FBI headquarters. We meet the requirements laid out by the GSA, including cost, access to transit and environmental impact. In addition, our sites have the added benefit of helping to rebalance federal jobs across the national capital region—a major, measurable way to promote equity consistent with the president’s executive orders and the goals of the federal agencies themselves."

One of the major changes to the GSA’s site selection plan involves the weighting of equity in the criteria. Now, equity is weighted at 20 percent compared to 15 percent in the previous plan that was updated last September.

"Equity is critical to this process because federal job centers have driven job and income growth in our region, and decisions about where to locate them have historically advantaged majority communities over minority communities like ours. The effects of these disparities are clear. From fiscal year 2008 to 2023, Prince George’s County received over $121 billion dollars in federal spending. Fairfax County received over $460 billion," Alsobrooks noted.

However, Prince George's educational attainment is lower, median household income is lower, gross domestic product is lower and poverty rate is higher than the neighbors across the Potomac," Alsobrooks pointed out.

"This is what inequity looks like. We may have the largest, most prosperous community of color in the nation, but compared to the rest of the Washington Metropolitan Area, we’re at the back of the line. Locating the FBI headquarters in Prince George’s would help further the Biden administration’s goal to steer federal investments to areas like our county that have traditionally missed out on these opportunities in the past," Alsobrooks said.

Another major change to the GSA’s site selection plan involves the weighting of cost in the criteria. Now, cost is weighted at 20 percent as compared to 10 percent in the previous plan. The construction of the new headquarters is estimated to cost between $3 and $4 billion.

"The Prince George’s sites are the most shovel ready and have the least number of obstacles to begin construction quickly. Meanwhile, the site in Springfield currently has tenants that would need to be relocated if that site is selected. Relocating these existing tenants would cost hundreds of millions of additional dollars for the project and would result in at least an estimated three-to-five-year delay in constructing the new FBI headquarters. We believe both our sites represent the best deal for American taxpayers," Alsobrooks said.

The GSA has said it anticipates making a site selection in the coming months.

Read more: Moore, MD Officials Push For FBI Headquarters In Prince George's Co.