The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced on Friday that they had revised the criteria for selecting a new headquarters location for the FBI in the suburbs of Washington, DC. The updated scoring metric puts more emphasis on cost and equity while reducing proximity to its training facility in Quantico, VA as an important factor.
In 2014, GSA identified three sites under review (in Greenbelt, MD; Landover, MD; and Springfield, VA) which met all baseline requirements set by the FBI including accommodating a campus-style headquarters building.
FBI assistant director Nicholas Dimos stated “Our priorities remain unchanged: fulfill mission needs of FBI personnel while providing maximum value to taxpayers with GSA’s expertise and best practices.”
The changes follow months of lobbying from Maryland officials who argued that initial criteria placed too much importance on access to Quantico compared other factors such as cost efficiency or equity considerations . GSA anticipates making their selection within coming months along with identifying a site for downtown DC where current headquarters is located .