Politics & Government

Loudoun DED Offers FBI 8 Sites

Multiple Ashburn sites are in the mix as the county attempts to lure 11,000 federal jobs.

The Loudoun County Department of Economic Development just announced that it has submitted eight sites in Loudoun for the proposed new FBI Headquarters. The sites were turned over to the General Services Administration, the agency charged with finding spot for the new HQ. The Loudoun sites can be found in the DED’s presentation to the GSA

Here’s the list, with acreage and distance from Metro (I’m working on a map):

  • Dulles World Center, 75 acres, less than 1 mi.
  • West Dulles Station North, 224 acres, less than 1 mi.
  • International City, 260 acres, less than 1 mi.
  • DuPont Fabros, 233 acres, less than 1 mi.
  • Loudoun Parkway, 127 acres, less than 1 mi.
  • Moorefield Station, 387 acres, less than 1/2 mi.
  • Stonewall, 208 acres, 4 mi.
  • Northwoods, 301 acres, 1.5 mi.

Most of the sites are within one mile of the rail stations planned in Ashburn for Metro’s Silver Line .

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“Loudoun offers not one or two, but at least eight qualified sites for an FBI headquarters,” said Scott York, chairman of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors in a press release. “These greenfield sites offer the lowest cost per square foot, and the highest flexibility, of any sites under consideration for the new FBI headquarters.”

Loudoun is the only county along the 23-mile Silver Line route with Greenfield opportunities, according to the release. The new FBI site requires 40-55 acres for its planned 2.1 million-square-foot facility, which will house 11,000 employees. Loudoun has more than 1,400 acres of available land near the Metro rail route.

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“Obsolete is not an option when it comes to building a new FBI headquarters,” Supervisor Matt Letourneau, chairman of the board's Economic Development Committee, said in the release. “The build-to-suit opportunities available in Loudoun County offer flexibility and future expansion capabilities that simply aren’t possible by retrofitting an existing facility or by building in a more constrained location. Building to suit offers better cost efficiency and delivers the highest return on investment to the GSA, the FBI and taxpayers.”

Such custom construction would serve the federal agency for decades, Jim Herbert, Loudoun County’s Business Development Officer said.

“Another important benefit of building-to-suite is viability,” Herbert explained. “The new FBI headquarters must be viable beyond the next 30 or 40 years. It must have enough acreage to provide security, flexibility and sustainability for the foreseeable future.”

In explaining the FBI’s technology needs, Herbert noted that Loudoun County is D.C.’s technology corridor, home to the largest number of data centers on the East Coast. Up to 70 percent of the world’s Internet traffic flows through Loudoun data centers every day.

“The nature of the data center business requires the utmost in facility security,” Herbert stated. “Likewise, the FBI headquarters must be built to satisfy ISC Level V security specifications. The fact that the data center industry is thriving in Loudoun points to the fact that we know how to do security. It’s another compelling reason why the FBI should locate here.”

Loudoun’s announcement included the following caveat: “The Loudoun locations being recommended as possible FBI HQ sites are not inclusive of all possible Loudoun sites the GSA and FBI may want to consider. Site owners below may or may not respond to a possible subsequent GSA Request for Proposals. They are additional resources for independent comments about Loudoun sites.”


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