General Services Administration lease procurement : opportunities and challenges

Abstract

In 2009's fragile real estate market, many developers are looking for safe investments for their invested capital. Developers are looking to the federal government, specifically the General Services Administration, for growth and safety. The General Services Administration (GSA) is the contracting body of the U.S. federal government. It is the nation's largest public real estate organization. It leases space from private developers in over 7,100 facilities across the United States comprising office buildings, border patrol stations, courthouses, warehouses, clinics, post offices and many other uses. The GSA pays over $4.6 billion in rent to landlords annually on nearly 181 million square feet of space. GSA is authorized by law to acquire, manage, utilize, and dispose of real property for most federal agencies. The thesis is primarily based on interviews conducted with industry professionals: developers, financiers, brokers, and GSA contracting officials. It looks at the opportunities and challenges of working with the General Services Administration on new lease construction build-to-suits. It focuses on four areas; 1) the lease procurement process; 2) opportunities for new procurements in 2009's market; 3) developer financed new lease construction build-to-suit projects; and 4) opportunities and challenges of financing projects in 2009's credit crunch.