Transportation Dept. Arrives at New Home
Inside GSA
Transportation Dept. arrives at new home
Washington Business Journal - June 22, 2007
The U.S. Department of Transportation is now completing the move into its new headquarters in the Southeast Federal Center.
The complex, on M Street SE between New Jersey Avenue and Fourth Street, consists of two buildings with a total 1.35 million rentable square feet that will house 5,500 employees. Designed by Michael Graves Associates and DMJM, the headquarters brings a striking design and an environmentally friendly presence to the newly emerging Near Southeast.
"This is the first opportunity in more than a quarter century for GSA to develop a new Cabinet agency headquarters," said Lurita Doan, administrator of the General Services Administration. "We have worked together to create a superb working environment for this important agency that meets DoT's requirements for space and furniture."
The complex's western building has nine stories. The eastern building has eight. A glass-enclosed atrium runs the length of each building. The buildings are connected below grade by a concourse and a parking garage with almost 1,000 spaces.
The exterior has a base of alternating brick red and verdigris green granite blocks, with precast concrete panels above tinted in the same color. A two-story entry pavilion has a façade of white marble with gray highlights, selected by Graves to create the impression of a herringbone pattern.
The two buildings together provide a green roof of 67,000 square feet, covering 85 percent of the usable roof surface.
Inside, the entry pavilion has the same white marble, cut in curved panels to form a welcoming semicircle. Beyond is a 130-foot high atrium that provides natural light. Interior finishes are shades of orange, purple and blue, with the repetitive "running bond" pattern Graves often uses. It reminds you of a masonry wall that has all bricks laid lengthwise, with wide mortar seams.
In the east building, a slightly lower atrium provides a dramatic setting for a cafeteria.
The interior office space has 9-foot ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows. Ceiling panels are placed at slightly different elevations creating a layered effect.
GSA's Federal Acquisition Service worked with Transportation Department officials to procure the furniture. The project was awarded to Herman Miller in 2005. The $25 million contract procured 5,600 workstations and more than 8,000 lateral files, for a savings of $2.5 million.
The buildings have a 50-foot setback from adjacent streets to meet federal perimeter-security requirements. Within the perimeter is a landscaped walk with exhibits on the history of U.S. transportation.
On the south side, the perimeter barrier is an elevated, horizontal water feature, beyond which are historic buildings that will be developed as retail space.
"The new DoT headquarters demonstrates the many themes that GSA pursues in its acquisition of world-class work space," said David Winstead, GSA's commissioner of public buildings. "Good design, a secure environment, creating a green building and working effectively with the developer are all hallmarks of GSA's approach."
The JBG Cos. is the developer of the complex, which the Transportation Department is getting in a build-to-suit lease.
JBG also constructed the four surrounding streets -- New Jersey Avenue, Third Street, Fourth Street and Tingey Street -- reopening the Southeast Federal Center for the first time since the 19th century.
The company contributed $2.5 million to help fund Canal Park, which will be developed by the city across M Street along the alignment of a canal that was part of the L'Enfant plan for Washington.
The Transportation Department project is the largest lease ever executed in D.C.
It also is the first conveyance under the SEFC Public Private Development Act of 2000, introduced by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., which permits GSA to sell, lease or jointly develop the Southeast Federal Center for uses that enhance its value. (The center's remaining 44 acres are being developed by Forest City Washington as a mixed-use neighborhood along the Anacostia River.)
"It is gratifying to see how the development of the new DoT headquarters is making a significant contribution to the revitalization of the Near Southeast," said Ann Everett, deputy regional administrator for GSA's National Capital Region. "Just a few blocks away, the new Nationals stadium is rapidly moving toward completion, and Forest City Washington is already preparing designs for several buildings in SEFC."
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About the GSA
The General Services Administration provides a full range of real estate services: acquisition and disposal, property management, construction and repairs, security services, information technology, telecommunications services and overall portfolio management. In the agency's National Capital Region, its real estate portfolio consists of 91 million rentable square feet, comprising 50 million rentable square feet of leased space and 41 million rentable square feet of owned space in Washington and the surrounding metropolitan area.
Nationwide, GSA's real estate business provides work environments for more than 1 million federal employees. Since 1949, the agency's Public Buildings Service has served as a builder, developer, lessor and manager of federally owned and leased properties, currently totaling 347 million rentable square feet in 50 states, D.C., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
This column was prepared by the Congressional and Public Affairs Office, GSA, National Capital Region, Public Buildings Service. Phone: 202/708-5891 E-Mail: