SBA Releases Interim Guidance to 8(a) Program Participants in Light of Lower Court Ruling
August 20, 2023
Projects funded by the Inflation Reduction Act will create new homes for key agencies, prioritize sustainability, create jobs
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a nearly $288-million investment of Inflation Reduction Act funds to make DHS’s new headquarters a model for sustainability as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. The announcement comes one day after the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate investment in U.S. history.
The funding will enable GSA to complete the construction of three of the remaining six new projects at the St. Elizabeths campus while also furthering the Biden-Harris Administration’s Federal Buy Clean Initiative to catalyze investments in cleaner construction materials. The project will prioritize the procurement of low-embodied carbon concrete, steel, and asphalt for new construction, as well as repair and reinforcement of existing structures. Technology investments are slated to include LED lighting, direct digital control building automation systems, photovoltaic panels (solar panels), occupancy and indoor air quality sensors, advanced meters/submeters, and a water-smart irrigation system. These efforts are expected to help avoid thousands of metric tons of embodied carbon emissions.
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Headquarters (CISA): $140.8 million (estimated) IRA investment for the construction of a new 629,595 square feet, LEED Gold facility. Construction is expected to start in early 2024.
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement Headquarters (ICE): $80.8 million (estimated) IRA investment for the construction of a new all-electric 570,000 square feet LEED Gold facility. Construction is expected to start in late 2024.
- DHS Garage and Gatehouse: $67 million (estimated) IRA investment for the construction of a new employee and visitor vehicle processing, security checkpoints, electric vehicle charging stations, and 1,500 space garage built with reinforced low-embodied concrete.
Construction is expected to begin in 2024 on the new CISA and ICE headquarters, which will support approximately 6,500 DHS employees. Upon completion of these buildings, St. Elizabeths will house more than 12,000 DHS employees, and provide approximately 3,500 parking spaces.
The Biden-Harris Administration is leading by example to tackle the climate crisis through President Biden’s Federal Sustainability Plan, which establishes an ambitious path to achieve net-zero emissions from federal buildings by 2045.
