FBI Prefers New HQ Near Quantico, Maryland Leaders Question Rationale

SPRINGFIELD, VA — With a new site for the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s headquarters still under consideration by the General Services Administration, FBI officials prepared a document in response to questions posed by Maryland lawmakers, who are concerned about the criteria being used in the decision-making process.

In new criteria released last fall, the three sites — one in Springfield and two in Prince George’s County, Maryland — were to be evaluated based also on proximity of the site to the FBI's campus in Quantico, proximity of the site to other FBI sites in the D.C. area, and proximity of the site to the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Justice in downtown D.C.

The new June document, titled “New FBI Headquarters Site Selection Plan: Background Information on FBI Mission Requirement Criteria,” said evaluation of site proximity to FBI Quantico has been a key consideration throughout the process of choosing a new headquarters site “because the FBI’s law enforcement and national security operations will always rely on physical responses and in-person interactions.”

“Distances matter when surging to a command post, responding to a WMD event, meeting to review evidence and build a case, or driving to Quantico for hands-on training or joint exercises,” the FBI said in the document. “From a time-savings and environmental perspective, it is meaningfully important to limit the need for the FBI workforce to spend several hours in a car commuting back and forth between locations.”

While technology provides opportunities for FBI employees and its law enforcement partners to communicate remotely, many national security and law enforcement operations still require in-person presence, the FBI said.

The Maryland congressional delegation sent a letter on March 8 to GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan asking for information from the FBI on why proximity to Quantico needs to be included and weighted the most of any criteria.

RELATED:

• Moore, MD Officials Push For FBI Headquarters In Prince George's Co.
• MD Leaders Ask President Biden To Weigh In On FBI Headquarters Process

The FBI said it assessed security access badging data specific to the Quantico location for the two-month period from July 4 through Sept. 2, 2022. The data indicated that the personnel with work locations at facilities slated for headquarters consolidation made about 1,700 trips entering the FBI Quantico gates, composed of about 500 unique people.

These trip figures did not include the many personnel who work at Quantico and made the reverse trip to the J. Edgar Hoover Building in downtown D.C. or the other locations in the D.C. area for operational meetings and other mission-related functions.

The FBI and the GSA are working to finalize a location for the new headquarters after years of work on the project.

The proposed site in Springfield would be located at a GSA warehouse complex on Loisdale Road, which connects with Franconia Road to the north and Fairfax County Parkway to the south. The proposed site is located adjacent to the Franconia-Springfield Metro Station.

The two sites under consideration in Prince George’s County are in Greenbelt and Landover. The Greenbelt site offers direct access to Metro, while the Landover site has a lot of available space that would provide security buffer options, according to Maryland officials.

Virginia officials say the FBI's campus in Quantico south on Interstate 95 would make the Springfield site ideal for the new headquarters.

"The GSA Springfield site offers superior advantages in serving both the FBI mission and its personnel — in part given its proximity to key assets Quantico and the Department of Justice," Virginia officials said in a Feb. 3 letter to the GSA and FBI.

The current FBI headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue in D.C. opened to its first employees in June 1974. At that time, FBI headquarters offices were housed in nine separate locations. The last employees moved into the building in June 1977.

In the June document, the FBI noted that much of which takes place at the FBI Academy or on the wider Quantico campus ranges from classroom instruction where experts regularly travel to instruct students in person.

"We must ensure that participation in these critical trainings and exercises continues unimpeded by distance if the FBI is to properly train and develop its people," the FBI said.

In March, leaders from Maryland sent a letter to President Joe Biden that cited the FBI's racist practices against civil rights leaders, with the hope that the president will ensure racial equity is taken into consideration in the federal government’s decision on where a new FBI headquarters complex is built.

The letter, signed by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, and the state’s eight Democratic members of Congress, was sent to Biden on the same day that Virginia leaders were making what is believed to be their final pitch to get Springfield selected as the new home of the FBI.

The General Services Administration is expected to make a final selection soon on the FBI's new headquarters.

RELATED: Youngkin, VA Officials Push For FBI Headquarters In Springfield