FBI HQ relocation decision postponed yet again. (Bowie, Fort Washington: casino, buses)

[Baghead]

Originally Posted by WhoDatInMD

Senator Mikulski Scores $255 Million for FBI Headquarters in PG County - Bowie, MD Patch

If the FBI gives the nod, VA can appropriate the money overnight.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by Baghead

If the FBI gives the nod, VA can appropriate the money overnight.

Two questions:

1. What money? Secret money?
2. Without legislative action and approval by the Governor?

I'm sure Virginias would love that transparent process. To match Maryland's incentives and to account for the cost of moving existing facilities, VA would have to come up with almost half a billion dollars. That ain't gonna happen overnight. If they are going to match Maryland, they need to do it now, publicly. The GSA is not going to give VA the nod on the hopes that they can come up with the money overnight. Especially when Maryland has already publicly announced their incentives, the advantage Greenbelt has in proximity to Metro, and for the Landover people, a shovel-ready Landover location.

I'm not saying they can't get the money, but I doubt it would be appropriated at the stroke of a pen without pissing off a huge constituency. That money has to come from somewhere. There's no FBI HQ bucket with hundreds of millions just sitting in it waiting to be used for this purpose alone. Virginia isn't exactly swimming in excess cash.

[Baghead]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

Two questions:

1. What money? Secret money?
2. Without legislative action and approval by the Governor?

I'm sure Virginias would love that transparent process. To match Maryland's incentives and to account for the cost of moving existing facilities, VA would have to come up with almost half a billion dollars. That ain't gonna happen overnight. If they are going to match Maryland, they need to do it now, publicly. The GSA is not going to give VA the nod on the hopes that they can come up with the money overnight. Especially when Maryland has already publicly announced their incentives, the advantage Greenbelt has in proximity to Metro, and for the Landover people, a shovel-ready Landover location.

I'm not saying they can't get the money, but I doubt it would be appropriated at the stroke of a pen without pissing off a huge constituency. That money has to come from somewhere. There's no FBI HQ bucket with hundreds of millions just sitting in it waiting to be used for this purpose alone. Virginia isn't exactly swimming in excess cash.

You might say that they don't announce everything. I don't know, you don't know, and the media is merely happily repeating what they've been told. Despite all of your very good reasons, you could wake up tomorrow and learn it's Springfield. Would you really be surprised? They aren't the most transparent bunch out there.

[lookingbutnotlost]

Originally Posted by Baghead

If the FBI gives the nod, VA can appropriate the money overnight.

What? That's not how any of that works w/the federal govt. And Mikulski got funding for the project wherever it goes, not IF it goes to MD. But securing federal funds is very important and the state of MD has guaranteed its own funding to support the move, just like VA has guaranteed its own funding.

That is a poorly worded article.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by Baghead

You might say that they don't announce everything. I don't know, you don't know, and the media is merely happily repeating what they've been told. Despite all of your very good reasons, you could wake up tomorrow and learn it's Springfield. Would you really be surprised? They aren't the most transparent bunch out there.

If Springfield was chosen, I wouldn't be surprised. I'd be horrified. lol If anyone has traveled south on I95 after the mixing bowl on a WEEKEND, they would know that even with HOTE LANES, the traffic in that area is horrendous. For a while, we had to alter our travel times and patterns because every single time we went south, we'd hit traffic. I think the only time you can get away with avoiding traffic is if you travel between the times of 11pm and 5am. And the thought of cramming 11,000 employees there with minimal road investment is crazy. The Woodrow Wilson bridge would be packed with Maryland employees heading in that direction.

The Springfield parcel is smaller. The community College on the site would have to be relocated I assume. In addition, the apartments directly across the street would be affected by all the demolition, environmental soil remediation, and construction. Do you relocate those residences temporarily?

There are a lot of things to do at the Springfield site that will cost money.

[neirbod]

Originally Posted by lookingbutnotlost

Mikulski got funding for the project wherever it goes, not IF it goes to MD.

Agreed. The article itself is fine, but the headline implies the funding is somehow tied to the FBI moving to PG, which is not the case.

[adelphi_sky]

Comparing Springfield and Greenbelt sites. Greenbelt is about as clean as you're going to get with door to door access to metro. Springfield has a lot of obstacles to deal with. Especially with residences so close to the site. At Greenbelt, there is a nice green buffer between residential areas. Also, there is clean access to 495. There are a lot of roads at the Springfield site to deal with. Although it is closer to I95 than it will be to the Metro.

I think it is also telling that we have seen no rendering or sketch of how the developer can make the Springfield site work. Not even 3D boxes are offered. Also remember that the current GSA facilities are multiple stories underground. If Springfield is chosen, that could extend the delivery time by years, not months.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by lookingbutnotlost

What? That's not how any of that works w/the federal govt. And Mikulski got funding for the project wherever it goes, not IF it goes to MD. But securing federal funds is very important and the state of MD has guaranteed its own funding to support the move, just like VA has guaranteed its own funding.

That is a poorly worded article.

Burned again by a Patch article. Patch articles are written by people who couldn't get real journalism jobs. Treat Patch articles with a grain of salt. Wikipedia is more reliable than Patch articles.

[Parsec]

As an outsider looking in, I think Greenbelt/Bowie is an excellent choice that helps solve 2 of DC's biggest problems: traffic and high housing costs. When you move a huge employer out to the suburbs, it allows employees to buy cheaper housing that's closer to their office which also improves quality of life by reducing commute times. More government agencies should move out to the beltway and improve the quality of life for everyone in the DC metro. They can always keep a smaller office in DC for employees who need to be there for various reasons and keep shared cubicles for people who may need to get to DC for meetings 1-2 times per month, but the majority of federally employed paper pushers can work in the suburbs.

[dkf747]

Virginia will get the money by adding more tolls to roads built with tax money. That's how they get money nowadays.

/sarcasm