The General Services Administration plans to submit to Congress by the end of the year a “workable†plan for the FBI headquarters consolidation project, Federal News Radio reported Wednesday.Michael Gelber, acting commissioner for GSA’s public buildings service, said he would submit within 120 days a plan for the bureau’s new headquarters in response to Sen. John Barrasso’s question (R-Wyoming) during the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing Tuesday.
Gelber also noted that the HQ consolidation project is now estimated to cost “$1.6 billion and upâ€Â and that the proposal to exchange the J. Edgar Hoover building in downtown Washington to help cover the costs for the new facility was driven by budget constraints.
“The elaborate plan to swap the Hoover building for a new headquarters facility was, in hindsight, not the best option,†Barrasso said.
“We need a new, cost effective and achievable plan to get the FBI into a new headquarters facility.â€
The Senate hearing came nearly a month after GSA said it would end its bureau HQ search efforts.
