FBI HQ in PG!

[Anonymous]

There is such vitriol about MD and specifically PG county. I really dont understand it because I give no thoughts to VA the way some posters here seem to put down parts of MD. Love living in Bowie and it is definitely a weird mentality about where "good" people live. We all grew up in different areas. We are all here in this area working together.
From the article

"it was the lowest cost to taxpayers, provided the greatest transportation access to FBI employees and visitors, and gave the government the most certainty on project delivery schedule. It also provided the highest potential to advance sustainability and equity."..."It’s hard to argue with $1 billion to $1.5 billion in savings for federal taxpayers,” he told WTOP. “That’s the difference between the cost of building it in Prince George’s County as opposed to building in Virginia."

If GSA decided it was VA, I would think oh good for them! Glad it will save some money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good luck attracting civilians and contractors to that location!

I am a civilian... living in that location. I'm looking around and it's... a nice place to live... so not sure what the issue is?

There are great places to live in PG and the county is finally getting the investment it needs. Plus the Greenbelt location is commutable from many of the state’s best school districts - Montgomery County, Howard County and Anne Arundel County. Plus workable from DC and Baltimore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any thoughts on what will happen to the old building downtown?

Completely knocked down because it’s falling apart. Then I’m sure some “luxury” “mixed use” nonsense will go up in its place ie a 10 story apartment building made out of sturdy cardboard where the bottom floor contains the usual mixture of dry cleaner, nail salon, sandwich/pizza shop, dentist, yoga studio.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good luck attracting civilians and contractors to that location!

I am a civilian... living in that location. I'm looking around and it's... a nice place to live... so not sure what the issue is?

There are great places to live in PG and the county is finally getting the investment it needs. Plus the Greenbelt location is commutable from many of the state’s best school districts - Montgomery County, Howard County and Anne Arundel County. Plus workable from DC and Baltimore.

PP you are responding to and I actually live in Lanham, extremely close to Greenbelt, and I’m really happy with the schools in PG. I’m happy with our home, our neighbors, our access to what we need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any thoughts on what will happen to the old building downtown?

Completely knocked down because it’s falling apart. Then I’m sure some “luxury” “mixed use” nonsense will go up in its place ie a 10 story apartment building made out of sturdy cardboard where the bottom floor contains the usual mixture of dry cleaner, nail salon, sandwich/pizza shop, dentist, yoga studio.

Imagine! A multi-story building downtown that has commercial space on the ground floor and housing above! What nonsense! Who comes up with these ridiculous ideas!

[Anonymous]

The Springfield location is terrible if the goal is to have a unified "campus" similar to other 3 letter agencies. The site simply isn't big enough and that stretch of I-95 is a bottlenecked hellscape of traffic.

The whole notion of "be located near other law enforcement agencies" is pretty bogus in the age of MS Teams.

[Anonymous]

From the NYTimes. Wow.

Mr. Wray, who was appointed by President Donald J. Trump in 2017 after he fired James B. Comey, said that an unnamed senior official with the General Services Administration overruled a site selection panel in picking the Greenbelt site over the Springfield location.

The Greenbelt parcel includes other lots owned by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which runs the region’s Metro rail system.

The bureau “raised a serious concern about the appearance of a lack of impartiality,” given that the official worked as a top administrator for the authority before going to G.S.A., he wrote.

Mr. Wray said the official’s conduct, “while not inherently inappropriate, is exceedingly rare.”

The official Mr. Wray referred to is Nina M. Albert, a former vice president for the transit authority who served as G.S.A.’s director of real estate until last month, when she left to become the acting deputy mayor for planning and economic development in the District of Columbia, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

Ms. Albert, who has overseen several large redevelopment projects in the Washington region, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Done. Shady AF. Congress aint gonna let this happen. No way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They should have made the location contingent on infrastructure improvements by Maryland. A new American Legion bridge, a new river crossing at route 28, and the continuation of 495 express lanes to 95.

I do wish Maryland invested more in realistic transportation. I moved from Fairfax co to MD and I'm so envious of all the added lanes to 495, 66, and 95 in VA. I frequently drive with my kids with me, so personally I love the HOT lanes.

The areas around tysons and the like 20 lanes of traffic is an absolute hellscape.

That is literally what I think ("omg this is HELL") every time I drive there, which fortunately I don't have to do very often. As a Marylander, I sincerely hope we're not going to emulate Virginia's example.

Even on your best day, you'll not emulate Virginia's examples. Just facts.

ya'll voted for Youngkin. We don't ever want to emulate that.

y'all can enjoy your crime which we shake our head and laugh at.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good luck attracting civilians and contractors to that location!

I am a civilian... living in that location. I'm looking around and it's... a nice place to live... so not sure what the issue is?

There are great places to live in PG and the county is finally getting the investment it needs. Plus the Greenbelt location is commutable from many of the state’s best school districts - Montgomery County, Howard County and Anne Arundel County. Plus workable from DC and Baltimore.

PP you are responding to and I actually live in Lanham, extremely close to Greenbelt, and I’m really happy with the schools in PG. I’m happy with our home, our neighbors, our access to what we need.

I have lots of friends and family living all over PG County, including in Greenbelt, and agree it's a great place to live. But even if you are the usual DCUM schools snob that must have 10/10 schools (no matter how problematic those rankings are) you can get that too in 3 different directions from the Greenbelt location.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any thoughts on what will happen to the old building downtown?

Completely knocked down because it’s falling apart. Then I’m sure some “luxury” “mixed use” nonsense will go up in its place ie a 10 story apartment building made out of sturdy cardboard where the bottom floor contains the usual mixture of dry cleaner, nail salon, sandwich/pizza shop, dentist, yoga studio.

Imagine! A multi-story building downtown that has commercial space on the ground floor and housing above! What nonsense! Who comes up with these ridiculous ideas!

It is a brutalist building that has outlived its useful life. I cannot be maintained and the systems that are embedded in the concrete, need to be replaced. And...there is no commercial space on the ground floor and hasn't been over over 20 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Springfield location is terrible if the goal is to have a unified "campus" similar to other 3 letter agencies. The site simply isn't big enough and that stretch of I-95 is a bottlenecked hellscape of traffic.

The whole notion of "be located near other law enforcement agencies" is pretty bogus in the age of MS Teams.

The HOT lanes are great - and they are talking about expanding them to be bi-directional (not sure how they'll make that fit tbh).

[Anonymous]

Why can't they move the FBI to the 12 acre campus on Ward Circle that was just announced by GSA to be disposed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They should have made the location contingent on infrastructure improvements by Maryland. A new American Legion bridge, a new river crossing at route 28, and the continuation of 495 express lanes to 95.

I do wish Maryland invested more in realistic transportation. I moved from Fairfax co to MD and I'm so envious of all the added lanes to 495, 66, and 95 in VA. I frequently drive with my kids with me, so personally I love the HOT lanes.

The areas around tysons and the like 20 lanes of traffic is an absolute hellscape.

That is literally what I think ("omg this is HELL") every time I drive there, which fortunately I don't have to do very often. As a Marylander, I sincerely hope we're not going to emulate Virginia's example.

Even on your best day, you'll not emulate Virginia's examples. Just facts.

ya'll voted for Youngkin. We don't ever want to emulate that.

y'all can enjoy your crime which we shake our head and laugh at.

Half the commercials on TV, before Tuesday, portrayed Virginia as a dystopia where violent felons roam the streets committing burglaries, home invasions, and murders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Springfield location is terrible if the goal is to have a unified "campus" similar to other 3 letter agencies. The site simply isn't big enough and that stretch of I-95 is a bottlenecked hellscape of traffic.

The whole notion of "be located near other law enforcement agencies" is pretty bogus in the age of MS Teams.

The HOT lanes are great - and they are talking about expanding them to be bi-directional (not sure how they'll make that fit tbh).

The HOT lanes are great if you're willing to pay for them to escape the traffic congestion Transurban depends on to persuade you to pay for using the HOT lanes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From the NYTimes. Wow.

Mr. Wray, who was appointed by President Donald J. Trump in 2017 after he fired James B. Comey, said that an unnamed senior official with the General Services Administration overruled a site selection panel in picking the Greenbelt site over the Springfield location.

The Greenbelt parcel includes other lots owned by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which runs the region’s Metro rail system.

The bureau “raised a serious concern about the appearance of a lack of impartiality,” given that the official worked as a top administrator for the authority before going to G.S.A., he wrote.

Mr. Wray said the official’s conduct, “while not inherently inappropriate, is exceedingly rare.”

The official Mr. Wray referred to is Nina M. Albert, a former vice president for the transit authority who served as G.S.A.’s director of real estate until last month, when she left to become the acting deputy mayor for planning and economic development in the District of Columbia, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

Ms. Albert, who has overseen several large redevelopment projects in the Washington region, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Done. Shady AF. Congress aint gonna let this happen. No way.

WMATA was literally created by Congress. So one agency of the government (WMATA) would be disposing and transferring of property to another agency of the federal government (the FBI, which is part of DoJ).

Can you explain what's shady?