Search Begins for Location of New Downtown Federal Building

Feasibility study to look in East Village for potential site

KANSAS CITY, Mo., May 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new federal building may one day grace Kansas City's East Village.

The U.S. General Services Administration recently awarded a contract to local design firm SFS Architecture to begin a feasibility study of potential building sites within East Village. The East Village is bordered on the north by 8th Avenue, east by Charlotte Street, south by 12th Avenue, and west by Cherry Street.  

"This is a great step forward for Kansas City and the General Services Administration. There has been a long movement to locate a new federal building in the East Village," said Jason Klumb, GSA's newly appointed Regional Administrator.

GSA will work closely with city officials and community leaders so the location of the building is consistent with development goals and plans for the area, as well as GSA's "good neighbor" policy. GSA is also encouraged by the possibility of building on a donated site, thereby reducing the total cost to the federal government.

"Elected officials from Washington, Jefferson City, and Kansas City have made it clear that they support a new building downtown, with the 1,000 plus federal employees it will bring," Klumb said. "We at GSA will do our best to make a downtown federal building feasible."

The feasibility study will also examine opportunities for energy efficiency and sustainability throughout development. GSA will seek at least Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver certification. And, it will evaluate design, construction, and equipment technologies to explore the possibility of driving energy consumption toward a "net zero" energy building, which means zero net energy consumption and zero net carbon emissions annually.

A new Kansas City federal building is included in GSA's five-year capital investment plan. The next step for GSA is to request Congressional funding for site acquisition and design of the building in its 2012 budget.

"This is the first step on a long path.  I'm hopeful.  But as the preacher told me, 'say your prayers and move your feet.'  I'm working as hard as I can to make it happen," Klumb said.

About GSA

As the nation's premier federal acquisition and procurement agency, GSA leverages the buying power of the federal government to secure, in the most cost-effective, transparent, and sustainable manner possible, the goods, services, and real property the civilian federal government needs to operate. In addition, GSA develops government-wide regulations and policies that encourage agencies to use the best, most cost-effective management practices and serves as a gateway for citizens to directly access the full breadth of government services and information.

SOURCE U.S. General Services Administration