The Federal Bureau of Investigation is on the move from Washington, D.C., as officials confirmed its new headquarters will be built on a site in Greenbelt, Maryland.
The FBI has been located in the J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building since 1974, which was its first home since it moved out of the Department of Justice building. Many have described the current facility as 'decrepit.'
The General Services Administration made the announcement about the move on Wednesday, which came after Maryland Gov. Wes Moore lobbied President Joe Biden to choose his state as the new home for the agency for months.
Moore released a joint statement with Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), saying that choosing Greenbelt as the new site for the headquarters was “a historic moment.”
“For decades, the dilapidated J. Edgar Hoover Building has failed to meet the FBI’s operational needs, which has undermined our national security,” the statement said.
Maryland was chosen for a number of reasons, including the cost of building the new headquarters and its distance from D.C., according to officials.
“GSA determined Greenbelt to be the best site because 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,” a GSA spokesperson said in a statement.
Robin Carnahan, the GSA Administrator, shared in a statement that the agency looks forward to “building the FBI a state-of-the-art headquarters campus in Greenbelt.”
“Thank you to everyone at GSA, DOJ, FBI, Congress, and others who helped reach this important milestone after a comprehensive, multi-year effort,” Carnahan said.
Politico reported the decision to move to Maryland left Virginia officials fuming as they had hoped to secure it in Springfield, Va. "The decision is a blow for Virginia’s two senators, Democrats Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, and the state’s Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, who all pushed aggressively for a site in Springfield, Va., close to the FBI’s Quantico training site," per Politico.
About 7,500 jobs are housed at the FBI's headquarters.