Capitol CREAG Services:
Site Inspection
Market Survey
Appraisals / Valuation
Due Diligence
Space Programming / Program of Requirements
Market Analysis
Independent Estimates / Budget Estimates
Feasibility / Cost /Benefit Analysis
Public Private Ventures
Procurement Management
Contractual Services
Project Challenge

Project Challenge:
The Army Corps of Engineers needed to identify the highest and best use for underutilized land at Fort Knox under the Army’s Enhanced Use Lease (EUL) program. This assessment will be used to provide guidance for a developer solicitation and an Army ground lease valuation for the EUL development project. Due to the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act, there will be an increase of 11,499 workers and their families by 2011. As this influx of people presents a challenge to the Fort Knox community, the Army Corps of Engineers needed a report providing solutions by analyzing uses for five (5) prospective sites at Fort Knox.

Project Scope:
In completing this analysis, Capitol CREAG followed the highest and best use methodology of the Department of the Army. Highest and Best Use is defined by the Department of the Army as “the reasonably probable and legal use of land or improved property that is physically possible, appropriately supported and financially feasible and results in the highest value.”

The Highest and Best Use Study is currently being utilized by Capitol CREAG to move forward with an Enhanced Use Lease (Public Private Venture) procurement. Information on the highest and best use of these five parcels is considered “procurement sensitive” prior to being released to the general public at the EUL Industry Forum.

In addition to drafting a highest and best use analysis, Capitol CREAG has been tasked to draft the Notice of Opportunity to Lease (NOL), oversee the entire EUL procurement process, conduct the industry forum, and oversee the lease negotiations for the project.

Capitol CREAG Services:
Strategic Housing Plans
Space Programming coordination
Market Survey
Market Analysis
Building Assessments
Independent Government
Estimates/Estimated Budgets
Develop Solicitation for Offers
Review and Evaluate Offers
Negotiate Offers
Request and receive Best and Final Offers
Prepare Lease Documents and Obtain Signatures
Post Award Services
Coordinate Design Intent Drawings
Lease File Close Out
Adjustment for Vacant Space
Vacant Space Verification
Real Estate Tax Adjustments
Operating Cost Escalations
Succeeding Leases
Lease Extensions
Renegotiation of Existing Leases
Reconfiguration or Realignment Advisory Services
Lease Alterations
Backfill of Vacant Space

Project Challenge:
The Capitol CREAG Team provided Program and Project Management oversight to the GSA National Capital Region (NCR) Northern Virginia Advanced Acquisition Program (AAP). The Advanced Acquisition Program was a pre-competed fast track Government lease procurement service that was used by the GSA NCR to facilitate lease acquisitions in place of the conventional lease procurement process. (It is important to note that the GSA awarded Capitol CREAG four separate contracts under the GSA AAP.)

By the end of our tenure, the Northern Virginia AAP was the preferred lease procurement process to complete new and expiring government leases in the NCR. During the Capitol CREAG Team tenure, we encouraged the use of the program on prospectus level requirements and complex agency mission critical lease requirements through a collaborated marketing effort with the GSA. By the end of our campaign, the Northern Virginia Office AAP inventory had grown to approximately 40 million rentable square feet (RSF) and 250 buildings and completely re-competed on an annual basis. By creating a new procurement and inventory, holding pre-bid forums, negotiating leases and consistently updating the AAP Solicitation for Offeror, we were able to take a lessons learned approach to each successive inventory.

Though the contract period reflects a three year period, the founding partners of Capital CREAG had provided management oversight of the Northern Virginia program since 1995 as subcontractors under a GSA Prime contractor. The members of the Capitol CREAG Team collectively completed approximately 7 million rentable square feet of transactions or 190 lease transactions.

The conventional government lease procurement added significant time to the procurement process. The process required that the agency identify a space requirement, create a Program of Requirements, forward the requirement to the GSA real estate specialist, advertise for buildings, generate an SFO, evaluate and award a building and then build-out the space. The AAP process removes the pre-solicitation phase of the equation saving a minimum of several months in the space acquisition process.

The AAP program faced several significant issues when Capitol CREAG was initially assigned to the program. The large size and clarity of the solicitation was not well received by the market and the solicitation was underutilized by GSA tenant agencies and the real estate market.

The AAP solicitation without attachments was 70 pages long, non-lender friendly, and many of the provisions did not make sense to potential Offerors. The Capitol CREAG Team met with GSA Contracting Officers and the private sector real estate community to facilitate dialogue to reduce the paperwork and create a more acceptable document. Through many revisions of the SFO, the document was reduced from 70 to 40 pages. We were able to reduce the federal ADA and Unified Federal Accessibility Standards requirements section from 16 pages to one paragraph. We also added lifecycles to recurring costs that Lessors incurred over a lease term. Items such as carpet, repainting of common area and tenant space were assigned five-year lifecycles. The GSA Contracting Officers and regional counsel were willing to discuss default provisions in the General Clauses and Certs and Reps attachments of the SFO to address third party financing concerns. The importance of these forums was to assist the GSA to mitigate its risk and lower the possibility of a protest by creating forums for the private sector to voice concerns about the AAP lease procurement process prior to soliciting an AAP procurement.

Through collective efforts of the GSA Contracting Officers, the Program Manager and Project Managers, the AAP was recognized as the procurement of choice among NCR GSA and its client agencies. The three regional AAP programs were responsible for completing roughly 70% of the GSA National Capital Region lease acquisitions by 2001.

Capitol CREAG Services:
Space Programming/Program of Requirements
Coordinate Design Intent Drawings
Site Selection/Market Survey
Independent Government Estimates
Develop Solicitation for Offers
Negotiate Offers
Best and Final Offers
Prepare Lease Documents and Obtain Signatures
Post Award Services

Project Challenge:
The National Transportation Safety Board needed senior real estate consultants to manage a full design-build procurement of a new world class NTSB training facility in Northern Virginia. The requirement consisted of a design build 72,000 SF transportation laboratory (research and testing facility/conference and training type space), 30,000 SF free-span warehouse/airplane hanger (transportation testing laboratory/research), plus 30,000 SF of exterior simulation court to fulfill the mission of the National Transportation Safety Board International Training Academy and supporting laboratory and research functions. The assignment commenced in Q3 2000; space had to be designed, built and ready for occupancy by December 2002.

Kevin Wilson, Principal of Capitol CREAG, was hand picked by GSA to provide full procurement oversight and services for this very important initiative.

Due to the nature of its use, this training facility had many unique, above-standard items including:

• A common area large enough to accommodate 150 people to be constructed in a manner consistent with the finishes of a prestigious hotel conference center lobby to include all furnishings, amenities, public areas, ability to accommodate wireless Internet access, audio visual areas with VCR/Cable accessibility, and appropriate auxiliary lighting.
• A common Area with large windows overlooking a well landscaped outside area.
• A custom built NTSB Training Academy and supporting laboratory and research facility in line with the highly technical Program of Requirements.
• Training Center to feature professionally supported state-of-the-art audio/visual equipment and services including A/V equipment (multimedia projector), microphones (mounted, tabletop, wireless handheld, and lapel), video playback (DVD, VCR, Mini DV, wired lectern with presentation computer), and touch-screen controls (audio, video, lighting schemes, window shades). Video conferencing via ISDN phone lines, video recording, live or delayed webcasts, and other special services to be provided as requested.
• The Warehouse/Airplane Hanger to be at least 100 feet wide by 300 feet long by 45 feet high ceiling clearance.
• Warehouse to be free-span with no columns in the space.
• Significantly upgraded floor loads and electrical. Space to be fully conditioned.
• Warehouse to have entry doors on both ends of the space with opening clearance of 36 feet high by 60 feed wide, allowing easy opening to bring in and remove large wreckage pieces (i.e., TWA Flight 800 re-assemblage).
• Two 15-ton traveling cranes with a 40 feet high clearance to bottom of cranes able to operate the full length of the warehouse area.
• Warehouse to have area to accommodate full scale flight simulator.

Project Scope:
Capitol CREAG was able to successfully assist NTSB in developing its comprehensive Program of Requirements, perform Site Selection/Market Surveys of potential sites within 50 miles of their HQ, develop their Solicitations for Offers, manage a 20-year firm term real property procurement in accordance with their Charter (granting them statutory independent leasing authority from GSA) and the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), and ensure the site was built out per the lease.

We were also able to meet NTSB’s preference of space that is co-located or located near a world class institution of higher education with classes (and professors) on subjects of interest to the training center.
NTSB awarded Lease # NTSB-01-001 to The George Washington University for space located at their campus on Riverside Parkway in Ashburn, Virginia. The lease was the first lease known to have actually been executed by the NTSB directly.