U.S. Customs and Border Protection wants to lease 445,000 square feet in Ashburn

Published March 25, 2018 by Paula C. Squires

Loudoun County has announced an agreement between the county and American Real Estate Partners (AREP) to finalize a lease that would bring a headquarters office for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) and 3,700 jobs to an office park near the Ashburn Silver Line Metro station.

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) headquarters would occupy 445,000 square feet of Class-A office space at American Square at Quantum Park, located at 22001 Loudoun County Parkway.

The 15-year lease would consolidate CBP’s Northern Virginia IT offices and move the 3,700 positions to Loudoun, including engineers, technicians, scientists and support personnel.

The proposal is pending final action by the county’s board of supervisors, which is expected to vote on it Thursday.

“We are extremely thankful for the opportunity to host an agency critical to the safety of our country. Loudoun is an ideal location for federal agencies and contractors because we're only 25 miles from D.C., we're the home of Dulles International Airport and have one of the best technical workforces in the country,” the board’s chair person-at-large Phyllis Randall, said in a statement.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security already have a significant presence in the county, along with numerous federal government contractors.

“This win confirms that Loudoun's investments in transportation and infrastructure are paying off in a big way,” said Broad Run District Supervisor Ron Meyer. “Plus, this is a double-win in that increased job growth in Loudoun moves the employment center of gravity away from D.C., which means less congestion from one-way commuting.”

In reaching an agreement with GSA, Loudoun was able to meet numerous criteria, including transit-accessible office space. The owner of American Square at Quantum Park, AREP — one of the region’s largest office investors with a portfolio of 11 million square feet — plans to make  $179 million in improvements to the facility, including build out of the existing space and a new wing. The improvements are expected to be completed in time for the agency to move in 2020, when the Silver Line will become operational in Loudoun.

Quantum Park, the former home of MCI/Worldcom, will also continue to house the operations of Verizon Business. The 125.8-acre Loudoun County Parkway campus contains 1.9 million square feet of office in 12 buildings spanning more than a third of a mile. In addition to being about a mile away from Ashburn Metro station, the site provides access to the Dulles Greenway, Route 28 and Dulles International Airport.

“Bringing CBP into our community helps underscore that Loudoun is continuing to develop into one of the region's major employment centers,”  Buddy Rizer, executive director of Loudoun Economic Development, said in a statement announcing the deal.

Loudoun County Transit will provide bus service to the campus, and numerous infrastructure improvements are already underway nearby in preparation for the Silver Line.

The county has three Metro stations under construction — Ashburn, Loudoun Gateway near Route 606, and Dulles Airport. In addition, the Innovation Metro Station near Route 28 is adjacent to Loudoun.

As part of the agreement, the board of supervisors will provide lease assistance to the GSA at terms consistent with other GSA agreements in the area.