Fish and Wildlife Service to Save Money by Moving Virginia Headquarters

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service next summer will move headquarters from its current rental space in suburban Arlington, Va., to a new facility in nearby Falls Church, the General Services Administration announced on Thursday.

The decision to consolidate what currently is three separate buildings in Arlington’s Ballston neighborhood as leases expire will save $3.8 million annually for the next 15 years, GSA said in a news release. The new energy-efficient structure “provides nearly 183,000 square feet of office space for the service to deliver on its mission to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people,” GSA said.

The annual rental rate will drop by $6 a square foot -- including three years of free rent as an incentive from developer Vornado-Charles E. Smith. The move trims the agency’s footprint by 72,233 square feet.

Vornado won in competitive bidding. Employees were notified on Thursday.

Arlington in June lost the National Science Foundation as a tenant when GSA announced a new facility under construction in Alexandria, Va. The county’s economic development specialists have also been scrambling for years to make up for federal office tenants lost in the Crystal City neighborhood following the last round of moves required by the Defense Department’s Base Closure and Realignment Commission.