Located at the corner of corner of Nebraska and Massachusetts avenues, the 38-acre Naval Security Station complex encompasses 32 buildings accounting for 566,000 sf of office space. For the last two months the General Services Administration, the government's real estate arm, had been soliciting bids for leasable space offering about 275,000 sf and 1,000 on site parking spots. At the Naval Security Station, Homeland Security's offices will start out in a four-story structure on the campus.

It seems security was the deciding factor in the selection of space. Written communications between Homeland Security's transition team and the GSA indicate that many of the solicited bids for Northern Virginia locations did not hold security as the absolute highest priority in the proposals. Other factors that made the District space more viable are its proximity to the White House and the home of the Vice President at the US Naval Observatory, the easy access to public transportation, and ready-made security.