Relying on the representation of Spaulding & Slye Colliers, the GSA committed to the new building under a lease of unspecified length. According to the GSA's solicitation for a lease procurement team for the NOAA space, the agreement is not to exceed 13 years. The building will also house the National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Systems.

Situated within close to the US Food and Drug Administration's Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, the American Center for Physics and several other laboratories and federal facilities, NOAA's new digs will occupy a 10-acre parcel straddling the cities of College Park and Riverdale in Prince George's County. "The location of this new facility creates a synergy between the professionals at NOAA, the faculty and staff of the University of Maryland, and the great community of Riverdale," says Donald C. Williams, regional administrator for GSA's National Capital Region.

Financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed. The development is on schedule to be completed in late 2007.