ALEXANDRIA, VA—Work was expected to begin this April on the build-out for the new National Science Foundation's planned headquarters here, but a forced redesign of the space has set that timetable back.

The General Services Administration is finalizing work on a redesign of its original space plan for its headquarters in the Hoffman Town Center. The new design was necessary to abide by a ruling by a Federal Labor Relations Authority arbitrator last October that sided with complaints lodged by American Federation of Government Employees Local 3403. The union claimed it was not included in the search process that led the GSA to pick the Hoffman Town Center for the NSF. The union also charged that its members require larger offices and cubicles at the new headquarters, according to the Washington Business Journal.

GSA spokeswoman Kamara Jones says the NSF has extended its lease at its current headquarters at Stafford Place I and II in Ballston. She adds that the GSA does not believe a further extension beyond the current expiration date of Dec. 31, 2017 is necessary.

At present, despite the need for larger offices and cubicles than originally planned, the GSA has not increased the initial award of 660,848 square feet. See story in the Washington Business Journal.