GSA Hires JLL, Studley, CBRE and Equis for Leasing

CHICAGO- Jones Lang LaSalle, based here, was one of four national companies signed to a five-year contract to oversee leasing for the US General Services Administration. The GSA selects four firms and splits the assignments among these companies; in this case JLL, Studley, CBRE and Equis.

This is an extension for JLL, which has been handling GSA leasing since 2005. The firm represented the administration in the lease acquisition for the National Cancer Institute’s new headquarters in Rockville, MD, as well as the award of the 210,202-square-foot FBI Regional Field Office in Phoenix and the Department of Health and Human Services renewal of space at Two Illinois Center here.

For the past five years, JLL has assisted the administration in the award of more than 830 leases and is currently managing more than 650 lease procurements through occupancy for federal civilian departments and agencies. National broker contracts use no appropriated funds, as contractors are compensated via the private-sector practice of commission payments.

Chris Roth, managing director at JLL, tells GlobeSt.com that the government has been a steadily growing client in a very slow national office leasing market. “We always knew these government leases were important,” Roth says. “Now, of course, owners are finding these tenants very, very appealing in this economy.”

A recent JLL second quarter office market study shows that the government is one of the largest tenants in demand of space right now. The GSA’s lease portfolio contains more than 8,000 properties.