BETHESDA, MD-The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has admitted that it does not need much of the space it leases at the 14-story, 362,000-square-foot 3 White Flint office building in North Bethesda.
The NRC, which has long occupied two office buildings in White Flint, signed a lease in 2009 for the entire building. The NRC now acknowledges that it has not been using and ultimately doesn't need much of the space at 3 White Flint. The agency has sought the advice of the General Services Administration on how to make the best use of the space in the future.
At a Congressional hearing on Wednesday Rep. Lou Barletta, chairman of the House subcommittee overseeing public buildings, reprimanded R. William Borchardt, executive director for operations at the NRC, for the agency's having going around usual leasing procedures to score appropriations for a $350-million lease in the third, brand-new building after the House had approved a space request for only about one-third the size, according to the Washington Post.
Borchardt testified that the agency was undergoing tremendous growth when it pushed for the third building back in 2009. “As a result of that we were authorized for both an increase in staffing levels as well as an authorization to construct the 3 White Flint building,” Borchardt said. Since then, he added that the agency had downsized both its staffing needs and its space requirements per employee. See story in the Washington Post.
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