US GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION—PUBLIC BUILDINGS SERVICE
AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT PROGRAM PLAN
FEDERAL BUILDINGS FUND
This document is a summary of the projects and activities planned for implementation
by GSA’s Public Buildings Service (PBS) with funds provided to the Federal Buildings
Fund by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). By investing in the
backlog of well-planned, worthy and needed infrastructure projects, PBS will help create
jobs in the construction and real estate sectors while also stimulating long-term growth
in energy-efficient technologies, alternative energy solutions and green buildings.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided the Federal Buildings Fund
with $5.546 billion. Of that amount, $750 million was made available to renovate and
construct Federal buildings and courthouses, $300 million was made available to
renovate and construct land ports of entry, and $4.5 billion was made available to
convert Federal buildings into high-performance green buildings.
a. Objectives:
Program Purpose: The purpose of the ARRA funding ($5.546B) provided to the
Federal Buildings Fund is to invest in America’s Federal building inventory in order
to create jobs, construct new facilities, and transform Federal buildings into highperformance green buildings while decreasing energy consumption and improving
the condition of valuable aging assets. GSA’s Public Buildings Service will carefully
manage the execution of hundreds of infrastructure projects located in all 50 states,
the District of Columbia, and two United States territories. Transparency and
accountability will be paramount throughout the execution of the program.
Public Benefit: The Public Buildings Service will help stimulate the U.S. economy by
getting money flowing to the building industries – to construction workers,
electricians, plumbers, air conditioning mechanics, carpenters, architects, and
engineers. Job creation in these areas will subsequently have a multiplying effect on
suppliers and manufacturers of building materials in industries such as the steel
industry, thereby creating even more jobs and economic improvement. At the same
time, GSA’s investment in sustainable energy and green buildings will help to
stimulate President Obama’s vision of moving the US away from carbon based fuels
and will help GSA to achieve the goals of the EISA legislation that requires a
reduction in the carbon footprint of Federal Buildings over the next several years.
Investing in the government’s real estate infrastructure will also provide a significant
return on investment for the American taxpayer. GSA construction projects across
the country will serve to decrease energy consumption and increase the value of the
nationwide portfolio of Federal Buildings thus saving valuable tax payer dollars in the
long-term.
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US GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION—PUBLIC BUILDINGS SERVICE
AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT PROGRAM PLAN
FEDERAL BUILDINGS FUND
b. Activities:
The primary activities that will stem from the $5.546 Billion appropriated to the
Federal Buildings Fund include new building construction, repair & alteration, and
energy modernization. The scope of these projects will include new Federal
construction (including Land Ports of Entry), full and partial building modernizations,
limited scope projects such as re-commissioning of existing systems, replacement of
existing mechanical equipment with significantly more efficient systems, integrated
photovoltaic roof membrane installations, and smaller building projects for energy
conservation. Of the funding appropriated, $108 million will be allotted for rental of
space in situations where “swing space” is needed for agencies currently occupying
buildings selected for renovation. In addition, $127 million of the funding will be
available to cover the administrative costs of completing projects, $3 million will be
available for on-the-job pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship training programs
registered with the Department of Labor. (For a fully detailed list of this Program’s
projects visit www.gsa.gov/recovery and click on “Public Buildings Service Project
Plan”.)
c. Characteristics:
Project Selection: From a universe of over 200 projects that met the criteria of the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, GSA selected the best projects based on
two over-arching criteria: Ability of the project to put people back to work quickly, and
transforming Federal buildings into high-performance green buildings. The complete
list of selection criteria, in descending order of weight is:
•
High-performance features concentrating on energy conservation and renewable
energy generation.
•
Speed of construction start (creating jobs), with an emphasis on those projects
that could begin within 120 days.
•
Execution Risk (ensuring that the projects will not fail due to unforeseen
conditions)
•
Facility Condition. The Facility Condition Index is a standard real estate industry
index that reflects the cost of the repair and alteration backlog of a particular
building relative to the building's replacement value.
•
Improving Asset Utilization
•
Return on Investment
•
Avoiding Lease Costs
•
Historic Significance
Recipients of Funding: The majority of the funding provided to the Federal Buildings
Fund will flow to the private sector through competitively awarded, fixed-price
construction contracts. Targeted recipients of the funding will include small,
minority, and service disabled veteran owned businesses, and other private sector
U.S. companies. In addition, $3 Million will be available for apprenticeship and preUS GSA
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US GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION—PUBLIC BUILDINGS SERVICE
AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT PROGRAM PLAN
FEDERAL BUILDINGS FUND
apprenticeship programs. A small portion (approximately 2.4%) of the overall
funding will flow to the Federal sector to fund the administrative costs of project
execution.
Beneficiaries: Aside from the impacted Federal agencies that occupy GSA space,
the ultimate beneficiary of this funding will be the American public as these
investments will mitigate future costs. The public will also be better served by
government agencies that will operate more efficiently and with a smaller
environmental footprint. In addition, local communities and jurisdictions with planned
construction and renovation projects in their vicinity will benefit from job creation.
Small businesses will also be a significant beneficiary as a recipient of Federal
contracts and as a sub-contractor or tradesman working for the prime contractor.
GSA has a long history of supporting small business and plans to continue that
support throughout implementation of its ARRA program.
d. Delivery Schedule:
Program
Federal
Buildings
Fund –
Recovery
Act
Major Project
Phases
Project
Awards
(cumulative)
Milestones
Not less than $1.0 Billion awarded
by August 1, 2009
Not less than $5.05B awarded by
the end of Fiscal Year 2010.
Not less than $5.546B (the full
ARRA funding amount) awarded by
the end of Fiscal Year 2011.
Planned
Delivery Date
8/1/2009
9/30/2010
9/30/2011
e. Environmental Review Compliance:
GSA’s Public Buildings Service will follow its CEQ-approved National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) implementing regulations for all ARRA-funded projects. After
projects are determined to meet the criteria for NEPA analysis they will be further
assessed to determine the level of NEPA review to be conducted i.e. Categorical
Exclusion, Environmental Assessment, or Environmental Impact Statement. New
construction projects are those most likely to require extensive NEPA review.
Projects not subject to NEPA review will be monitored to ensure compliance with
regulations designed to protect air, water, and reduce solid and hazardous wastes.
Compliance monitoring, review, and reporting are managed by the PBS Environment
Division and eleven regional environmental offices nationwide.
GSA will also follow the requirements of the National Historic Preservation Act to
meet its obligations under Sections 110 and 106. Section 106 compliance for new
construction and major modernization projects will follow the regulations established
by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (Council) under 36 CFR part 800.
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AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT PROGRAM PLAN
FEDERAL BUILDINGS FUND
Section 106 consultation is complete or substantially underway for most of the
projects, with signed Memorandums of Agreement in hand for shovel ready (design
complete) projects. To expedite Section 106 review of projects that improve energy
performance, GSA has developed technical guidance on historic windows, lighting,
HVAC and roofing. GSA is working with the Council to streamline the compliance
process by implementing these guidelines. Section 106 consultation has not yet
been initiated for these energy projects, as they are not yet in design. Compliance
monitoring, review, and reporting is managed by the PBS Historic Buildings Division
and eleven Regional Historic Preservation Officers nationwide.
f. Measures:
The Public Buildings Service will refine its performance measures for the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act and until they are finalized, PBS will use the current
measures of the new construction and asset management programs in the Federal
Buildings Fund presented in the Agency’s Performance Accountability Report.
Noted below are the measures PBS plans to use to track the performance of the
ARRA program:
Frequency
Type
Monthly
Outcome
Monthly
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Outcome
Measure
Percent of
ARRA
construction
projects within
budget
Percent of
ARRA
construction
projects on
schedule
Explanation
This measure tracks the financial
performance of construction and
renovation and modernization projects
to determine if projects are on schedule
to be completed within planned budget
This measure tracks the actual value of
work in place on projects against
projected schedule performance by
comparing the planned schedule of
spending for construction projects with
the actual value of the work in place
(funds paid to the contractor).
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AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT PROGRAM PLAN
FEDERAL BUILDINGS FUND
g. Monitoring/Evaluation:
GSA as a whole will leverage the Commission of Sponsoring Organizations of the
Treadway Commission (COSO), Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Framework,
Federal Managers Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA), and Office of Management
Budget (OMB) Circular A-123 to define a process which identifies the potential
threats to a successful ARRA implementation. COSO provides guidance on critical
aspects of organizational governance, business ethics, internal control, enterprise
risk management, fraud, and financial reporting.
PBS will manage the impact of these risks through monitoring, mitigation and
elimination. Governance of the risk management process will be conducted through
the Senior Assessment Team and reviews incorporated as part of the existing A-123
management review process for assessing internal controls. PBS program
managers will rate each identified risk on a scale of 1-5 based on the likelihood that
the risk event will occur and the effect on the project’s objectives if the risk event
does occur.
At the project level, PBS Managers will use project tracking tools to ensure projects
are on schedule, on budget, and that the scope is being implemented as promised.
Managers will use a variance tracking tool to identify project problems as quickly as
possible and intervene where necessary to get projects back within tolerance.
h. Transparency:
GSA’s Public Building Service plans to take advantage of every opportunity to keep
the President, United States Congress, client Agencies, Vendors/Contractors, and
especially the American taxpayers informed throughout the execution of Recovery
Act projects. In keeping with President Obama’s commitment to transparency in
government, PBS will maintain an unprecedented level of openness and
transparency in operations. Collaboration with the public and with other government
agencies will remain a significant agency commitment. In order to promote
efficiency, effectiveness, and openness in implementation, PBS will fully disclose
key financial and contractual information to the public regarding ARRA funds.
In addition, PBS will maintain a close working relationship with GSA’s Office of the
Inspector General (IG) who will act as a key resource in helping to ensure zero
waste, fraud, and abuse throughout project execution. Since the inception of the
ARRA program, the IG has been heavily involved and will continue to participate in
frequent status meetings with the Agency’s Senior Leadership.
GSA will report frequently to the Committees of the House and the Senate on what
is being planned and what is being accomplished. GSA will also be taking the lead in
launching and managing Recovery.gov – the official website of the Federal
government that will report on the progress of the Recovery Act. Financial (and
other) systems will be modified to track information at the level required to meet
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AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT PROGRAM PLAN
FEDERAL BUILDINGS FUND
Recovery.gov requirements and to ensure the public can measure the impact of
each dollar spent. In addition, contract notifications will be posted on the Federal
Business Opportunities website (FedBizOpps.gov) for private firms to search and
retrieve.
i.
Accountability:
The Public Buildings Service has established the National Reinvestment Program
Management Office (PMO) headed by the Reinvestment Program Management
Executive. This executive is accountable to the Commissioner of the Public
Buildings Service who is accountable to the GSA Administrator. In addition, the
Program Management Executive will establish Zone Recovery Executives in the
PMO to oversee and ensure successful implementation of the ARRA. These
executives and program managers are accountable for ensuring that ARRA project
performance is enhanced by initiating a value-based risk management program
while employing a systematic approach to managing all risks from all sources within
defined boundaries; such as, effective delivery (optimization of risk/return), efficient
delivery (deployment of assets, tangible/intangible), and consistency of results.
j. Barriers to Effective Implementation:
PBS has not identified any statutory or regulatory requirements that will impede
effective implementation of the ARRA. Effective March 2009, PBS has taken a
proactive position in addressing any overarching barriers that could impede
implementation by employing the following enablers:
a. Appointed a Program Management Executive and is currently selecting Zone
Recovery Executives;
b. Identified major areas that impact business processes then developed working
groups to address each area and to establish policy that will drive the business
process; and
c. Enhanced financial/accounting and business systems to support unique codes,
projects and reimbursable activity in order to identify and report on ARRA activity.
In addition, PBS is working in conjunction with GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service
(FAS) to ensure turnkey facilities from design through completion of the project, as
well as to provide acquisition tools for other Federal agencies to use in their
Recovery Act work.
Aside from any as yet unidentified statutory and regulatory requirements that may
impede implementation, PBS has preliminarily identified the skills necessary to
implement the ARRA program and is currently preparing a human capital plan to
address a resource gap through internal resource realignment, contractors, and
temporary hires.
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AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT PROGRAM PLAN
FEDERAL BUILDINGS FUND
k. Federal Infrastructure Investments:
GSA selected the best projects for accomplishing the goals of the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act based on two over-arching criteria: Ability of the
project to put people back to work quickly, and transforming Federal buildings into
high-performance green buildings. GSA’s plan resulted in four groups of projects:
•
•
•
•
New Federal construction, including Land Ports of Entry
Full and partial building modernizations
Limited scope projects
Small projects
Each of these groups will achieve the goals of the Energy Independence and
Security Act and the Executive Order 13423 in different ways. New Federal
construction projects’ and full and partial building modernizations’ design goals have
been or are being changed to incorporate both the requirement to be 30% better
than ASHRAE 90.1 (the energy code), and to consume 55% less fossil fuel energy.
PBS has prepared a project review process that includes application of all the
guiding principles. In estimating the costs of these projects, changes to existing
designs have been added to the project budget, although these estimates were of
necessity (given the time constraints) approximate. Each major building
modernization project has been given an energy efficiency target, based on
preliminary energy modeling and CBECS comparable buildings. These will be
monitored as construction proceeds to ensure that the goals for energy efficiency,
energy efficient capital equipment purchased in installed in the course of the
projects, and the fossil fuel generated energy reduction targets will be delivered
upon completion. Commissioning agents are being procured for all these projects,
and they will verify the performance of the delivered systems and projects. Limited
scope projects were selected for the greatest impact on portfolio energy reduction,
increased performance and renewable energy generation, and for impact improving
working conditions for the occupants of the buildings. These will be similarly verified
to ensure that the performance is delivered.
PBS has engaged both the Pacific Northwest and National Renewable Energy
National Laboratories (through the Department of Energy) to aid in modeling and
measuring the requirements, as well as in the development of specifications
designed the maximize the energy-savings and performance potential of these
projects.
Lastly, every building that PBS will touch on the identified list will have advanced
meters for both electricity and water, and steam if appropriate; and from the small
projects line item, all other buildings for which advanced meters are appropriate will
be accomplished.
The PBS Recovery Act Program Management Office (PMO) is responsible for
ensuring that the projects meet these goals. The PMO is staffed with subject matter
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FEDERAL BUILDINGS FUND
experts in both energy and sustainability, and is supported by the PBS Sustainability
program office (which has been administratively merged into the Office of FederalHigh-Performance Green Buildings), in devising effective measures for each of
these goals. For example, in the recent construction management conference,
classes on integrated design (sustainable design), lighting, water conservation, solar
PV, envelope improvement and energy strategies were provided to 350 people who
will be key to achieving these goals. Further, GSA is working with Dept. of Energy’s
solar program to maximize the opportunity for solar energy generation in the roofing
projects identified in the spending plan, as well as solar hot water.
For a fully detailed list of this Program’s identified projects and activities visit
www.gsa.gov/recovery and click on “Public Buildings Service Project Plan”.
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