On June 30, 2022, Venable attorneys Philip Horowitz and Jean Crews published "GSA Novations: a Primer" in the American College of Real Estate Layers (ACREL) News and Notes. Anne Celestin assisted with the article. The following is an excerpt:
Federal government leases of privately owned property are widespread and common across the country, and as a transactional practitioner, you are likely to encounter them from time to time, whether in purchase and sale transactions, financing transactions, or when operational issues or disputes arise. The primary federal government tenant is the General Services Administration, commonly referred to as GSA, although some federal agencies have their own leasing authority, such as the United States Post Office, Department of Defense, and others. These agency leases tend to borrow from the GSA model, adding their own tweaks and special provisions as needed. GSA leases currently account for approximately 180 million square feet of space. GSA has made periodic efforts to move closer to the private market approach to leasing, but remains very much a unique, different type of animal. Given that, what should I know, as a real estate practitioner representing a buyer, seller, owner, or lender, if I come across a GSA lease at a property with which my client has a prospective transaction? In this article, we provide an overview of how a change in property ownership is handled when the GSA is a tenant.
Click here to access the article.