U.S. General Services Administration
Clemons awards $51 million lease for USDA in Lincoln
Dennis Clemons
dennis.clemons@gsa.gov
Lease Contracting Officer and Team Leader
Public Buildings Service
Leasing Division
Where are you from?
Originally from Tampa, I came to Kansas City in 1997 by way of Atlanta where I lived for five years and started work with GSA.
Somewhere along the way, I must have transitioned fully into a Kansas Citian, because Superbowl LV felt like an assault on my soul. Our beloved Chiefs are the only team I would ever want the Bucs to lose to but alas...
Where do you live now?
Kansas City, Missouri
Tell us a little about yourself. Children? Pets? Married? Hobbies?
I am a follower of Jesus, and I am married to the love of my life, Laura, whom I met in 10th grade. We have five grown children who are all married (two grandchildren).
I am Dad to the sweetest 9-year-old boxer, Gunther, and I lost my best buddy, Gizmo, the Pomeranian last October (and I refuse to get over it). I am an elder in my church, and my parents’ primary caregiver, so there’s no time for real hobbies. But I am setting up a new aquarium.
What has been your career journey until now?
I was hired as a realty specialist in Atlanta (Region 4) in 1992 and transferred to Kansas City in 1997.
I have remained in leasing throughout my career and have been the team leader for Kansas, southeast Missouri and Nebraska multiple times.
What did you accomplish and when?
On March 18, I awarded a 20-year, firm-term lease to NEBCO, Inc. for an 80,000-square-foot building to be constructed on the Lincoln Mall in Lincoln, Nebraska to house the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and Farm Service Agency groups.
The building will include office space, multiple laboratories and light industrial space where soil samples are maintained from all over the country throughout our history since the Dust Bowl.
Who accomplished it?
I am the lease contracting officer, and Peter Leonhard is currently the (4th) project manager. Carpenter Robbins is the broker contractor.
How did you do it?
The lease was negotiated by full and open competition via best value trade-off procurement (sometimes referred to as source selection).
Award was made to the lowest-priced, technically acceptable offeror whose offer was also technically rated as excellent.
Why was it important or noteworthy work?
The project began in 2015 and has gone through many changes in size and scope since GSA received the original request for space from USDA.
It will result in the consolidation of three locations, including two laboratories, over 90,000 square feet of space currently occupied in the Denney Federal Building and two leased locations, and NRCS’s soil storage facility, totaling approximately 22,000.
The USDA’s footprint in the Lincoln market will be reduced by over 30%. Occupancy is anticipated in late 2023.
What was the most remarkable part of it?
After all of the changes that the project went through, the awardee and some of the unsuccessful offerors stuck with us to award.
The project took so many twists and turns, it is hard to believe that I’ve finally made the award. Now we can get on with design and construction.
What are the results or benefits for American taxpayers?
The magnitude of the reduction of USDA’s footprint alone would be a tremendous benefit to the taxpayers.
In this case, however, the lease rate is well below what I anticipated it would be. The successful offeror is uniquely positioned to keep costs down because the company is more than just a landlord and is in the business of doing much of its own work for which other companies have to subcontract and pay premium mark-ups.
Those costs normally get amplified by each layer of middleman and passed along to the government in the form of higher lease rates. In this case, we are saving much of those compounding costs that we usually incur.
What are the results or benefits for vendors?
The total contract value is in excess of $51 million with shell construction costs estimated at nearly $25 million and tenant improvement construction costs anticipated to exceed $13 million.
This will generate many jobs for the approximately 30-month construction schedule.
What are the results or benefits for federal agencies?
New construction will provide the sorely needed opportunity to update NRCS’s laboratories and soil storage facilities.
The consolidation of locations will enhance the work experience and collaboration among NRCS’s groups and positively affect the agencies’ bottom lines, as a result of the reduction of their footprints.