U.S. General Services Administration
Volpe Exchange Project brings home three awards
The John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center was recently awarded three separate awards. These awards showcase the uniqueness of this project and celebrate the hard work and collaboration between the U.S. General Services Administration team members and project stakeholders.
The three awards include:
The Mark H. Hasso Project Excellence Award
The Presidential Federal Sustainability Award
A 2024 GSA Project Management Award
The Mark H. Hasso Project Excellence Award
The John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center project received the Mark H. Hasso Project Excellence Award at the annual Construction Management Association of America Awards on June 3, 2024.
In a first of its kind exchange agreement for GSA, the Volpe took home an award in the Building Projects: New Construction category.
The project was featured via a video that underscores the uniqueness of the overall project scope and the building’s sustainability features.
Originally planned to pursue LEED Gold status, the project team realized they could achieve LEED Platinum at approximately 73 percent construction completion. Designed with exceptional energy efficiency and sustainability goals, the new Volpe Center generates one third of its energy and hot water renewable on-site and also houses an energy efficient water cooled chiller plant and an automation system that monitors and measures energy use and fuel consumption.
“I continue to be so impressed by the very creative, win-win-win thinking that led GSA to pursue an exchange structure for this project. There are so many positive outcomes from this, for GSA, for DOT, for MIT, for the community. It was innovation at its best,” stated GSA’s Regional Chief Architect Judie Bowen.
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The Presidential Federal Sustainability Award
Representatives from GSA Region One had an opportunity to visit the White House this week, where they accepted an award for the Volpe Exchange project during the Presidential Federal Sustainability Awards ceremony.
The Presidential Federal Sustainability Awards Program recognizes federal agencies and employees who have made transformational efforts to advance sustainability and climate resilience and lead by example to deliver on President Biden’s goal to slash emissions from federal operations.
Awardees were selected from a pool of over 140 nominations and represent domestic and international facilities or projects spanning 10 federal agencies.
Region One Public Buildings Service Regional Commissioner Glenn Rotondo was joined at the ceremony by Supervisory General Engineer, Noretta Lleshi, and Director of the Real Property Disposition Division, John Kelly.
The John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center received an award in the “Investing in Climate Smart Buildings” category.
The new John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center opened its doors in September 2023 and houses multiple U.S. DOT operating administrations, FEMA and Army North. The former center’s six sprawling buildings and surface parking lots are replaced with a new federal building which is highly energy efficient, and climate-resilient featuring triple-paned windows, heat recovery chillers, electric vehicle charging stations, a rainwater reclamation and reuse system, green and cool roof technology, a rooftop solar array, and an advanced building automation system and data center to optimize energy use.
GSA and DOT expect the new building will cut emissions in half compared to a traditional building. The new facility illustrates how the federal government can meet federal sustainability goals efficiently in ways that also benefit the communities we serve.
The 2024 GSA Project Management Award
The successful completion of the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, and the unique partnership between GSA, DOT and MIT to make this exchange happen resulted in the project team winning a 2024 GSA Project Management Award in the disposition category.
The Real Property Disposition project award recognizes project teams for their contributions and achievements managing disposition projects. These are the project managers and teams that are on the leading edge of fully integrating projects with other parts of the organization and meeting all major project requirements. They model how all future projects should be managed within their region, as well as nationally.
And that’s exactly what the Region One team did to complete the Volpe Exchange project. After the former Volpe Center was no longer deemed optimal in supporting DOT’s mission, the Region One team worked for years alongside DOT to develop a solution.
A decision was made to explore a unique partnership – one where the federal government leveraged the value of the site to obtain a new facility for the DOT.
As part of this process, the GSA set out to find an exchange partner to redevelop this site. The chosen partner, MIT, would design and construct a new state-of-the-art facility on a retained portion of the site. In exchange, the remainder of the 14-acre Center – no longer needed – would be conveyed to the exchange partner after construction of the new facility.
As a result of the project, the federal footprint was reduced from approximately 14 acres to 4 acres and from six buildings to one. The U.S. DOT gained a state-of-the-art facility, and MIT will be able to redevelop the remaining property, maximizing its use while enhancing the surrounding community in close coordination with the City of Cambridge.
“This unique transaction has unlocked the potential of a U.S. government asset (the former U.S. Department of Transportation exchange parcel) for development in support of affordable housing, startup businesses, open space, and economic development as part of GSA’s community engagement efforts,” said Region One Public Buildings Service Commissioner Glenn Rotondo. “This transaction has benefited from the support of every PBS program area - Federal Acquisition Service, Office of the Inspector General Audits, and nearly all staff offices which have contributed to the project’s success. It is a terrific example of the positive impact that GSA has on our country and our future.”