U.S. General Services Administration
GSA, partners open co-located space for GEOINT work
Post filed in: Buildings
What is a federal agency to do when their new facility has to be designed and built over several years — but they need the right space in the right place to do their important work now?
Call GSA, of course. That’s just what the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency did.
On July 23, elected officials, dignitaries and project partners gathered at T-REX in downtown St. Louis to mark the launch of Moonshot Labs. It’s a new geospatial technology lab for NGA, academia, industry, and other government partners to collaborate on unclassified geospatial intelligence work.
NGA Director Vice Admiral Robert D. Sharp welcomed GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan, commenting that she had chosen the “best-ever” Moonshot Labs launch to be her first public event as GSA Administrator. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines also attended the launch.
Moonshot Labs features open space and conference rooms to inspire in-person collaboration.
“What’s extraordinary about Moonshot Labs isn’t the space itself,” Sharp said. “It’s the people who’ll be working here. Our industry and academic collaborators are joining us in this space. The cooperative spirit that powers this space begins with you.”
A dream team
NGA Facility Engineer and Real Property Officer John Bellamy praised GSA for being one of the partners to send the right person at the right time for the job. He said GSA Lease Contracting Officer Jeremy Walker was exceptionally good at working with partners who do not have a lot of experience working with the government.
“NGA, GSA, and T-REX teamed to create a fully integrated architectural and furniture design that produced a truly exceptional space, all virtually through the initial stages of unplanned telework and travel restrictions,” Bellamy said.
The full project team included:
- GSA Lease Contracting Officer Jeremy Walker
- GSA Project Manager Joe Stanley
- GSA Furniture Program Coordinator Kim Crane
- GSA Regional Account Manager Leslie LaMar Rushing
- NGA Facility Engineer and Real Property Officer John Bellamy
- NGA Program Lead for Moonshot Labs Alan Hrebec
- NGA Chief Technology Officer Mark Funk
- President and Executive Director of T-REX Patty Hagen
Dignitaries have high praise for GSA
T-REX Executive Director Patty Hagen called Walker “a star in (GSA’s) universe.”
Executive Director of the St. Louis Development Corporation Neal Richardson recited a proclamation from Mayor Tishaura Jones that it was “Moonshot Labs at T-Rex Day” in the city of St. Louis.
U.S. Senator for Missouri Roy Blunt said the location GSA found was critical to attracting and retaining the workforce NGA needs — people who want to be downtown where vehicles are optional, and an office near the existing workers, 70% of whom live on the St. Louis side of the river.
“And they were under budget on furniture, thanks to GSA,” Blunt said.
NGA wanted to match a Cold War color scheme, but red couches were not readily available through GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule. GSA Furniture Program Coordinator Kim Crane used a different type of contract to get them. “NGA had a pretty unique design vision, and the A/E and GSA were both on board to deliver that vision successfully,” she said.
“The space GSA delivered is an example of the future of workspace,” Carnahan said. “As we increase work flexibility for federal employees, the role of the office doesn’t diminish but evolves. I am so proud of the interagency and intergovernmental team coming together to support NGA and the entire St. Louis geospatial ecosystem.”
U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner said T-Rex is the perfect location for Moonshot Labs and she was grateful and proud to help celebrate the beginning of this new phase in the 70-plus-year history of NGA calling St. Louis home.
Not because it’s easy, but because it’s hard
Invoking a quote by former President John F. Kennedy, completing the Moonshot Labs space means that NGA does not need to wait until 2025 when the Next NGA West campus opens. The campus will “deliver trusted GEOINT with the speed, accuracy, and precision required to hold at risk the strategic forces adversaries use to project power and threaten the United States and our Allies.”
“There is no reason to wait for the new location if you can replicate it, and that’s exactly what starts right now,” Blunt said. “It’s a transformative moment for NGA and, frankly, for St. Louis.”