US Government seeks to Lease Office Space in Cleveland, Ohio

The General Services Administration is soliciting proposals to lease office space in Cleveland, Ohio for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, with offers due September 30, 2026. The procurement requires a 15-year lease term (13 years firm, 2 years non-firm) for 52,688 to 55,322 rentable square feet of contiguous space in a modern BOMA Class A or B office building, with government termination rights after the firm period on 90 days' notice.

The space must include a minimum 10,492 square feet on one floor for public functions (entry, security, waiting, interview, and ceremony rooms) and must be located in a prime commercial district or business park within a half-mile of public transportation. The facility must support 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM weekday operations (extended to Saturday if an Application Support Center is co-located) and 24/7 HVAC for computer and telecommunications rooms. The building must be a single-occupant standalone structure with 9-foot general office ceilings, 12-foot entry and security ceilings, 10-foot computer training and naturalization room ceilings, 20-foot setback, and minimum 12-foot on-center structural spacing. The space must provide 15 reserved government parking spaces and 39 visitor parking spaces within a quarter-mile walk.

Facility Security Level III requirements include magnetometer and X-ray screening at public entrances, blast-resistant windows with fragmentation film on all exterior windows, HSPD-12 compliant PIV access control, electronic security systems (physical access control via Gallagher Command Center with PIV compliance, intrusion detection connected to Federal Protective Service monitoring, and 60-day video surveillance capacity with 360-degree coverage), separate visitor entrance and processing procedures, and mail screening. The lessor must design and install all security systems with one-year warranty; the government assumes maintenance thereafter. All contractors, janitorial, and lessor staff requiring routine facility access must complete NACI background checks at government expense.

Technical infrastructure requirements include structured cabling (Category 6 plenum-rated horizontal with 48-port and 24-port patch panels, 12-strand armored multimode fiber optic backbone minimum, all per ANSI/TIA/EIA standards), LAN room standards (275–350 square feet with 24/7 HVAC maintaining 65–70°F and 40–50% humidity, 50-foot candle lighting, ladder runways, emergency power off switches, and TIA/EIA-compliant grounding), Homeland Security Data Network room with Noise Isolation Class 45 minimum and Sound Transmission Class 50 minimum construction, Criminal Investigation Division secure suite with interview rooms, separate observation area with one-way glass, secure storage with expanded metal and Kevlar panels, and evidence storage. The facility requires two dedicated 1G fiber optic data circuits, approximately four analog voice lines and four PRIs, cellular in-building wireless coverage (SINR greater than 5dB with 25+ Mbps speeds for all major carriers), and POTS lines for security systems (VoIP or cellular permitted only if G.711 codec with no transcoding).

Tenant improvements must comply with USCIS District and Field Office Design Guide standards (Version 1.7, July 2026, incorporated via Amendment No. 1), including specific room types (private offices 120–150 square feet, open workstations 36–48 square feet, conference spaces 225 square feet, teaming rooms with and without video teleconference capability, lactation rooms 8×8 feet minimum, multi-purpose interview and video interview rooms, secure HSDN rooms, file storage, mail rooms). All finishes must meet specifications for gypsum wallboard, solid core wood doors, 2×2 acoustic ceiling tiles with 25% recycled content minimum, LED lighting at 30 foot-candles, carpet or VCT flooring with grounding and static-dissipative properties where required, and fire-rated plywood backboards in computer rooms. Wall construction varies by type: standard demising walls (NIC 40 minimum), enhanced acoustic walls (NIC 45 minimum for sensitive spaces), moisture-resistant walls for wet areas, ballistic-rated secure demising walls (NIC 50 minimum), and LAN room walls (NIC 40 minimum with fire-rated plywood). Audiovisual systems must comply with USCIS AV standards (AV1–AV6, with 4K native resolution, Cisco Webex RoomKit or RoomKit+ codecs, and 10-inch touchscreen controls where applicable). The facility requires interior signage per USCIS standards using DHS Blue (Pantone 2955C), specific fonts, and tactile braille where required.

Additional lessor obligations include one exterior flagpole at government-approved location with flag supplied and maintained as shell rent cost, carpet and flooring replacement every ten years at lessor expense, emergency generator with automatic weekly start-up (natural gas preferred), EISA energy efficiency compliance or statutory exception, ENERGY STAR certification or exemption, fire alarm systems compliant with NFPA standards, automatic door openers (M-FORCE by Stanley) on all entrance, restroom, and separation doors, and onsite management with progress meetings and weekly progress reports. Design Intent Drawings are due within 20 working days of award; 75% Construction Documents within 15 days of DID approval; 100% Construction Documents within 10 days thereafter. Tenant improvements must be substantially complete within 160 working days of Notice to Proceed. Occupancy is targeted for April 2028 with free rent for the first XX months covering all rent components.

Pricing must include shell rent (fully serviced rate per occupant and rentable square feet), tenant improvement rate of $58.96 per occupant area square foot, Building Specific Amortized Capital (BSAC) rate of $25.00 per occupant area square foot, operating costs (janitorial, utilities, maintenance, landscaping, recycling, snow removal), and parking costs. All commission amounts must be disclosed on GSA Form 1217; Amendment No. 1 confirms that no government commission credit is applicable. Award goes to the responsible offeror whose offer conforms to RLP requirements and provides the lowest priced technically acceptable offer, evaluated using present value methodology. The lease must score as an operating lease under OMB Circular A-11, Appendix B.

Offerors must submit proposals through the Requirement Specific Acquisition Platform at leasing.gsa.gov, including GSA Form 1364 (Proposal to Lease Space), GSA Form 1217 (Lessor's Annual Cost Statement), ownership evidence, conditional commitment of funds, local zoning compliance documentation, architectural plans if modernization is planned, scaled floorplans, fire protection and life safety documentation (GSA Form 12000 Part A or Part B from licensed professional fire protection engineer), SAM registration, proof of signing authority, parking plans, and evidence of nearby employee services and amenities. Respondents must acknowledge receipt of Amendment No. 1 with signature and submit the acknowledged copy by September 30, 2026 with their initial offer. The NAICS code is 531120, Lessors of Nonresidential Buildings (except Miniwarehouses), and the PSC code is X1AA, Lease/Rental of Office Buildings. The authorized GSA Lease Contracting Officer is Dave Rauen.