WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today applauded an announcement by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) that it intends to acquire a 60-acre land parcel on Route 50 east of Winchester for construction of a new $98 million FBI records facility. The FBI Central Records Complex, which has been in the planning stages for more than a decade and which included a GSA evaluation of at least three potential sites in or near Winchester, will consolidate paper records that are currently dispersed in hundreds of locations across the country into one centralized location.

Today the GSA released a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS), which names the Arcadia site at 2117 Millwood Pike (U.S. 50) as the preferred location for the facility, over two other nearby sites also under consideration.

“Today’s announcement of a specific site for this important FBI facility is especially welcome news – not only for the FBI, but for our nation’s security and for Winchester and Frederick County,” said Sen. Warner. “Former Rep. Frank Wolf was a tireless champion of this project, and the Virginia delegation has continued to advocate for it. The same reasons GSA identified Frederick County as the ideal site for the records complex – including proximity to D.C., an array of transportation options, and an educated workforce – are good reminders of how much Virginia has to the offer the FBI. This forward motion on the FBI records facility also provides another strong argument in our ongoing efforts to have the FBI select Springfield for its new FBI headquarters.”

“I’m pleased the FBI Central Records Complex project will be able to move forward,” said Sen. Kaine. “Since my first days in the Senate I have been advocating for this project alongside Senator Warner and former Congressman Frank Wolf. This new complex is a win-win for the Winchester region, supporting the FBI’s law enforcement mission and boosting economic development activity in the area. Projects like this continue to display Northwestern Virginia’s appeal and proven track record of sustaining critical federal projects.”

On Jan. 27, 2004, plans were announced to move the FBI’s records to a site outside Winchester. At the time of the announcement, it was expected that the facility would be operational in 2010. But Congress’ failure to fund the project allowed those plans to lay dormant until 2014, when Virginia’s congressional delegation secured $97,853,000 for its construction.