The National Geo-spatial Intelligence Agencyâs massive new digs at Fort Belvoir opened its doors earlier this week, marking what NGA called a âmilestoneâ moment for the agency.
The 2.4 million square foot campus in Springfield, Va., cost about $1.7 billion and is 85 percent complete, according to a report on Signal Scape.
âWith this milestone achievement, NGA will begin to enhance organizational continuity across the nation and around the world, while promoting even greater mission effectiveness everywhere we work,â said NGA Director Letitia A. Long.
It is the first move for NGA under the Base Realignment and Closure plan of 2005 to consolidate the agencyâs Washington, D.C.-area workforce, according to the agency.
Some 8,500 employees will eventually work in the agencyâs new East campus when the transition is complete in September.
NGA said the campus was designed to promote greater collaboration within the various branches of the agency as well as with its mission partners.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who led the agency for five years in the early and mid-2000s, said the physical facilities of the new campus are âat the leading edge of the Intelligence Community.â
âThe collocation of NGAâs East component will greatly expand the possibilities to both enhance mission performance and promote community collaboration,â he added.