Easterly Government Properties Buys FBI/DEA Field Offices in Texas

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The FBI and the DEA have a new landlord for their El Paso, Texas, field offices. Easterly Government Properties has acquired the office campus that is home to the government agencies for an undisclosed price.

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The 203,269-square-foot property, known as the El Paso Federal Justice Center, serves as the regional offices for the two government enforcement agencies. Located at 660 S. Mesa Hills Drive, the three office buildings were constructed on a 5-acre site between 1998 and 2005 and are currently 100 percent leased to the FBI and the DEA under three leases that expire in July 2028. The FBI and DEA have shared office space in the property since 1998 and often work together to combat the flow of illicit drugs coming through the nearby U.S.–Mexico border.

Being a government building, the property also offers the two federal agencies many security features including secure perimeter fencing, ballistic glass, redundant power systems, secure garage parking, a Secured Compartmented Information Facility space and a Visitors Screening Facility that’s currently under construction. The property also houses two Evidence Response Teams, one for each agency, that provides highly trained and equipped teams that ensure evidence is collected properly.

William Trimble III, Easterly’s CEO, said in prepared remarks that the joint El Paso facility is located across the border from Ciudad Juarez and provides important federal law enforcement to the region.

Government tenants

Trimble III also added in his prepared statement that Easterly continues to focus on buying mission critical properties that are leased to the U.S. government. In May, Easterly also purchased a 137,679-square-foot office building that houses the FBI’s Field Office in New Orleans.

The REIT has seven additional Texas properties in its portfolio and owns many other buildings occupied by government agencies. In November, Easterly purchased a 66,818-square-foot office building that houses the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in Orange, Calif. Earlier this year, the REIT also purchased a 116,500-square-foot office property in Aurora, Colo., that’s occupied by the Defense Health Agency.