Opening Ceremony for New FBI Jackson Field Office

JACKSON, MS—Daniel McMullen, Special Agent in Charge of the Jackson Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is pleased to announce that the Opening Ceremony of the FBI's new office building in Jackson, Mississippi will be held on Wednesday, June 9, 2010. The three-story building is located at 1220 Echelon Parkway. Sitting on a secured 10-acre parcel of land, the 110,000-square-foot building is a blast-resistant structure that is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified and constructed in accordance with the FBI's Design Excellence Program.

The LEED designation, an internationally recognized green building certification system, was created by the United States Green Building Council. It provides third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance in energy savings, water efficiency, carbon dioxide emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources.

Prior to the construction of this building, employees assigned to the headquarters office of the FBI's Jackson Field Office were divided among three floors (approximately 43,000 square feet) in the McCoy Federal Building and several off-sites. This new facility will enable all headquarters personnel to work in close proximity, facilitating greater efficiency of operations and cohesiveness of response. In addition to the Jackson Field Office headquarters, the FBI has nine resident agencies located throughout the state of Mississippi. Space is provided within the new building for Special Agents assigned to these resident agencies to work and receive training.

One of the primary goals of the FBI for this building is to provide adequate space to house the task forces which have become crucial in protecting citizens from terrorist threats and in combating crimes which have historically been the purview of the FBI. Members of the task forces may now work side-by-side, forming and cementing partnerships between federal, state and local law enforcement and government agencies. These partnerships are indispensable in the FBI's efforts to find and fight the various threats facing Mississippi and the United States. This new FBI facility has enhanced access to training and resources to further this goal.

This building was developed by Highwoods Properties, Inc., of Raleigh, North Carolina, for the General Services Administration (GSA). Highwoods is the largest owner and operator of suburban office properties in the Southeast and 2009 NAIOP Developer of the Year. Highwoods has developed a total of seven properties for the GSA, including an FBI office building in Tampa, Florida. Another FBI office building in Charlotte, North Carolina, is currently under construction through a joint venture between Highwoods and USAA Real Estate Company.