Alexandria retains National Science Foundation headquarters

Updated Friday, November 14, 2025 at 8:30 p.m. This story has been updated with a statement from the City of Alexandria.

The U.S. National Science Foundation will remain in Alexandria, moving to the Randolph Building at 401 Dulany Street in early 2026 after being displaced from its Eisenhower Avenue headquarters to make room for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The General Services Administration and NSF jointly announced the lease execution Friday, bringing to a close nearly five months of uncertainty for the research funding agency and approximately 1,600 employees — a mix of federal workers and scientists from research institutions working at NSF on a temporary basis.

“This relocation reflects President Trump’s commitment to delivering results for the American people through smart government and responsible stewardship of taxpayer resources,” said GSA Acting Administrator Mike Rigas. “GSA reached a major milestone in consolidating our federal real estate portfolio to deliver an efficient workplace that enables both the NSF and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to better achieve their missions.”

The new headquarters, part of the Carlyle Innovation Campus, sits approximately half a mile east of NSF’s current location at 2415 Eisenhower Avenue and 0.3 miles from the King Street-Old Town Metro station, where NSF will co-locate with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

“This building, known as the ‘Randolph Building’ is a part of the Carlyle Innovation Campus, where we will co-locate with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO),” wrote Brian Stone, NSF’s chief of staff who is performing the duties of the director, in an internal memo sent to staff at 10:47 a.m. Friday and obtained by The Alexandria Brief.

Mission alignment

“This relocation enables the U.S. National Science Foundation to remain in Alexandria while making responsible use of federal facilities and supporting the needs of our workforce and the research community,” Stone said in the joint announcement. “Co-location with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office will also strengthen both of our abilities to translate discoveries to innovation.”

The lease is set to begin Jan. 1, 2026, with NSF planning to execute the move during the first quarter of next year. Stone indicated in the internal memo that the agency intends to move “as quickly as possible” to minimize costs while GSA completes preparatory work including cabling, furniture installation and other modifications.

Displacement drama

The relocation concludes a turbulent period for NSF that began June 25, when HUD Secretary Scott Turner, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and GSA Commissioner Michael Peters announced at NSF’s headquarters that HUD would take over the building, bringing 2,700 jobs and the first cabinet-level federal agency to Alexandria.

“While the City was excited to welcome HUD, the Mayor and City Council, and the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership (AEDP) were clear that HUD’s relocation should not come at the expense of the NSF,” the city said in a statement Friday.

Officials at the time emphasized taxpayer savings and improved working conditions for HUD employees, with Peters promising to help NSF identify suitable alternative space while ensuring a smooth transition.

“We’re going to do it as quickly as we can while also doing it in a manner that isn’t disruptive to the current tenants,” Peters said in June.

Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins immediately pledged to keep NSF in the city, saying, “We have a long and significant partnership with NSF and are committed to keeping their home in Alexandria.”

On Friday, Gaskins said, “We are thrilled to say that NSF will stay in the City of Alexandria and that it will continue its role growing the innovation hub in Carlyle, collaborating directly with USPTO.”

Tight search parameters

GSA launched a formal search in late August for 240,000 to 280,000 square feet of Class A office space, with strict requirements that effectively limited options to Alexandria’s Eisenhower East corridor near Metro.

Perhaps most tellingly, GSA specified that the space must be “contiguous within a single building or in a shared location with a complementary federal agency that can create a high-profile science and innovation hub” — language that appeared to describe the USPTO buildings on Dulany Street.

The Washington Business Journal reported in August that NSF appeared likely to backfill space vacated last year by USPTO in one of two LCOR Inc.-owned buildings on Dulany Street, based on the narrow parameters of the solicitation and according to federal real estate experts.

The 48-month lease term represents an unusually short commitment for a federal agency, designed to keep costs below GSA’s fiscal year 2025 prospectus threshold of $3.926 million and allow for faster procurement without congressional approval.

Virginia keeps NSF

“Virginia is a great place to be headquartered, and we are excited that the NSF will remain in Alexandria,” said Youngkin. “Virginia is the proud home to many public and private-sector headquarters, and we thank GSA and NSF leadership for trusting us by keeping their national mission and the approximately 1,600 employees who work at the facility, in Virginia.”

“Alexandria’s economy is supported by a number of anchors we have recruited to the City — employers who themselves contribute to our economy, but importantly also catalyze spin-off activity like hotel stays, restaurant visits, and contractor businesses who locate nearby,” said AEDP President and CEO Stephanie Landrum. “For that reason, the City aggressively pursued the NSF headquarters in 2017 and was vigilant in efforts to retain them in 2025.”

The city celebrated NSF’s initial relocation to Alexandria in 2017. The agency’s retention maintains Alexandria’s growing reputation as a science and technology hub, particularly in the Carlyle neighborhood.

Transition ahead

NSF will utilize “all available flexibilities, including telework” during the move, according to the internal memo. Staff can expect additional details at a town hall meeting scheduled for next week.

The selected facility offers proximity to a number of public transit options, including the King Street and Eisenhower Metro stations, Amtrak and the Virginia Railway Express.

GSA said it will continue to work with NSF to ensure a smooth transition, enable effective design and build-out of the space, and support NSF’s full mission in the new location.

The city said it will work with GSA and the property owner over the coming months to ensure a smooth transition for the NSF workforce into their new headquarters.

The Alexandria Brief first reported the relocation Friday morning based on an internal NSF memo sent to staff at 10:47 a.m. Science journalist Dan Garisto also obtained a copy of the memo and reported the news on social media.