The Department of Justice has published a legal opinion disputing the ruling of a federal judge who overturned the Transportation Security Administration's headquarters lease in Alexandria.

In a memo from the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel, the Justice Department said Federal Claims Judge Charles Lettow was wrong to rule that the General Services Administration exceeded its authority when it granted the TSA's headquarters prize to PGIM Real Estate's Victory Center property in Alexandria in 2015, the Washington Business Journal reports.

Lettow overturned the award later that year, and after a rebid, Boston Properties' Springfield site was selected. The TSA will nonetheless move into its 625K SF build-to-suit office in mid-2020. Lettow ruled the GSA had received "ill-gotten gains" for the Victory Center lease because it signed for more square footage than the prospectus had asked for.

GSA experts received the DOJ's letter warmly, the WBJ reports, as it sets the precedent for more flexibility in the site-selection process.

"This is a welcome interpretation in my view because GSA's strict adherence to the various caps outlined in the prospectus (rent, square footage, etc.) sometimes creates absurd circumstances," Colliers International Executive Vice President Kurt Stout told the WBJ.