D.C. office owners looking to land tenants in what has been a slow leasing year have a new opportunity to bring in a federal agency.

The General Services Administration, the federal government's real estate and procurement arm, issued a presolicitation last week for 53K to 56K SF of office space in the District for an agency with an expiring lease.

The presolicitation didn't name the agency, but two sources in the government leasing sector tell Bisnow it is for the Veterans Health Administration office at 1717 H St. NW. The VHA is part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The agency is looking to sign a 20-year lease for contiguous space within a single building, according to the presolicitation. The GSA said it may renew the lease in the agency's current location, but it is considering alternative space if it is economically advantageous.

The 1717 H St. NW office building is preparing to lose another tenant. Chemonics, which operates its main office in the building, signed a lease in late 2018 to consolidate its three offices into a 300K SF build-to-suit project at The Yards. The downtown office building is managed by Stoladi and owned by George Lemm, the owner of Whitestone Farm in Aldie, Virginia.

The GSA is working through a backlog of more than 14M SF of leases that expire this year and next year, according to a January Cushman & Wakefield report. The GSA in May awarded contracts to nine brokerage firms to help it lease 39M SF across the country. JLL is leading the leasing for the VHA solicitation.