A major federal agency has decided to pick up and move in one of the biggest office leases in recent years.

The Securities and Exchange Commission plans to move its headquarters to a newly developed building in NoMa. Douglas Development signed a 1.2M SF lease with the General Services Administration to build a new headquarters for the SEC at 60 New York Ave. NE, the developer announced Thursday.

The SEC's current headquarters sits next to Union Station at 100 F St. NE. The GSA launched a search for a new headquarters in 2017, and it received congressional approval in April 2018. The agency's current landlord, Property Group Partners, filed a protest over the search in October 2018 that was rejected by a judge in June 2019.

The agency plans to move from the shadow of one of the East Coast's busiest train stations to a newly constructed headquarters on the north side of New York Avenue; and as many as 4,500 federal employees will have to walk, bike or drive across one of D.C.'s biggest arterial roadways to get to work.

“We appreciate GSA’s efforts over many years to secure a new headquarters lease in support of the SEC’s critical mission,” SEC Chief Operating Officer Ken Johnson said in a release. "We also look forward to continuing to partner with GSA on this process going forward to address the SEC’s space needs as they evolve."

The property, at the intersection of North Capitol Street and New York Avenue, is occupied by parking lots, and part of the site has been eyed as apartments. Douglas, which owns the property in partnership with Midtown Equities, said it still has additional development capacity for the site that could accommodate 600K SF of office, 600 residential units or a combination of the two.

“Our vision to redevelop this expansive, free-standing site began 30 years ago when we first purchased the land, and it’s exciting to finally see it come to fruition,” Douglas Managing Principal Norman Jemal said in a statement. “We worked with a world class tenant in GSA and believe this project will be a catalyst for the continued growth and opportunity for the surrounding community that is north of NY Avenue.”

The deal is structured as a 15-year lease with a 10-year extension option. The property owners were represented by JLL's Brian Sullivan in the deal. The GSA was represented by Savills' Todd Valentine, David Lipson and Neil Levy.