Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) announced on Friday that a federal contract worth nearly $9 million for renovations at FBI offices in New York City was awarded by the General Services Administration (GSA).

“This is good news for a local company and I was pleased that GSA awarded it to Benchmark,” said Smith of the award. “It means job security for a small business.”

Benchmark Construction Services Inc. of Cross Street, Lakewood, was awarded a contract worth $8,916,783 to conduct major renovations for FBI space at 26 Federal Plaza, N.Y., N.Y. The funding covers both the design and construction of the renovations.

The funding comes from the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (H.R.2029/Public Law 114-113) which provided FY2016 funding for approved GSA projects. The GSA described the work as a repair and alteration project for space in the Jacob K. Javits Federal Office Building in NYC. The work will involve demolition, hazardous material (asbestos) abatement and interior construction that includes electrical, lighting, mechanical (HVAC) and fire protection upgrades. The overall site consists of three buildings totaling about 2.9 million square feet. The project includes areas use by The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS). In 2015, GSA vacated space in the building, moving to One World Trade Center. The project is expected to complete the build out of more than 500,000 square feet for the FBI, and consolidate space for the HHS and USACE.

“GSA indicates that the renovations and consolidations will result in savings by eliminating leased space at other locations,” said Smith of the award. “It estimates that the savings could be as high as $13 million annually.”

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