§ 102-85.35 - What definitions apply to this part?

§ 102-85.35 What definitions apply to this part?

The following definitions apply to this part:

Accept space or acceptance of space means a commitment from an agency to occupy specified GSA-controlled space.

Agency-controlled and/or operated space means:

(1) Space that is owned, leased, or otherwise controlled or operated by Federal agencies under any authority other than the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended; and

(2) it also includes agency-acquired space for which acquisition authority has been delegated or otherwise granted to the agency by GSA. It does not include space covered by an OA.

Assign or assignment is defined in the definition for space assignment.

Building shell means the complete enveloping structure, the base-building systems, and the finished common areas (building common and floor common) of a building that bound the tenant areas.

Customer agency means any department, agency, or independent establishment in the Federal Government, including any wholly-owned corporation; any executive agency or any establishment in the legislative or judicial branch of the Government (except the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Architect of the Capitol, and any activities under his direction).

Emergency relocation is a customer move that results from an extraordinary event such as a fire, natural disaster, or immediate threat to the health and safety of occupants that renders a current space assignment unusable and requires that it be vacated, permanently or temporarily.

Federal Buildings Fund means the fund into which Rent charges and other revenues are deposited, and collections cited in section 210(j) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended (U.S.C. 490(j)), and from which monies are available for expenditures for real property management and related activities in such amounts as are specified in annual appropriations acts without regard to fiscal year limitations.

Federally controlled space means workspace for which the United States Government has a right of occupancy by ownership, by lease, or by any other means, such as by contract, barter, license, easement, permit, requisition, or condemnation. Such workspace excludes space owned or leased by private sector entities performing work on Government contracts.

Federally owned space means space, the title to which is vested in the United States Government or which will vest automatically according to an existing agreement.

Forced move means the involuntary physical relocation, from one space assignment to another, of a customer agency housed in GSA-controlled space initiated by another customer agency or by GSA, before the expiration of a lease or an OA term. (See also the definition of GSA-initiated move.)

General use space means all types of space other than “warehouse,” “parking,” or “unique” space, as defined elsewhere in this part. Examples of general use space are:

(1) Office and office-related space such as file areas, libraries, meeting rooms, computer rooms, mail rooms, training and conference, automated data processing operations, courtrooms, and judicial chambers; and

(2) Storage space that contains different quality and finishes from general use space, but that is within a building where predominantly general use space is located.

GSA-controlled space means Federally controlled space under the custody or control of GSA. It includes space for which GSA has delegated operational, maintenance, or protection authority to the customer agency.

GSA-delegated space (or GSA delegated building) means GSA-controlled space for which GSA has delegated operational, maintenance or protection authority to the customer agency.

GSA-initiated move means any relocation action in GSA-controlled space that:

(1) Is involuntary to the customer agency and required to be effective prior to the expiration of an effective OA, or in the case of leased space, prior to the expiration of the lease; or

(2) Is an emergency relocation initiated by GSA.

Initial space alteration (ISA). See definition of “tenant improvement.”

Initial space layout means the specific placement of workstations, furniture and equipment within new space assignments.

Inventory means a summary or itemized list of the real property, and associated descriptive information, that is under the control of a Federal agency.

Joint-use space means common space within a Federally controlled facility, not specifically assigned to any one agency, and available for use by multiple agencies, such as cafeterias, auditoriums, conference rooms, credit unions, visitor parking spaces, snack bars, certain wellness/physical fitness facilities, and child care centers.

Leased space means space for which the United States Government has a right of use and occupancy by virtue of having acquired a leasehold interest.

Non-cancelable space means space that, due to its layout, design, location, or other characteristics, is unlikely to be needed by another GSA customer agency. Typical conditions that might cause space to be defined as non-cancelable are:

(1) Special space construction features;

(2) Lack of any realistic Federal need for the space other than by the requesting agency; and

(3) Remote location or unusual term (short or long) desired by the agency.

Occupancy Agreement (OA) means a written agreement descriptive of the financial terms and conditions under which GSA assigns, and a customer agency occupies, the GSA-controlled space identified therein.

Parking or parking space means surface land, structures, or areas within structures designed and designated for the purpose of parking vehicles.

Personnel means the peak number of persons to be housed during a single shift, regardless of how many workstations are provided for them. In addition to permanent employees of the agency, personnel includes temporaries, part-time, seasonal, and contractual employees, budgeted vacancies, and employees of other agencies and organizations who are housed in a space assignment.

Portfolio leases mean long term or “master” leases, usually negotiated to house several agencies whose individual term requirements differ from the terms of the underlying GSA lease with the lessor, and from each other. These may also be leases housing single agencies, but which entail for GSA responsibilities (burdens and benefits) which mimic an ownership position, or equity rights, even though no equity interest or ownership liability exists. An example of the latter would be long term renewal options on a lease which, in order to enjoy, involve substantial capital outlays by GSA to improve the building infrastructure. In both these cases, GSA is assuming risks or capital expenditures outside of the conventions of single transactions or occupancies. Accordingly, for a portfolio lease, it is not appropriate merely to pass through to the customer agency(ies) the rental rate of the underlying GSA lease. Portfolio leases are treated for pricing purposes as owned space, with Rent set by appraisal.

Predominant use means the use to which the greatest portion of a location is put. Predominant use is determined by the Public Buildings Service (PBS), GSA, and will typically result in the designation of a location as one of four types of space - General Use, Warehouse, Unique, or Parking - even though some smaller portions of the space may be used for one or more of the other types of uses.

Rent means the amounts charged by GSA for space and related services to the customer agencies with tenancy in GSA-controlled space. The word “Rent” is capitalized to differentiate it from the contract “rent” that GSA pays lessors.

Rentable square footage means the amount of space as defined in “Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA)/American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Standard Z65.1-1996.” The BOMA/ANSI standard also defines “gross,” “office area,” “floor common,” and “building common” areas. Any references to these terms in this part refer to the BOMA/ANSI standard definitions. This standard has been adopted in accordance with GSA's interest in conforming its practices to nationally recognized industry standards to the extent possible.

Note to the definition of Rentable square footage:

Rentable square footage generally includes square footage of areas occupied by customers plus a prorated share of floor common areas such as elevator lobbies, building corridors, public restrooms, utility closets, and machine rooms. Rentable square footage also includes a prorated share of building common areas located throughout the building. Examples of building common space include ground floor entrance lobby, enclosed atrium, loading dock, and mail room.

Request for space or space request means a written or electronically submitted document or an oral request, within which an agency's space needs are summarized. A request for space is requisite for development of an OA. Thus, it must be submitted to GSA by a duly authorized official of the customer agency, and it must be accompanied by documentation of the customer agency's ability to fund payment of required Rent charges.

Return on Investment (ROI) pricing is one possible methodology used to establish a Rent rate for certain owned space. Typically, ROI pricing is a Rent rate that ensures GSA a reasonable return on its cost to acquire and improve the asset. ROI pricing may be used where no other comparable commercial space is available or no other appraisal method would be appropriate. It may also be used in cases in which an appraisal-based rental rate will not meet GSA's minimum return requirements for the planned level of investment.

Security fees mean Rent charges for building services provided by GSA's Federal Protective Service. Security fees are comprised of basic and building specific charges.

(a) A basic security fee is assessed in all PBS-controlled properties where the Federal Protective Service (FPS) provides security services. The rate is set annually on a per-square-foot basis. The charge includes the following services:

(1) General law enforcement on PBS-controlled property;

(2) Physical security assessments;

(3) Crime prevention and awareness training;

(4) Advice and assistance to building security committees;

(5) Intelligence sharing program;

(6) Criminal investigation;

(7) Assistance and coordination in Occupancy Emergency Plan development;

(8) Coordination of mobilization and response to terrorist threat or civil disturbance;

(9) Program administration for security guard contracts; and

(10) Megacenter operations for monitoring building perimeter alarms and dispatching appropriate law enforcement response.

(b) The building specific security charge is comprised of two elements: Operating expenses and amortized capital costs. Building specific charges, whether operating expenses or capital costs, are distributed overall federal users by building or facility in direct proportion to each customer agency's percentage of federal occupancy. As with joint use charges, the distribution of building-specific charges among customer agencies is not re-adjusted for vacancy.

Space means a defined area within a building and/or parcel of land. (Personal property and furniture are not included.)

Space allocation standard (SAS) means a standard agreed upon by GSA and a customer agency, written in terms that permit nationwide or regional application, that is used as a basis for establishing that agency's space requirements. An SAS may describe special GSA and customer agency funding responsibilities, although such responsibilities will be covered in OAs for space assignments. An SAS may also be developed between GSA and customer agencies on a regional level to standardize or simplify transactions, provided that the terms of a regional SAS are consistent with the terms of that agency's national SAS and the terms of this part.

Space assignment or assignments means a transaction between GSA and a customer agency that results in a customer agency's right to occupy certain GSA-controlled space, usually in return for customer agency payment(s) to GSA for use of the space. Space assignment rights, obligations, and responsibilities not covered in this part, or in the customer guides, are formalized in an OA.

Space planning means the process of using recognized professional techniques of planning, layout and interior design to determine the best internal location and the most efficient configuration for satisfying agency space needs.

Space program of requirements means a summary statement of an agency's space needs. These requirements will generally include information about location, square footage, construction requirements, and duration of the agency's space need. They may be identified in any format mutually agreeable to GSA and the agency.

Special space means space which has unusual architectural/construction features, requires the installation of special equipment, or requires disproportionately high or low costs to construct, maintain and/or operate as compared to office or storage space. Special space generally refers to space which has construction features, finishes, services, utilities, or other additional costs beyond those specified in the customer general allowance (e.g., courtrooms, laboratories).

Standard level of service. See § 102-85.165 for the definition of standard level of service.

Telecommunications means electronic processing of information, either voice or data or both, over a wide variety of media, (e.g., copper wire, microwave, fiber optics, radio frequencies), between individuals or offices within a building (e.g., local area networks), between buildings, and between cities.

Tenant improvement (TI) means a finished component of an interior block of space. Tenant improvements represent additions to or alterations of the building shell that adapt the workspace to the specific uses of the customer. If made at initial occupancy, the TIs are known as initial space alterations or ISAs.

Tenant improvement (TI) allowance means the dollar amount, including design, labor, materials, contractor costs (if contractors are used), management, and inspection, that GSA will spend to construct, alter, and finish space for customer occupancy (excluding personal property and furniture, which are customer agency responsibilities) at initial occupancy. The dollar amounts for the allowances are different for each agency and bureau to accommodate agencies' different mission needs. The dollar amounts also may vary by locations reflecting different costs in different markets. The PBS bill will only reflect the actual amount the customers spend, not the allowance. The amount of the TI allowance is determined by GSA. Agencies can request that GSA revise the TI allowance amount by project or categorically for an entire bureau. The cost of replacement of tenant improvements is borne by the customer agency.

Unique space means space for which there is no commercial market comparable (e.g., border stations).

Warehouse or warehouse space means space contained in a structure primarily intended for the housing of files, records, equipment, or other personal property, and is not primarily intended for housing personnel and office operations. Warehouse space generally is designed and constructed to lower specifications than office buildings, with features such as exposed ceilings, unfinished perimeter and few dividing partitions. Warehouse space also is usually heated to a lesser degree but not air-conditioned, and is cleaned to lesser standards than office space.

Workspace means Federally controlled space in buildings and structures (permanent, semi-permanent, or temporary) that provides an acceptable environment for the performance of agency mission requirements by employees or by other persons occupying it.