PORTSMOUTH — U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said she has received a commitment from the U.S. General Services Administration to leave the McIntrye Federal Building in downtown Portsmouth and “to work with the city of Portsmouth to transfer the facility out of federal control.”

PORTSMOUTH — U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said she has received a commitment from the U.S. General Services Administration to leave the McIntrye Federal Building in downtown Portsmouth and “to work with the city of Portsmouth to transfer the facility out of federal control.”



The control of the federal building in the heart of the downtown has been the focus of a years-long and sometimes heated feud between city and federal officials.



Shaheen said the agency made the announcement that it would leave the building in a letter delivered to her office Thursday morning.



“This is great news for the city of Portsmouth,” Shaheen said in a statement. “I am looking forward to continue working with the GSA in whatever way possible to help the city of Portsmouth obtain the McIntyre building once federal agencies have relocated so we can start developing the jobs and economic revenue from this long-awaited transition.”



Shaheen, who is in a high-profile U.S. Senate race with former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, had previously reached out to the Obama White House and the GSA, as reported by the Portsmouth Herald, about the transition of the McIntyre building to the city. But in a recent meeting between city and federal officials, a GSA representative said it would not leave the building and dueled verbally with Shaheen’s daughter, City Councilor Stefany Shaheen.



The GSA will “immediately begin working with the current tenants in McIntyre to develop updated requirements, incorporating new, efficient standards that should allow them to reduce their overall space needs … [and] will engage with the city of Portsmouth to find a mutually beneficial path forward for divesting the McIntyre building,” according to the letter Sen. Shaheen received.



GSA Administrator Dan Tangherlini said in the letter to Shaheen that “after a careful and detailed evaluation, GSA has determined that it is in the interest of the government, the taxpayers, and the city of Portsmouth to vacate McIntrye to enable the property on which it is located to be put to a productive reuse.”



Tangherlini also said in the letter dated May 29, that “while GSA cannot guarantee that the property will be conveyed to the city, GSA is committed to divesting McIntrye in a way most advantageous to the public interest and providing every opportunity for the city to fairly acquire the property if they so choose.”



He stressed he was “confident ... that we are now moving down a path that will prove beneficial to the government, partner agencies, the city and the public.”



City Manager John Bohenko called the decision by GSA “outstanding news” for the city. “We are very pleased that it’s gone in the direction it’s gone,” he said. “We look forward to working with the GSA and continuing to work with Sen. Shaheen on the transfer of the property.”



Bohenko said he heard the news Thursday and plans to quickly reach out to the GSA to begin negotiations. If the city ultimately gains control of the property, the next decision will be what to do with it.



“Clearly, the City Council will have a tremendous amount of input, which will be a key to the process,” Bohenko said.



Stefany Shaheen said Thursday she was “very pleased” about the news and “the redevelopment opportunities for that location.” “We need to engage in an extensive planning process that involves the public to look at how we can maximize the property, which is one of the gateways into the city,” she said of the Daniel Street building. She described the property as “one of the most valuable pieces of property not just in Portsmouth but throughout the state.”



Asked about the role her mother’s decision to reach out to the White House in an effort to get the GSA to turn the property over to the city played, Stefany Shaheen said, “It’s hard to speculate, but ultimately this kind of decision required leadership and required the willingness of the folks at GSA to take another look at their decision. I’m certainly grateful to my mom for her leadership.”



Assistant Mayor Jim Splaine called the decision “excellent news” for the city and noted it was a long time coming.



“I think it’s a matter now of having some brainstorming session before we get the property about what we might be able to do with the building,” Splaine said. “We should start planning now while we continue to lobby the GSA about transferring the property.”



Splaine said he was concerned the GSA would seek a “fair market value” for the property, but noted the federal building location has long been promised to the city when the GSA planned to build a new facility at Pease International Tradeport. “The fact is it’s Portsmouth’s land, it always has been and we should be getting it back,” Splaine said.



He envisioned a host of possibilities for the property, including trying to craft a public-private partnership that could include a smaller parking garage, open space, office space and an open market.



“We’re talking about a pretty good piece of land,” he said.