Easterly Government Properties Acquires Lease to Develop the Fort Myers Regional Operations Center, a 64,000 RSF Crime Laboratory in Fort Myers, Florida

By: Easterly Government Properties, Inc. via Business Wire

August 01, 2025 at 08:00 AM EDT

Mission-critical facility expected to be completed under a 25-year lease with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Groundbreaking ceremony was held on July 31st at 12PM in celebration with state and local leaders, public safety partners, and community stakeholders

Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE: DEA) (the “Company” or “Easterly”), a fully integrated real estate investment trust focused primarily on the acquisition, development and management of Class A commercial properties leased to the U.S. Government and its adjacent partners, announced today that it has acquired a 25-year lease with two five-year extension options for a 64,000 rentable square foot crime laboratory in Fort Myers, Florida (“FL – Fort Myers”).

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Groundbreaking ceremony.

The Fort Myers Regional Operations Center will be a two-story, built-to-suit facility on 8.29 acres of land strategically located adjacent to the I-75 Interstate Highway and north of Alico Road. The property will be leased to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and will include state-of-the-art laboratories and a training center.

The FDLE employs approximately 1,900 members statewide with a mission to promote public safety and strengthen domestic security. This crime laboratory is expected to deliver a broad spectrum of forensic examination activities around-the-clock, including: DNA analysis, toxicology, firearm examination, and digital evidence processing to support the state’s regional operations center in Fort Myers, which is one of seven locations across the state.

“Mission critical real estate provides investors with strong stable cash flows. The development partnership with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement exemplifies our ability to grow and diversify our portfolio with highly creditworthy state and local government tenants,” said Darrell Crate, President & CEO of Easterly. “With this acquisition, we are enhancing both the quality and duration of our cash flows while extending our weighted average lease term, reinforcing our commitment to delivering long-term earnings growth for shareholders.”

Sitework, in partnership with Seagate Development Group, is slated to commence in the third quarter of 2025 with an anticipated delivery date in the second half of 2026. Upon delivery, a brand-new 25-year lease will commence with the AAA-rated State of Florida for the benefit of the FDLE.

To celebrate the next chapter of FDLE’s presence in Southwest Florida, a groundbreaking ceremony for the future construction of the FDLE Fort Myers Regional Operations Center was held on July 31, 2025 from 12PM - 3PM EST. The event brought together state and local leaders, public safety partners, and community stakeholders.

About Easterly Government Properties, Inc.

Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE: DEA) is based in Washington, D.C., and focuses primarily on the acquisition, development and management of Class A commercial properties that are leased to the U.S. Government. Easterly’s experienced management team brings specialized insight into the strategy and needs of mission-critical U.S. Government agencies for properties leased through the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). For further information on the company and its properties, please visit www.easterlyreit.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws and regulations. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “project,” “anticipate,” “position,” “will,” and other similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions and forecasts of future results. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made. These risks include, but are not limited to, risks associated with ownership and development of real estate; difficulties in completing and successfully integrating acquisitions; failure of acquisitions or development projects to occur at anticipated levels or yield anticipated results; and those risks and uncertainties associated with our business described from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on February 25, 2025. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that the expectations will be attained or that any deviation will not be material. All information in this release is as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in our expectations.