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The U.S. General Services Administration has selected Rockville as the continued location for a major Department of Health and Human Services presence for the next 15 years.

The administration's announcement Thursday that it had selected the Parklawn Building, which is scheduled for renovation and upgrades, comes after months of efforts by Prince George's County to get the GSA to give the county what it considered "fair consideration" for its bid.

Parklawn owner Somerset Development of Lakewood, N.J., is prepared to invest $100 million in site improvements that will include residential, retail and office space on the 22-acre property. The HHS segment will take up 932,391 square feet.

"GSA used our best value methodology for the selection, which allows us to balance the qualities and features we seek in a location with the price," Cathy Kronopolus, Public Buildings Service regional commissioner for GSA's National Capital Region, said in a statement.

She said the offers were evaluated on location, building characteristics, past performance and key personnel.

Prince George's main bid for the agency came from One Largo Metro, an 8-acre mixed-use development in Largo Town Center. Peter Ng Schwartz Management is developing the project.

"It's very disappointing. We're very interested in a debriefing that would give insight as to how Montgomery County had to be the most advantageous to the government and still meet the technical requirements," said M.A. "Mike" Little, a partner in the One Largo Metro project. "The One Largo bid was very competitive and certainly in the government's best interests."

The GSA had renewed its lease with the Parklawn building in September 2009, pending this week's long-term decision.

lrobbins@gazette.net