[Protest of Forest Service Lease Award]

A firm protested a U.S. Forest Service lease award for office and related space, contending that the Forest Service failed to evaluate the awardee's proposed layout in accordance with the solicitation requirements regarding the location of the computer room. GAO held that the Forest Service did not evaluate the awardee's proposed layout in accordance with the stated evaluation criteria. Accordingly, the protest was sustained, and GAO recommended that the Forest Service: (1) amend its solicitation to state its actual minimum requirements regarding the location of the computer room; (2) reopen negotiations with bidders and terminate the award, if appropriate; and (3) reimburse the protester for its protest costs.