The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), which oversees federal facilities and represents one of the largest landlords in the country, is accelerating its efforts to “right-size and modernize” its federal real estate portfolio.
After revealing plans to offload 23 properties in 2023 and three more earlier this year, the agency has now started the disposition process for eight other facilities. This latest plan represents a potential reduction of 1.5 million square feet and more than $475 million in estimated cost avoidance over 10 years.
Under the GSA’s disposal process, the properties could be transferred, exchanged, or sold to a federal, state, or local entity or the public after stakeholder input and engagement. Combined with the previously announced buildings, the successful disposition of the properties will reduce the GSA’s inventory by over 6 million square feet and provide a cost avoidance of over $1.8 billion over 10 years. Where feasible, these properties could be redeveloped into housing, fulfilling a key pillar of the Biden administration’s Housing Supply Action Plan, according to the GSA.
“Moving underutilized and underperforming assets out of the building portfolio allows us to tailor a smaller federal footprint with modern and optimized buildings, which will lead to better buildings,” said GSA Public Buildings Commissioner Elliot Doomes.“GSA’s robust process includes ongoing dialogue with stakeholders to help maximize the benefits of these buildings’ futures, resulting in stronger communities.”
Over the past decade, the GSA has helped reduce the footprint of tenant agencies housed in office buildings by disposing of almost 11 million square feet of owned space and reducing 18 million square feet of leased space. Notably, the GSA is also working to make its facilities greener; most recently, the agency awarded a $120 million contract for new energy conservation measures at five federal facilities in the National Capital Region.
The GSA said it will work closely with customer agencies whose spaces are affected by disposition decisions to plan and budget for relocation. The eight latest properties to begin the process are:
- Montpelier Federal Building – Montpelier, Vt.
- Brickell Plaza Building – Miami, Fla.
- Charles A. Halleck Federal Building – Lafayette, Ind.
- Bismark Federal Building – Bismarck, N.D.
- James V. Hansen Federal Building – Ogden, Utah
- Gus J. Solomon U.S. Courthouse – Portland, Ore.
- Richard B. Anderson Federal Building – Port Angeles, Wash.
- Federal Office Building, 301 7th Street SW – Washington, D.C.