The General Services Administration (GSA) has added the headquarters of more than a dozen federal agencies—including its own—to a list of hundreds of “non-core” assets slated for sale or disposal.
In a statement on its website Tuesday, GSA released a list of over 440 “non-core” assets it plans to divest from its portfolio of federally owned buildings.
“GSA will consider non-core assets for divestment from government ownership in an orderly fashion to ensure taxpayers no longer pay for empty and underutilized federal office space, or the significant maintenance costs associated with long-term building ownership,” the agency stated.
Initially, GSA identified more than 440 properties on Tuesday but later revised the list to approximately 320 properties that same day. By Wednesday, however, the agency had withdrawn the entire list, stating that a new version is “coming soon.”
According to GSA, these non-core assets total around 80 million square feet, primarily office space, and would require over $8 billion in revitalization efforts.
The agency faces a significant maintenance backlog for its owned properties, with the average GSA-owned building being more than 50 years old.
GSA estimates that selling or disposing of these properties could reduce the federal government’s operating costs by as much as $430 million annually.
“Decades of funding deficiencies have resulted in many of these buildings becoming functionally obsolete and unsuitable for use by our federal workforce,” GSA stated.
“We can no longer hope that funding will emerge to resolve these longstanding issues. GSA’s decisive action to dispose of non-core assets leverages the private sector, drives improvements for our agency customers, and best serves local communities.”
Meanwhile, the agency’s Public Buildings Service (PBS) has identified federally-owned core assets that are critical to government operations. These include courthouses, land ports of entry, and facilities essential to national defense and law enforcement.
GSA HQ (Photo: Sarah A. Garner)“These core assets are intrinsically significant to the mission of the federal government and will be retained for long-term needs,” GSA stated.
Among the non-core assets listed by GSA are the headquarters of several major agencies, including the Departments of Agriculture, Energy, Labor, Justice, Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs, and Health and Human Services.
The list also features the headquarters of the FBI, Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Personnel Management, U.S. Agency for International Development, Bureau of Prisons, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Additionally, GSA has identified a more than 400,000-square-foot annex at the Social Security Administration’s headquarters as a non-core property.
PBS Commissioner Michael Peters has advocated for a 50% reduction in the total federal real estate portfolio and is moving forward with plans to sell GSA’s own headquarters at 1800 F St.
According to Federal News Network, GSA leadership is considering relocating its employees to the Interior Department’s headquarters.
Beyond reducing federal office space, GSA is also implementing significant workforce reductions.On Monday night, the agency carried out a nonvoluntary Reduction in Force (RIF), terminating around 600 employees.
“Notices just started hitting inboxes without warning,” a GSA employee told Federal News Network.
The employee also indicated that more terminations are expected, though not to the full extent initially proposed by GSA. “They only got partial approval” from the Office of Personnel Management, the employee stated.
A PBS employee who received a RIF notice Monday evening reported that “entire divisions” were being eliminated. “No consideration for veteran status or seniority,” the former PBS employee said.