Federal Government Uses Less Than One-Third of Its Offices

The halls of government usually snag all the attention, but the offices of government are coming into the spotlight as the federal government looks to cut down its footprint.

A first-of-its-kind report mandated by Congress found the government uses less than a third of its office space, Bloomberg reported. The analysis involved a survey of how nearly two dozen federal agencies occupy the office space under their purview.

None of the 22 agencies in the report passed a 60 percent occupancy threshold for their office portfolios last year. None even hit 50 percent: the Department of State and the General Services Administration were the top attended, with 40 percent each.

Those below 20 percent occupancy are subject to investigation. The agencies that met the criteria last year include the Department of Housing and Urban Development (19 percent), the Small Business Administration (19 percent), the Office of Personnel Management (19 percent) and the National Science Foundation (12 percent).

The Government Accountability Office’s David Marroni referred to the analysis as “a rough indicator, but a good indicator,” saying that it’s “not the perfect measure” because of the varying behaviors of agencies.

But the report does come with a huge estimated price tag for all of those agencies’ unused space: a combined $2 billion.

“Eliminating underutilized, delinquent, maintenance-heavy buildings is a top priority,” GSA administrator Edward Forst said of the data dump; the GSA can propose downsizing for agencies with its “use it or lose it” policy.

The GSA’s reduction of federal government real estate got off to a rocky start at the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term, but has shifted towards a more deliberate approach to paring down a portfolio that spans more than 350 million square feet through owned or leased properties.

The federal government revealed a disposition list last March of 443 “non-core” assets, totaling nearly 80 million square feet of rentable space across 47 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The list quickly drew controversy and was rescinded.

Dalian Development recently paid $24 million to acquire 301 7th Street SW in Washington, D.C., which was owned by the GSA. Dalian is planning to convert the property into a multifamily complex.

— Holden Walter-Warner