WASHINGTON (States Newsroom) — The General Services Administration released a list Tuesday of more than 440 buildings owned by the federal government that it may sell off in the months ahead.
The GSA wrote in its announcement the agency would decide whether the government should sell off the buildings “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 — potentially saving more than $430 million in annual operating costs.”
The press release didn’t say where the federal employees who work in the hundreds of buildings would go if they are sold.
The buildings that could be put up for sale in Washington, D.C., currently house the departments of Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Labor, State and Veterans Affairs.
The Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Social Security Administration also have their headquarters slated as potential new additions to the real estate market, according to GSA’s list.
Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming all have buildings cited as non-essential, though some states have dozens more than others.
Cost-cutting
The announcement came as Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service continues cost-cutting in the Trump administration. The entity, which is not an actual department, keeps a running list of savings it claims to have achieved, including lease terminations. The New York Times has reported the DOGE “wall of receipts” has had to delete some claims that were in error.
GSA wrote that employees in its Public Buildings Service didn’t include buildings on its list that “are needed for critical government operations, such as: courthouses, land ports of entry, and facilities critical to our national defense and law enforcement.”
“These core assets are intrinsically significant to the mission of the federal government and will be retained for long-term needs,” the press release states.
Fergus Falls courthouse
But Minnesota U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, both Democrats, sent a letter to the acting GSA administrator on Tuesday, raising concerns the agency placed the Edward J. Devitt U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building in Fergus Falls on its list.
“In addition to serving as the only federal courthouse outside Minnesota’s largest metropolitan areas of Minneapolis-St. Paul and Duluth, the building is home to (the) U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Probation Office,” they wrote.
“Each of the occupants of the Devitt Building provide essential services, including law enforcement and public safety, for the entire Western Minnesota region and along the northern border with Canada,” they added. “With an abrupt and unplanned closure, these essential services will be disrupted, putting communities at risk.”
The more than 440 buildings and assets that made the list for potential sale comprise nearly 80 million square feet and represent more than $8.3 billion in “recapitalization needs,” according to GSA.
“Decades of funding deficiencies have resulted in many of these buildings becoming functionally obsolete and unsuitable for use by our federal workforce,” the GSA press release states. “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.”
