GSA Finds New Ways to Reduce Footprint
The Obama Administration's Freeze the Footprint initiative, and the subsequent call by OMB for government agencies to reduce space, is causing GSA to get creative with the use of federal property. The biggest factor in deciding whether to hold onto property is whether it's being used in the best way possible. Take the 116-year-old underutilized Old Post Office Building. In 2013, GSA worked out a 60-year lease with the Trump Organization to renovate and convert it into a 270-suite luxury hotel (pictured) due to open in summer 2016. This allows the GSA to retain ownership while having someone else pay for the renovation, Federal News Radio reports. Meanwhile GSA will get $3M a year. Another example is the Hoover Building, home to about 50% of the FBI HQ staff. GSA swapped development rights for new consolidated suburban offices. GSA has more than 354M SF of office space in 9,600 buildings in 2,200 communities across the US. In 2014 the DoD and civilian agencies got rid of 7,315 buildings, totaling 47M SF, saving $17M in maintenance costs. [FNR]
