A pair of federal agencies intend to relocate their headquarters within Washington, D.C., as the Trump administration seeks to cut the government's real estate portfolio and trim associated costs.
The Energy and Education departments said they will each move from their current bases of operation just south of the National Mall to smaller spaces nearby.
The proposed shift "cuts waste, and lowers costs," Edward Forst, the head of the General Services Administration, the agency that manages the U.S. government's real estate, said in a statement.
It's been a busy week for those managing the federal real estate portfolio in Washington. Just days ago, the GSA sold a nearly 1 million-square-foot office property to a private development group that's considering transforming the complex into housing.
If and when the Energy Department exits from its roughly 1.8 million-square-foot building at 1000 Independence Ave. SW, it could set up the property for a similar sale. An agency established by Congress to advise on such transactions suggested last year that the property, known as the James V. Forrestal building, be put on the chopping block.
"This now provides the opportunity for D.C. and the federal government to collaborate on a new vision for 10th Street SW, between the National Mall and the Wharf, which could include making way for new cultural, entertainment, and other uses that bring vibrancy and new economic activity to our city," D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said about the relocations Friday on social media.
Shifting spaces
The Energy Department plans to head a few minutes' walk away to the Lyndon B. Johnson building at 400 Maryland Ave. SW, shifting into the property where the Education Department is based. In turn, the federal group focused on student achievement intends to move operations about a block away to the building at 500 D St. SW. That 12-story building has previously been home to the U.S. Agency for International Development, better known as USAID, according to CoStar data.
A future move by the Energy Department is estimated to shrink its headquarters space by 45% and save American taxpayers more than $350 million in delinquent maintenance costs, GSA said. Department staff at Forrestal are slated to be reassigned to the LBJ property or to other locations, like the department's Germantown campus in Maryland or 950 L'Enfant Plaza SW.
Meanwhile, the Education Department's planned move from the LBJ building, which the GSA said is 70% vacant, is slated to reduce its headquarters square footage by about 80% and save taxpayers around $4.8 million annually in operating costs. It's estimated to head to the D Street building this August. The union representing Education Department employees condemned the move.
This is not the first time in the past year that a U.S. government group has suggested shuffling space, potentially leading to a federal office disposition. Last year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said it planned to relocate from the District to a building in Northern Virginia that hosted the U.S. National Science Foundation. HUD's home in the nation's capital, the Robert C. Weaver Federal Building, is on the GSA list of properties up for sale.