President signed into law the AGC supported Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act (H.R. 4465). This bipartisan bill will shrink the federal footprint and streamline the disposal of excess or underutilized federal buildings. AGC has long been involved in pushing for federal real property reform as it supported these efforts through the House and Senate in this Congress and previous ones.
The Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act would:
- Establish a Public Buildings Reform Board to identify opportunities to reduce the federal real property inventory;
- Require the Board will make recommendations for the sale of at least $8 billion worth of underutilized and vacant federal properties;
- Require the Board to create a website making relevant information accessible to the public;
- Require GSA to create and publish a single, comprehensive database of all federal real properties within one year;
- Require GSA to sell the existing Cotton Annex building in Washington, D.C., no later than December 31, 2018; and
- Streamline the federal real property disposal process.
The disposal of unneeded federal real property could allow for millions and potentially billions of dollars in private and federal construction work throughout the nation, as excess federal buildings exist in every state. For example, GSA sold an abandoned heating plant in Washington, D.C., for $19.5 million that will be converted into high-end condominiums, requiring private construction work of more than $100 million. According to the most recent Federal Real Property Summary, the government owns more than 254,000 buildings, comprising 2.5 billion square feet of space, costing the taxpayer $14.4 billion annually. Recent estimates show 77,000 buildings are underutilized, costing $1.7 billion annually.
For more information, please contact Jordan Howard at Jordan.howard@agc.org or 703-837-5325