The General Services Administration is likely to reduce the amount of office space the federal government uses over the next few years.
GSA’s administrator recently told a Congressional committee that 40% of its leases will expire over the next four years. That provides a chance to shift tenant agencies to properties the government owns, but maintenance is a key challenge.
Agencies could save $2 billion annually if they take advantage of the opportunity to move. GSA has saved $4.5 billion in lease costs to date through office consolidation, but many federal buildings have fallen into disrepair because of a lack of consistent funding for maintenance.
More than half of federal buildings in GSA’s portfolio are over 50 years old, and more than a quarter of them are over 75 years old. GSA needs to ensure designs of new federal buildings can be resilient to the impacts of climate change, one congressperson pointed out.
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Sep 27, 2021
Commercial real estate industry faces SEC climate disclosure regulations
Risks associated with climate change would have to be revealed.
Codes and Standards | Sep 22, 2021
Group proposes Carbon Use Intensity metric for new buildings
Plan would track embedded carbon on projects.
Codes and Standards | Sep 22, 2021
Illinois’s sweeping climate bill includes statewide stretch code, building electrification measures
Aims for zero-emissions power sector by 2045.
Codes and Standards | Sep 22, 2021
Cities need to step up flood mitigation efforts to save lives
Recent storms highlight climate change dangers.
Codes and Standards | Sep 21, 2021
Steps to improve ventilation for Covid can combat colds and flu
New look at airborne disease spread shows time viruses linger in air may have been underestimated.
Codes and Standards | Sep 15, 2021
USGBC will change leaders, conduct strategic review
Aims to ensure organization is ‘well positioned to scale its work in the post-pandemic world’.
Codes and Standards | Sep 15, 2021
LEED-certified offices earn higher rents than non-sustainable properties
Are also more resilient to dips in real estate market.
Codes and Standards | Sep 7, 2021
Boston turns to developer fees to fund flood protection infrastructure
Assessments on commercial properties will help build seawall and other protective measures.
Codes and Standards | Sep 3, 2021
Low-cost methods can have substantial impact on reducing embodied carbon
Whole-building design, material substitution, and specification strategies can slash carbon by up to 46%.
Codes and Standards | Sep 2, 2021
Case for power resiliency in buildings grows with more disaster and outages
Essential businesses like data centers, hospitals are first adopters of new storage systems.
