Federal agencies to consolidate buildings under Trump’s downsizing

The Office of Personnel Management will sell its Northwest headquarters and share space with the General Services Administration, the latest move in a Trump administration plan to shed underused properties.

Officials from both agencies announced this week they will jointly occupy the GSA headquarters at 1800 F St. NW in December 2028, after an extensive redesign.

Following the renovations, they will dispose of OPM’s headquarters at 1900 E St. NW, which they intend to co-occupy starting in July.

“GSA and OPM are taking unprecedented action by coming together to fortify America’s real estate portfolio and tackle the delinquent maintenance and vacancies that have plagued it for decades,” GSA Administrator Edward C. Forst said in a statement.

GSA, the federal government’s chief landlord, manages 360 million square feet of real estate nationwide. The agency said the headquarters merger will free up funds to repair its sprawling headquarters, 40% of which is uninhabitable due to “longstanding delinquent maintenance.”

The crumbling Theodore Roosevelt Federal Building, which houses OPM, faces similar challenges of unoccupied and outdated space.

“This move reflects our commitment to being responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars while ensuring OPM employees have modern, efficient space to support their mission,” OPM Director Scott Kupor said in a statement.

Sen. Joni Ernst, Iowa Republican, participated in a press conference announcing the merger. She has led efforts to downsize federal offices that she dubbed “ghost towns” during pandemic-era telework.

“By consolidating two agencies under one roof, GSA and OPM are putting more office space to work,” Ms. Ernst said. “As the Trump Administration puts taxpayers first, I’ll continue to make sure every square foot and tax dollar are being used wisely.”

The sale comes as the White House has accelerated efforts to shed unsustainable properties as part of a broader push to reduce the federal workforce.

Officials announced last month that Dalian Development would pay $24.26 million for GSA’s Regional Office Building at the edge of the Southwest waterfront district. It was the first sale of a government building announced under the second Trump administration.

According to GSA, the sale will save taxpayers more than $200 million in deferred maintenance and $5.5 million in annual operating costs.

Last year, GSA reported that deferred maintenance for federal properties nationwide exceeded $6 billion and was on track to hit $20 billion within five years.

The Public Buildings Reform Board, an independent federal watchdog established at the end of the Obama administration to sell crumbling properties, estimates the GSA has received repair allocations equaling just 0.375% of the portfolio’s functional replacement value for decades.

That’s well below the industry standard of 2% to 4%, resulting in what the board calls “backlogs that increase building lifecycle costs, accelerate asset deterioration, and degrade facility performance.”

In May, the White House Office of Management and Budget approved the board’s recommendation to ax 11 properties worth $5.4 billion, acting on a congressional mandate that allows buildings to reach market faster.

The Trump team’s aggressiveness has marked a turnaround from the Biden administration, which declined to adopt the reform board’s recommendations.

In an emailed statement, the Public Buildings Reform Board praised the Trump team’s plan to sell the Roosevelt building, which it identified in January 2025 as a possible consolidation target.

“Doing so at this time will save U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars in day-to-day operations and maintenance costs, enable federal employees to work in safer, modernized workspaces, and return underused properties to the local tax base,” the board said.