The administration wants to shrink its real estate footprint and save hundreds of millions of dollars in leasing and property costs, according to budget documents released Feb. 2.
The administration wants to implement a five-year strategy to reduce the size of its real estate portfolio, with each agency required to set annual reduction targets for office and warehouse space, according to President Obama's 2016 budget request. That could mean a reduction of more than 500,000 square feet, according to the administration.
The General Services Administration would lead the way with $200 million in funds to help agencies consolidate offices or remodel existing workplaces to handle more employees. Similar efforts led to $16 million in annual cost avoidance alone, according to the administration.
"This will allow the government to more effectively use real property by relocating federal agencies into more efficient, lower cost or consolidated locations that also enable improved delivery of government services," according to the budget request.
The budget request also includes a renewed call for Congress to pass a base realignment and closure-style commission that would organize properties for disposal and submit them to congress for an up-or-down vote.
The Civilian Property and Realignment Act would create a commission made of public and private-sector members and seed the organization with $57 million to help identify properties and prepare them for disposal, according to budget documents.
The commission could generate $1.2 billion in sales over 10 years, according to the budget documents.
