Treasury Department agencies plan to vacate the southwest D.C. mines they've occupied for a century next spring, and the federal government will clear the land after they leave.
The General Services Administration, which manages government real estate, plans to sell the Liberty Loan Building at 401 Southwest 14th Street in Washington, D.C., the Washington Business Journal reported. GSA said in a press release that the property has “been beyond its useful life.”
The Treasury Department's Fiscal Bureau has occupied the L-shaped building since 1919, when the 141,000-square-foot site was constructed to house the Freedom Loan Bond Program after World War I. The agency is scheduled to move to the U.S. Mint headquarters next spring.
The building would normally be subject to a real estate disposal program that would result in a sale of the property, but could also be transferred to another government agency. The disposition of this property is expected to save GSA up to $15 million in maintenance costs.
The ramp to Interstate 395 and the 14th Street Bridge passes through this building, located across from Portals I. Portals I is a 536,000 square foot office property that will be converted into 421 apartments. Additionally, this property overlooks the Tidal Basin, where the famous cherry blossom trees bloom every spring.
However, as GSA seeks to reduce its office holdings in response to the pandemic, its uniqueness and location alone may not be enough to sustain the Fiscal Bureau, sending some government employees to home offices on a semi-permanent basis. are doing.
GSA is cutting leases by 20 to 40 percent, Bisnow said.
Last year, the federal government announced plans to dispose of 23 properties spanning 3.5 million square feet, including two in the capital. The FBI's J. Edgar Hoover building is also likely to be disposed of as the FBI moves to Greenbelt, Maryland.
— holden walter warner
