With the Trump administration’s cost-cutting campaign in full swing, a few government properties in Dallas could be put on the market.
Hundreds of federal buildings could be up for sale, two dozen of which are in Texas, three of which are in Downtown Dallas.
The potential action comes from a list posted on the General Services Administration’s website on Tuesday, which included almost 450 buildings considered underutilized. However, The New York Times says the list has since been removed and reduced to roughly 320 buildings. Most of the properties removed from the list were high-profile buildings in Washington, D.C.
The issue of vacant federal buildings has been a growing point of contention ever since the pandemic fallout saw scores of public employees convert to work-from-home arrangements. However, the Government Accountability Office has acknowledged that more than half the headquarters for federal agencies possessed excess space even before the pandemic kicked off, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Some properties on the original list include the headquarters for the F.B.I., the Federal Aviation Administration, the Health and Human Services Department, and the Labor Department.
As for Dallas, the following three properties were identified for the chopping block:
A. Maceo Smith Federal Building (525 S. Griffin St.)
Named after civil rights leader and former owner and publisher of The Dallas Express, the A. Maceo Smith Federal Building houses several federal agencies, including the Northern District of Texas Public Defenders Office and the U.S. Department of Labor Region 4 Employment and Training Administration.
Santa Fe Federal Building (1114 Commerce St.)
This art deco building was designated a historic Dallas Landmark in 1989 and is part of the National Register of Historic Places. The first floor houses the Federal Protective Service, a Department of Homeland Security branch.
Terminal Annex Federal Building (207 Houston St.)
The Terminal Annex Federal Building, built in 1937, sits on land once owned by Dallas’ founder, John Neely Bryan. Inside, you can find Dallas’ U.S. Military Entrance Processing Command and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s office.