OMB, saying a 2013 directive ordering agencies to freeze their real estate footprint and reduce the growth of excess or underused properties was a success, has taken what it calls the natural next step and told them to reduce their footprint beginning in fiscal 2016.
Due to the 2013 order, agencies have achieved a 21.4 million square foot reduction in office and warehouse space and have disposed of 7,350 buildings, 47 million square feet of space, and eliminated $17 million of annual operation and maintenance cost, OMB controller David Mader said in the announcement.
Points of emphasis in the new National Strategy for the Efficient Use of Real Property include a continued freeze on the growth in the inventory, better measurement to identify opportunities for efficiency improvements, and reducing the inventory by prioritizing actions to consolidate, co-locate and dispose of property.
“Consolidating properties and collocating agency office space is not only commonsense, but will provide more convenient access to the public and allow for upgraded facilities to provide more modern work environments for federal employees to conduct their business,” he wrote.
He added: “OMB has partnered with GSA and the Federal Real Property Council to implement new and enhanced analytical tools within the Federal Real Property Profile database that support data driven decision-making. These new tools will provide detailed data on properties’ annual cost, location, size, and lease expiration, among other data elements, in a structured format that fully supports agency management’s ability to identify efficiency opportunities and to use data to prioritize and implement them. When fully implemented in the fourth quarter of FY2015, the system will provide agencies with greater management capability to seize the efficiency and cost opportunities that their portfolios present over the next five years.”
