Several proposals pending in Congress would either goad or require agencies to dispose of space with an average utilization rate of below 60 percent, based on a benchmark of 150 usable square feet per person. Image: Gill Thompson/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffOMB’s recent report to Congress on telework and federal real property contains no data on office space usage rates—a major factor behind moves in Congress to reduce that space—but it does provide several insights into the scope of the issue, including that just 1 percent of leasing, operations and maintenance expenses go toward space designated as “underutilized.”
The report says the annual cost of space in the Federal Real Property Profile—a listing of government owned or leased office space except for facilities exempt from disclosure on national security grounds—is $8.1 billion. That includes $2 billion in operations and maintenance cost at owned buildings; $1.3 billion in operations and maintenance cost at leased buildings; and $4.8 billion in lease costs.
“Office space designated as “underutilized” in the FRPP includes both owned and leased office space. There is 23.280 million square feet of underutilized owned office space with annual operation and maintenance cost of $67.169 million. The portfolio contains .766 million square feet of underutilized leased space with an annual operation and maintenance cost of $.481 million and an annual lease cost of $13.696 million. The total cost of owned and leased office space designated as “underutilized “in FRPP is therefore $81.346 million, approximately one-percent of the total cost of owned and leased office space,” it says.
Under Federal Real Property Council guidance to agencies, property is “underutilized” if “an entire property or portion thereof, with or without improvements, which is used only at irregular periods or intermittently by the accountable landholding agency for current program purposes of that agency, or which is used for current program purposes that can be satisfied with only a portion of the property.”
That is a separate way of measuring compared with office space utilization rates, which underly efforts to have agencies consolidate offices and reduce their leased space and potentially sell off government-owned buildings, in light of lower levels of onsite work triggered by the pandemic and continuing since it ended. Those efforts geared up following a 2023 GAO report finding that 17 of 24 major agency headquarters buildings in the national capital area were less than 25 percent occupied on average, with some less than 10 percent.
Several proposals pending in Congress would either goad or require agencies to dispose of space with an average utilization rate of below 60 percent, based on a benchmark of 150 usable square feet per person.
Says the OMB report, “Data is not currently collected to calculate an average office space utilization rate, but OMB is developing occupancy metrics that will require the calculation of annual average occupancy in the near term.”
The report however hints that even with that data, current practices might not drive a reduction in space.
“It is important to note that “underutilized” office space is often a required asset in a specific location by one or more agencies. The cost of maintaining an owned asset that has become underutilized due to staff reduction, for example, may be a more cost-effective solution than constructing a smaller building that would be fully utilized or leasing commercial office space (if commercial space available in the required location),” it says.
Two dozen Cabinet departments and large independent agencies further listed their space reduction policies in the report, but generally tied to long-running “reduce the footprint” initiatives rather than to lower onsite working levels.
OPM Advises Agencies on Conducting RIFs During Shutdown
Updated Shutdown Contingency Plans Show Range of Impacts
Use Shutdown as Justification for More RIFs, OMB Tells Agencies
Unions Win a Round in Court Disputes over Anti-Representation Orders
Deferred Resignation Periods End for Many; Overall 12% Drop
Senate Bill Would Override Trump Orders against Unions
See also,
How to Handle Taxes Owed on TSP Roth Conversions? Use a Ladder
The Best Ages for Federal Employees to Retire
Best States to Retire for Federal Retirees: 2025
