The evacuation of federal headquarters during the COVID-19 crisis appears to have become permanent and costly with up to 90% of several agency headquarters empty, according to a federal audit.
At least 6 of 24 Washington area headquarters are 90% empty, including several that manage federal office space and employees such as the General Services Administration and the Office of Personnel Management.
Overall, Uncle Sam owns or leases 511 million square feet. That includes some 1,500 buildings and 7,685 leases. It costs $7 billion a year to maintain buildings and lease others, said GAO. The auditing agency urged headquarters to consider consolidating or dumping space and to even consider joining with other agencies to share space.
But many rejected that advice. “One official said their leadership is reluctant to share headquarters space with other agencies because it could lower their perceived standing as a cabinet-level agency,” said the audit report.It also raised environmental issues, pointing to wasted use of electricity.
According to GAO,"Office buildings also have environmental costs, and any reduction in office space could reduce those costs. Emissions — and their associated monetary costs — are still generated with underutilized space because agencies continue to operate buildings even when staff are not in the office. While it is difficult to estimate the environmental impact of any individual building, commercial buildings in the country overall consume 35% of the electricity consumed in the U.S.
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