GSA seeks strategies to upgrade crumbling buildings

Many of the government's buildings are old and deteriorating, but General Services Administration officials are moving to overhaul its building management efforts, according to the General Accounting Office. GSA, the government's landlord, manages and maintains 1,745 buildings. At the end of fiscal 1999, GSA estimated that it would cost nearly $5 billion to repair and upgrade the federal buildings it oversees, many of which are vacant and in poor condition. In a letter Thursday to Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, (02-854R) Bernard Ungar, director of physical infrastructure issues at GAO, described GSA's efforts to upgrade the agency's property management program. In fiscal 2001, GSA conducted a financial review of 1,375 of the properties under its stewardship, rating them in four categories: "nonperforming" (meaning the buildings do not generate sufficient income to cover the costs of operating them), poor, good and solid. About half the buildings fell into the worst two categories, but they only make up 28 percent of the space available for rent.

"Several buildings were vacant or were at risk of losing their tenants because of the condition of the buildings," wrote Ungar. GSA does not receive rental income from vacant buildings, but incurs costs to operate them. Asset managers located in GSA's regional offices are responsible for developing specific strategies based on the physical and financial condition of the buildings. Plans may include selling the buildings, exchanging properties with other government entities, renegotiating rents, leasing to nonfederal tenants and entering into public-private partnerships. Strategies for the worst buildings are scheduled to be completed by Dec. 31, and plans for the better-rated buildings should come in by the end of fiscal 2002. GSA officials expect all of the federally owned buildings it oversees to be self-sustaining by 2007, GAO's letter said. Earlier this year, Sessions introduced the "Federal Asset Management Improvement Act" (H.R. 3947), which would authorize public-private partnerships to rehabilitate federal buildings, create a single database of all government real estate and require agencies to appoint a senior real property officer.