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Seventeen federal properties across Fairfax County, including the U.S. Geological Survey headquarters in Reston, have been identified as possible targets for disposal under a government cost-cutting campaign.
The General Services Administration included buildings in Reston and Springfield among 443 properties it labeled “not core to government operations” on Tuesday, March 4. The agency removed the list the following day and later stressed that the properties were not necessarily going on the market immediately.
The USGS headquarters occupies a 105-acre site at 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive. Its seven-story John W. Powell Federal Building was completed in 1973 and is valued at more than $262 million, including $71.6 million for the land, according to Fairfax County property records.
Three structures on the campus appeared on the federal list: the Powell building, an Advanced Systems Center and a utility plant. Together, they contain 999,838 square feet.
The potential property sales come as the Trump administration has reportedly directed federal agencies to identify operations that could be relocated outside the Washington region. On Tuesday, Fairfax County’s mostly Democratic Board of Supervisors urged Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin to oppose any such moves.
Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn, whose district includes Reston, warned that selling properties and relocating agencies could cost the region jobs, destabilize its economy and drain institutional knowledge from the federal workforce. He said those concerns led him to support the board’s letter to Youngkin.
Springfield sites also make the list
The largest Fairfax County property identified was a 1-million-square-foot Springfield site called “Building A, 6810.” The description likely refers to part of the Springfield/Franconia Warehouse Complex at 6808 Loisdale Road, which was once considered as a location for a new FBI headquarters.
Eleven Springfield structures identified only as “Butler Buildings” were also listed. They range from 800 to 8,280 square feet, but the federal document offered few other details.
Franconia Buildings B, C and D appeared as well, with a combined 272,184 square feet. Because the list provided only names, cities and square footage, staff in a county supervisor’s office could not determine exactly which buildings the entries described. One is reportedly used by the CIA.
In nearby Arlington, the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security headquarters was among the properties that could also face disposal.
GSA expects hundreds of millions in savings
The GSA said Tuesday that it had identified nearly 80 million square feet of federally owned property that was vacant or underused. Most of the designated “non-core assets” are offices.
The agency said years of inadequate funding had left many buildings obsolete or unsuitable for federal employees. Selling those properties, it argued, would draw on private-sector investment, improve facilities available to agencies and benefit surrounding communities.
Federal officials estimate that disposing of the space could eliminate more than $430 million in annual operating costs.
In a Wednesday, March 5 update, the GSA said inclusion on the list did not mean a property would be put up for sale immediately. However, the agency said it would consider compelling offers while weighing the needs of the government and taxpayers.
The list generated what the GSA described as overwhelming interest after its Tuesday release. The agency did not explain exactly why it removed the document, but said it expected to publish a revised version after reviewing the initial response and finding a clearer way to explain the properties and their circumstances.