Washington DC CRE News In Your Inbox.
Sign up for Connect emails to stay informed with CRE stories that are 150 words or less.
GAO Calls for New Guidelines on Federal Office Space Use
The Government Accountability Office says it’s time for new standards to help federal agencies determine their office space requirements in an era of telework. In a new report, it recommends that the Office of Management and Budget spearhead the process.
The new report follows the GAO’s determination earlier this year that many federal agencies use their headquarters space as little as 25% of the time. “Retaining excess and underutilized space is one of the main reasons that federal real property management has remained on GAO’s High-Risk List since 2003,” according to the report.
“A standard method to measure utilization and benchmarks that account for higher levels of telework could help the federal government more consistently identify underutilized space within and across agencies,” the report says. Federal agencies occupy 460 million square of owned or leased space at an annual cost of $5 billion in rent and $2 billion in operations.
- ◦Lease
- ◦Policy/Gov't
