United States General Accounting Office General Government Division

Washington, D.C. 20548

Page 1 GAO/GGD-00-208R Feasibility of Moving the Forest Service

B-286151

September 28, 2000

The Honorable Jo Ann Emerson

The Honorable Don Young

House of Representatives

Subject: Feasibility of Moving the Forest Service From the Sidney Yates Building

This letter responds to your requests concerning the feasibility of moving the Forest Service’s

Washington, D.C., employees from the Sidney Yates Building into the U.S. Department of

Agriculture’s (USDA) South Building. It discusses (1) the estimated occupancy level of the

modernized South Building, (2) the feasibility of moving Forest Service employees and other

operations housed in the Sidney Yates Building into the South Building or other space, and

(3) the feasibility of the Sidney Yates Building being used for other purposes, such as a

museum.

Results in Brief

USDA currently estimates that upon completion of its modernization, the South Building will

house 6,800 employees. This would be an increase of about 300 employees over the number

of employees that were housed in the South Building before the modernization. However, this

would be a decrease of almost 1,700 persons from its initial estimate of 8,488 persons made in

1991, when USDA began exploring the possibility of modernizing its South Building.

According to USDA officials, the initial figure of 8,488 was based on preliminary assumptions

that the building could be reconfigured to increase the occupiable office space by almost 21

percent. These assumptions were later found to be impractical. For example, USDA

determined that the attic could not be converted to office space because it had to be used for

the building’s new mechanical systems. In addition, USDA’s space consultant concluded that

the need for additional restrooms, shafts, and telecommunication rooms would actually

decrease the amount of office space in each wing of the South Building. Further, USDA

officials told us that historical preservation requirements limited their ability to make

changes to the South Building that would have increased the amount of office space by

eliminating most corridors.

While relocating the Forest Service from the Sidney Yates Building could be accomplished if

necessary, it would be costly and it could not be done quickly. Because the South Building is

currently undergoing a modernization and does not have vacant space available, it cannot

house the functions from the Sidney Yates Building at this time without disrupting the

renovation in progress. As phases of the South Building modernization are completed, USDA

plans to relocate as many employees as possible from space leased from the private sector to
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reduce its dependency on such space. Even after these relocations are completed, USDA will

still require space from the private sector because it has more employees and contractor

personnel than it expects to be able to move into the modernized South Building or house in

other assigned government-owned buildings. Moving the Forest Service and the USDA child

care center into the South Building would displace other USDA functions currently in the

building and/or require functions currently scheduled to be moved into the building to remain

in leased space. Since it is unlikely that sufficient government-owned space for the Forest

Service would be available, the General Services Administration (GSA) would need to locate

and acquire leased space from the private sector to house the agency should it be moved out

of the Sidney Yates Building. GSA estimates that it could take 4 to 5 years to relocate the

Forest Service and relocating the employees and reestablishing the telecommunication

capabilities could cost millions of dollars. Also, finding a new location near the South

Building for the child care center, which can be used by all USDA staff, could be difficult

because it would have to meet GSA’s criteria for establishing a child care center.

If another potential use for the Sidney Yates Building were identified and proposed, such as a

museum, an engineering feasibility study would need to be conducted to determine if the

physical structure of the building, such as its floor loads, elevators, and the number of

entrances and exits, could accommodate the planned functions. The historic Sidney Yates

Building, built around 1880 and located in downtown Washington, D.C., underwent a major

renovation in the late 1980s. This building is listed on the National Register of Historic

Places. GSA believes that the historical aspects of the Sidney Yates Building could preclude

renovations that might be needed to use the building for other purposes.

USDA and GSA generally agreed with the information in this letter.

Background

GSA’s Public Buildings Service assigns space including space in government-owned buildings

to agencies to satisfy their housing needs. USDA has four government-owned buildings in

Washington, D.C.,--the South Building, the Sidney Yates Building (formerly known as the

Auditors Building), the James L. Whitten Building, and the Cotton Annex Building--totaling

about 1.6 million usable square feet of space. Beginning in 1984, USDA has operated and

maintained its government-owned buildings. In fiscal year 2000, USDA also occupied about

1.3 million square feet of leased space in multiple buildings in the Washington, D.C., area. In

1991, USDA published a strategic plan entitled “Meeting the Future Housing Needs in the

Washington Metropolitan Area” in an attempt to gain support and funding for modernizing the

South Building and building a new facility in Beltsville, Maryland. USDA received

appropriations in fiscal year 1995 to begin work on its strategic plan. The George Washington

Carver Center was constructed in Beltsville, Maryland, and first occupied in 1998.

The South Building is the largest government-owned building occupied by USDA. In fiscal

year 2000, it contained approximately 1,234,000 usable square feet, with about 962,000
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categorized as office space and around 272,000 used for other purposes.1The South Building

is eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. As such, USDA must

retain the building’s historic structure to the extent possible and is required to allow an

advisory council to comment on all projects affecting the historic property. USDA began

construction on its South Building modernization to correct health and safety hazards,

improve accommodations for disabled persons, and provide modern facilities in September

1998. Another key objective of the modernization is to move as many employees as possible

from leased space into government-owned space. This modernization is planned to have

eight phases and be completed in 2010. The South Building will continue to be occupied

during the modernization and employees will be moved as necessary to vacate the areas to be

modernized. Phase 1 of the modernization is expected to be completed by October 2000, and

phase 2 is scheduled to begin in early 2001.

Estimated Capacity of the Modernized South Building

USDA currently estimates that the modernized South Building will house about 6,800

employees. A key element in USDA’s 1991 plan to address its future housing needs in the

Washington, D.C., area was the modernization of USDA’s South Building to increase its

capacity and reduce USDA’s dependency on leased space. Before the modernization, the

South Building housed about 6,500 employees. In 1991, when USDA began exploring the

modernization of its South Building, it expected to increase the amount of occupiable office

space by about 21 percent, which would allow it to house 8,488 employees. The ability to

increase the amount of office space was based on several assumptions including the ability to

(1) demolish all existing masonry central corridors in the building, except on the first floor, to

allow open space throughout the building; (2) create additional office space in selected areas

such as the attic; and (3) minimize the use of enclosed space or private offices while using

modular furniture to facilitate an open space floor plan.

These preliminary assumptions were later determined to be impractical. According to USDA,

the ability to convert corridor space to office space was limited because the existing masonry

corridors running along Independence Avenue (headhouse) and C Street (tailhouse) had to

be retained on all floors to meet historic preservation requirements. In addition, it was also

determined that retaining these corridors would be necessary to provide proper east-west

circulation, fire safety exits, and security. An agreement was reached with historic authorities

that only the internal wings of the building, excluding the first floor, could be considered for

existing corridor demolition.

USDA determined that creating new office space in the attic would not be possible because

the attic space was needed to house the new mechanical systems. Further, USDA’s space

consultant determined that the need for new mechanical/electrical shafts, additional

restrooms, and telecommunications rooms would actually decrease the amount of office

space available in each wing. According to USDA officials, the need for some private offices

1

According to USDA, space categorized as “office” includes offices and conference/training. Space categorized as “other”

includes all other uses such as storage and laboratory. Square footage for parking is not included.
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also decreased the estimated number of employees the modernized South Building could

house.

USDA’s current estimate of the maximum capacity of the modernized South Building is about

6,800 employees. In 1997, USDA established an office space standard of an average of 150

square feet per person. The estimated occupancy level of 6,800 employees will require

achieving less than 150 square feet per person in the South Building when all phases of the

modernization project are completed.

Moving the Forest Service Would be Costly and Time

Consuming

While relocating the Forest Service from the Sidney Yates Building could be accomplished if

necessary, it would be costly and it could not be done quickly. In addition, moving the Forest

Service into the South Building would disrupt its ongoing modernization. The Forest Service

has occupied the Sidney Yates Building since 1990. USDA’s child care center also occupies

space in the building. The Forest Service occupies about 113,000 square feet of office space,

and the child care center occupies about 7,000 square feet of space. A total of about 679

employees are housed in this building.

USDA officials told us that the South Building does not and will not have vacant space to

accommodate the Forest Service employees and child care center currently housed in the

Sidney Yates Building. They said there were no plans to relocate these operations to the

South Building in the future, primarily because their goal is to move as many employees as

possible out of leased space into the South Building. The South Building is currently

undergoing a modernization, and the officials said it cannot house the functions from the

Sidney Yates Building at this time without disrupting the renovation in progress. By October

2000, USDA expects to complete phase 1 of its 8-phase modernization project for the South

Building. The South Building is to be occupied throughout the modernization project.

USDA’s plan is to either move employees within the South Building; to its facility in Beltsville,

MD; or to leased space at another location to vacate the areas to be modernized in the next

phase. As each phase of the modernization is completed, USDA plans to move employees

from within the building and from leased space into the newly renovated space.

USDA has made specific space assignments for the space in the first two phases of the

modernization project. None of this space was assigned to the Forest Service. During phase 1

of the modernization project, 84,200 square feet of office space, including the library, was

renovated to house 418 employees. According to an USDA official, most of these employees

have moved into the space and the remaining employees are expected to move in by the end

of the year. An additional 74,600 square feet of office space for 369 employees is planned to

be modernized during phase 2. USDA said it has not made specific space assignments for the

later phases of the project because completion of these phases is still a number of years away

and agency space and staffing requirements continually fluctuate. However, USDA’s housing

plan has always been based on moving employees from leased space whenever possible and

has never considered the Forest Service moving into the South Building, since it is already

located in government-owned space.
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The modernization of the South Building should allow USDA to gradually vacate space leased

from the private sector. However, even after the South Building modernization is complete,

USDA expects it will continue to need leased space to meet its space requirements.

According to an USDA official, while the number of USDA employees has decreased, the

actual number of persons that must be housed has not decreased as much as expected. This

is a result of USDA having to house additional contract employees and to provide space for

task forces and persons from field offices. USDA does not expect to have sufficient space in

its assigned government-owned buildings to house all of its employees and contractor

personnel. Moving the Forest Service and the USDA child care center into the South Building

would displace other USDA functions currently in the building and/or require functions

currently scheduled to be moved into the building to remain in leased space.

Since it is unlikely that sufficient government-owned space would be available, if the Forest

Service had to move from the Sidney Yates Building and did not move into the South

Building, GSA would need to locate and acquire leased space for the Forest Service. Overall,

leasing space from the private sector is more costly for the government than occupying

government-owned buildings, such as the Sidney Yates Building. GSA officials told us that the

organization causing the Forest Service to move would be expected to pay the relocation

costs. They said that it could cost millions of dollars to pay for the physical move and to

reestablish Forest Service’s telecommunications capability. According to the Forest Service,

it is in the government’s interest that the Forest Service remain in the Sidney Yates Building

due to the investments made in the building, the costs and disruption associated with

relocation, the specific design of the interior of the building, and the proximity to the

Secretary of Agriculture. In 1999, the Forest Service estimated that it would cost almost $5

million to physically move from the Sidney Yates Building and reconstruct its computer

facility. An additional $2 million could be incurred by having to pay rent for two locations for

the 6 months they estimate it would take to accomplish the move. The government could

also lose its investment of almost $20 million in improvements that it has made to the Sidney

Yates Building if the building were no longer used to house a federal organization.

GSA officials estimated that it could take 4 to 5 years to acquire new space for the Forest

Service. This is due to the amount of space that the Forest Service currently occupies, over

100,000 square feet. To replace this amount of space, GSA would be required to notify its

authorizing committees of the space requirements before pursuing an acquisition to meet the

requirements.

The child care center located in the Sidney Yates Building can be used by all USDA staff and

finding a new home for the center near the South Building could be difficult. If alternate

space were identified for the child care center, it would have to meet GSA’s criteria for

planning and establishing a child care center. These criteria address such issues as interior

space requirements, playgrounds, parking availability, and security.
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Engineering Study Needed to Determine the Feasibility of Using

the Sidney Yates Building for Another Purpose

While certain features of the Sidney Yates Building, such as its location and historical

structure, may make the building desirable for another purpose, such as a museum, an

engineering feasibility study would need to be done given the historical nature of the building

and its age—approximately 120 years old. This study would be needed to determine if the

physical structure of the building, such as its floor load and elevator capacities and the

number of entrances and exits, could accommodate the planned functions and uses. The

building contains brick arch floor construction that provides adequate floor load capacity for

the current office space and the child care center but that might not accommodate a use that

requires a heavier floor load. According to GSA officials, any organization attempting

changes to the Sidney Yates Building could encounter limitations due to the historical nature

of the building. As discussed earlier, USDA had to deal with such limitations in its

modernization of the South Building. The Sidney Yates Building is listed on the National

Register of Historic Places, and this listing requires that federal agencies retain the building’s

historic structure to the extent possible and allow an advisory council to comment on all

projects affecting the historic property.

In the late 1980s, the Sidney Yates Building underwent a major renovation. During this

renovation, the building’s electrical, lighting, plumbing, and mechanical systems were all

upgraded. The renovation provided an open floor plan but still respected the historic

architectural detailing of this historic structure. The building, located at the corner of 14th and

Independence Avenue, is in a central location in Washington, D.C.

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation

On September 15, 2000, we requested comments on a draft of this letter from the Secretary of

Agriculture. USDA’s Director of the Design and Construction Division, Office of Operations,

provided oral comments and generally agreed with the information provided. He provided

some technical clarifications, which we incorporated into the report where appropriate. We

also obtained oral comments from GSA’s National Capital Region (NCR) Deputy Director of

the DC South Service Delivery Team. She agreed with our presentation of the information

provided by GSA. In addition, an Asset Manager in NCR’s Office of Portfolio Management

provided some technical clarifications, which we incorporated into the report where

appropriate.

Scope and Methodology

To address the three objectives, we interviewed (1) USDA officials responsible for the space

management of USDA’s buildings and the modernization of the South Building and (2)

cognizant officials from the Forest Service. We reviewed information and documentation

provided by these officials on current and planned future space utilization of the South

Building, the operations housed in the Sidney Yates Building, and changes in the projected

occupancy level for the modernized South Building. In addition, we toured the South and

Sidney Yates buildings to observe use and conditions of the buildings. We also interviewed
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GSA officials on the service team that is responsible for the USDA buildings to obtain

information on its responsibilities, the Sidney Yates Building, and the steps to be taken in

reassigning government-owned buildings. We reviewed USDA’s September 1991 strategic

plan “Meeting the Future Housing Needs in the Washington Metropolitan Area” and other

documents related to USDA space issues and relevant appropriation acts. We did not

independently verify the number of USDA employees or the reported square footage of the

buildings. We performed our work from June to September 2000 in accordance with generally

accepted government auditing standards.

We are sending copies of this letter to Representatives C. W. Bill Young, David Obey, Joe

Skeen, Marcy Kaptur, Ralph Regula, and Norman D. Dicks; and to Senators Ted Stevens,

Robert C. Byrd, Thad Cochran, Herb Kohl, and Slade Gorton in their capacities as Chairmen

or Ranking Minority Members of House and Senate Committees and Subcommittees. We are

also sending copies to the Honorable Dan Glickman, Secretary of Agriculture; the Honorable

David J. Barram, Administrator of GSA; and the Honorable Mike Dombeck, Chief of the

Forest Service. We will also make copies available to others upon request.

If you have any questions about this letter, please call me or Ron King on (202) 512-5248. Key

contributors to this assignment were Maria Edelstein and Lisa Wright-Solomon.

JayEtta Hecker,

Associate Director, Government

Business Operations Issues
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