total square footage of their domestic office and warehouse inventory relative to an established baseline.” Through strategic planning, reinvestment, and consolidation, agencies continue to use historic properties to achieve their “Reduce the Footprint” goals. For example, GSA reported to the ACHP that during the 2015-2017 period, it initiated 49 projects that will save federal taxpayers and 26 agencies more than $47 million in projected rents at federal facilities across the nation. Many of these projects consolidate federal tenants in historic buildings or enable agencies to use them more efficiently with mobile workplace technology and space sharing solutions. GSA has also worked closely with the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, one of their major tenants, to rethink planned expansion projects wherever opportunities exist to cost- effectively reuse government-owned buildings. This reduces the amount of new construction required to accommodate increased caseloads. Twelve projects will consolidate federal tenants in historic public buildings to reduce the government’s reliance on leasing and shrink the federal real estate footprint. Major modernizations and consolidations completed during the previous reporting period are yielding taxpayer savings, according to GSA. In addition, energy use data show significantly increased benefits when agencies vacate costly leased space for federally owned historic buildings that have been rehabilitated for improved energy savings and space efficiency. As recommended in GAO studies, GSA is now broadening the scope of courthouse expansion funding requests to include plans for reuse, reprogramming, or disposal of existing courthouse facilities, giving preference to alternatives that reuse historic buildings, when feasible. The 2016 courthouse program includes funding for rehabilitation and annex construction that will supplement, rather than replace, three monumental historic courthouses, so they may remain in use and serving the purpose for which they were built. These iconic buildings have served the courts well for upwards of 85 to 123 years. Contributing to local communities through economic development and heritage tourism. An important component of federal policy (e.g., EO 13006: Locating Federal Facilities on Historic Properties in Our Nation’s Central Cities 1996 http://www.achp.gov/EO13006.html) and the Preserve America EO [http://www.preserveamerica.gov/Executive%20Order%2013287.pdf ] is the emphasis on location of facilities in central cities and downtown areas, to maintain a convenient “federal presence” and strengthen the vitality and livability of the communities and, where possible, foster heritage tourism. Reuse of historic buildings and structures is efficient, supports preservation, and has been shown to be good for the livability and economy of local communities (see also EO 12072, Federal Space Management, 1978 [https://www. archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/12072.html]; EO 13693 [https:// www.fedcenter.gov/programs/eo13693/]; and Department of Transportation, Implementing Instructions-Sustainable Locations for Federal Facilities, 2011 [https://www.fedcenter.gov/_ kd/Items/actions.cfm?action=Show&item_id=19447&destination=ShowItem]). VA Secretary David Shulkin announced in June of 2017 a plan to dispose of all vacant VA buildings in 24 months (either by demolition or reuse).VA’s list of 400+ vacant and 750+ underutilized properties include a significant portion of NRHP-eligible or listed historic properties. VA is currently in the initial stages of framing a Section 106 Program Comment to address this challenge.
42 | IN A SPIRIT OF STEWARDSHIP: A REPORT ON FEDERAL HISTORIC PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 2018
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