President Donald Trump's order this week calling on federal workers to return to the office full time could help spur a rebound in the Washington, D.C., office market and the economy of the nation's capital, according to a veteran property professional who focuses on government services.
Lucy Kitchin, managing director of Transwestern's government service’s advisory group, said a revision of the federal government's remote work policies and realignment of the space it uses and owns are needed to address the city’s “office space crisis” of not having enough workers downtown. In an interview, she said this lack of workers in the area creates economic dead zones, with retailers closing and lost tax revenue.
She also made that argument in a report in November calling for the federal government to restructure its approach toward the properties it now owns and how that space is used.
In his order, Trump said, "Heads of all departments and agencies in the executive branch of Government shall, as soon as practicable, take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis." They should make exemptions they deem necessary, it added.
“This was not a surprise," she said in an interview centered on the Trump administration’s return-to-office mandate.
In addition to the return-to-work order made on his first day back in office, Trump signed directives for a hiring freeze for federal civilian employees; terminating diversity, equity and inclusion offices and positions and reclassifying some employees that opponents argue makes it easier to fire them.
Kitchin acknowledged that there are arguments against the move and that it remains an open question how some agencies respond and adhere to Trump’s return-to-office order. Economic development in the city is reliant upon bringing workers back to the city as the absence of federal workers in Washington has led to declining tax revenues, she said.
Selling federal buildings
In conjunction with the return to office directive, Kitchin advocates for the sale of aging federal office buildings such as the James V. Forrestal Building, the Wilbur and Orville Wright Federal Buildings and Department of Agriculture South Building.
“The money that is going into these buildings is not sustainable, especially when they’re so underutilized,” Kitchin said. Instead, consolidating employees into fewer buildings while concentrating limited capital on enhancing their experience in those spaces serves as a solution, she said.
Some federal buildings are already in the process of being disposed of by the General Services Administration, now being led by Stephen Ehikian, who is serving as acting administrator.
Then-President Joe Biden signed an order from Congress to sell the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building at 330 Independence Ave. SW, home to the U.S. Agency for Global Media that oversees Voice of America. A March report by the Public Buildings Reform Board found utilization of the building between January and September 2023 was roughly 2%.
“Per the Water Resources Development Act of 2024, the General Services Administration is directed to sell the building for fair market value not later than two years after it has been vacated,” a GSA spokesperson told CoStar News via email. “The last tenant is currently anticipated to be out of the building in 2029, so the sale will take place in approximately 2031. The method for the sale has not been determined.”
The U.S. Agency for Global Media did not respond to email requests to comment. The agency plans to move into 1875 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, according to CoStar research.
Support and opposition
In Congress, some lawmakers are actively working to counter Trump’s various actions toward the federal workforce, while others are seeking to reinforce his moves. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer last week reintroduced a bill to prevent agencies from locking in long-term levels of pandemic-era telework.
More than 2 million civilians in states and U.S. territories work for the federal government, including more than 160,000 employed within the nation’s capital, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
Elon Musk, tapped to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency that Trump also signed into existence via an executive order, argued on social media that the return-to-office mandate is about “fairness.”
But not everyone agrees.
“Providing eligible employees with the opportunity to work hybrid schedules is a key tool for recruiting and retaining workers in both the public and private sectors,” said Everett Kelley, president of one of the largest federal employee unions, in a statement. “Restricting the use of hybrid work arrangements will make it harder for federal agencies to compete for top talent."