Waste of the Day: Empty DOT Buildings
Office buildings owned or rented by the Department of Transportation are being used at roughly 40% capacity on average, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.
The Utilizing Space Efficiently and Improving Technologies Act of 2023 requires federal buildings to use at least 60% of their office space. Only 21 of the DOT’s 189 buildings meet that benchmark.
The DOT spends $370 million annually on rent and maintenance for its 168 underutilized buildings. Its 10 most expensive buildings are all underutilized.
The largest building is the DOT’s Washington headquarters, which costs $72.1 million annually but is only 34% utilized.
The second-largest, the Federal Aviation Administration headquarters, costs another $56.3 million and is 33% utilized. The DOT is spending $91 million to close down the building and relocate its employees by mid-2027, which it estimates will save $56 million annually.
However, the GAO says the actual cost savings may be lower because the DOT is “planning as they go” and has not decided where to move the displaced employees. New space may need to be leased.
Another aviation building, One Aviation Plaza in New York, costs taxpayers $15.4 million annually while operating at only 13% capacity.
As of March, the DOT has no plans to consolidate its other office buildings.
Transportation officials told auditors that some investigators and inspectors spend half their time at airports, manufacturing plants or other offsite locations. Those employees have office desks reserved for them six days a week, resulting in unused office space. The GAO suggested employees could instead have shared desks available for them only on days when they are physically in the office.
Background: Unused federal office space has been a problem since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2024, after stay-at-home orders ended, Open the Books reported that only 6% of federal employees reported in-person on a full-time basis. Meanwhile, the government spent $15.7 billion on leases and maintenance costs.
Summary: Before planning infrastructure projects for the rest of the nation, the DOT should figure out a proper layout for its own office space.
