Feasibility of Moving the Forest Service From the Sidney Yates Building
(Correspondence, 09/28/2000, GAO/GGD-00-208R).

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the feasibility of
moving the Forest Service's Washington, D.C., employees from the Sidney
Yates Building into the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) South
Building, focusing on: (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 Sydney
Yates Building being used for other purposes, such as a museum.

GAO noted that: (1) USDA estimates that upon completion of its
modernization, the South Building will house 6,800 employees; (2) this
would be an increase of about 300 employees over the number of employees
that were housed in the South Building before the modernization; (3)
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; (4)
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; (5) these
assumptions were later found to be impractical; (6) 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; (7) 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; (8)
General Services Administration (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; (9) 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; and (10) 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.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  GGD-00-208R
     TITLE:  Feasibility of Moving the Forest Service From the Sidney
	     Yates Building
      DATE:  09/28/2000
   SUBJECT:  Historic preservation
	     Cost effectiveness analysis
	     Federal facility relocation
	     Federal office buildings
	     Federal employees
	     Leases
IDENTIFIER:  Sydney Yates Building (DC)
	     South Building (DC)

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GAO/GGD-00-208R

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B-286151
Page 7GAO/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 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
categorized as office space and around 272,000 used for other
purposes.1  The 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 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.

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.

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 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
_______________________________
1According 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.
*** End of document ***