Donald Trump’s campaign rallies leading into the 2016 election were energized by his pledge to “Drain the Swamp” in the Nation’s Capital. Little did rally-goers know how politics and circumstance would stand in the way of…
Category: Downsizing
GSA’s Progress Toward Long-Term Leasing
GSA’s effort toward execution of long-term leases has been a popular topic among investors. Going back to the earliest days of this blog, we observed that the remaining term of GSA leases was dwindling. When GSA…
SIOR Conference Presentation
Last week the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) held its Spring World Conference in Washington, DC. I was fortunate to be asked to participate in a panel discussion entitled “Federal Real Estate Opportunities” alongside,…
Long-Term GSA-Leased Properties Are Stabilizing
The predominant federal leasing trend since the Great Recession is that the GSA-leased space inventory is shrinking. Though this overall inventory reduction has been occurring at a relatively moderate pace, the number of long-term leased properties…
Nation’s Capital Bears the Brunt of Most GSA Lease Downsizing
Since the end of 2012, GSA has been actively working to reduce the size of its leased footprint. Progress has been modest but consistent. At its December 2012 zenith, GSA leased 198.6 million square feet of space…
CRE Insider Podcast
Recently, Ross Litkenhous of Altus Group invited me to participate as a guest on his CRE Insider podcast series. We covered a variety of subjects including the SWAMP Act, downsizing, GSA lease terminations and more. The conversation…
In Some Ways, the Swamp Has Already Been Drained
As a candidate for the presidency, Donald Trump famously pledged to “drain the swamp” by, among other things, reducing the size of the federal government. This would be accomplished in part by workforce attrition and in…
“Reduce the Footprint” Faces Public and Political Headwinds for the Social Security Administration
With over 1,000 leased facilities, often in single-tenant buildings, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is a staple of many federal investor portfolios. Like other federal agencies, however, SSA has been dutifully implementing the “Reduce the Footprint”…
Social Security’s Shrinking Footprint
The Social Security Administration is shrinking—though, as more and more baby boomers arrive at the age of SSA entitlements, the demands on it are growing. A report issued late in August by the Government Accountability Office…
Prospectus Approvals Will Drive Further Downsizing
The federal leased property inventory has been getting smaller since the end of 2012 and indications are that the trend will continue. One need only look at prospectus approvals to be certain of this because, while…