The JFK Federal Building and the Thomas P. O’Neill Jr Building, the two largest federal office buildings in New England, could be up for sale.
Both buildings, located in downtown Boston, were posted on a list Tuesday alongside nearly 450 other buildings by the U.S. General Services Administration, which oversees and manages most federal offices. Those properties were all identified as “not core to government operations” and potential targets to be sold off as a cost-saving measure.
In a statement to GBH News, GSA spokesperson Paul Hughes said the list is subject to change but that the agency is committed to “cutting unneeded space and reducing costs.”
“Non-core assets cost over $430M annually to operate and maintain, represent over $8.3 billion in recapitalization needs and often do not provide federal employees the high quality work environments they need to fulfill their missions,” Hughes said.
“Acting Administrator [Stephen] Ehikian’s vision for GSA includes reducing our deferred maintenance liabilities, supporting the return to office of federal employees, and taking advantage of a stronger private/government partnership in managing the workforce of the future,” he added.
Other Massachusetts properties on the list include the Volpe Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge; the national archives building in Waltham; the IRS office in Andover; a Fitchburg office building that offers Postal Service; and buildings that house Social Security Administration offices in Fall River and Pittsfield.
Both the JFK and O’Neill buildings host regional offices for a wide variety of federal agencies.
Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren both have offices in the JFK Building. Markey vowed to fight “unconstitutional and illegal cuts” to government services in a statement to GBH News.
“Trump and [the Department of Government Efficency] want to turn the federal government into a fire sale – firing workers, shuttering critical agencies, and cutting programs that serve working people and communities across Massachusetts,” Markey said in a statement. “Trump and DOGE want to hide behind the false excuse of waste and fraud as they cause chaos and look for ways to pay for billionaire tax breaks.”
