Vancouver Federal Building on list of ‘non-core’ properties possibly to be sold by Trump administration
While the list disappeared from the General Services Administration website, screenshots show the Vancouver building and several in Portland as on the chopping block
The Vancouver Federal Building in downtown Vancouver was listed among those federal buildings the second Trump administration is considering for sale. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian files)
The Vancouver Federal Building was identified this week among those federal buildings the second Trump administration has deemed not essential to government operations.
The U.S. General Services Administration on Tuesday released a list of “non-core properties” intended to be sold on its website. By Wednesday morning, however, the list was taken down and the webpage simply read “coming soon.”
The administration didn’t immediately respond to The Columbian’s inquiry asking if the buildings on the now-removed list are still expected to be sold.
Vancouver’s federal building, 500 W. 12th St., is home to several small federal outposts, including federal bankruptcy court, the U.S. Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service. Google Maps lists the latter, however, as temporarily closed.
The administration said in a statement Tuesday that most of the buildings listed as “non-core” house office space.
“Decades of funding deficiencies have resulted in many of these buildings becoming functionally obsolete and unsuitable for use by our federal workforce,” the statement read. “We can no longer hope that funding will emerge to resolve these long-standing issues.”
The administration said it would consider selling its “non-core” properties in an orderly fashion, aiming to save about $430 million in annual operating costs.
The statement said the administration will continuously review and update the list.
The initial list showed 443 buildings across the nation intended for sale, but the Associated Press reported Wednesday a subsequent list released later Tuesday identified just 320 properties, with properties in Washington, D.C., removed from the list.
Oregon had 10 properties listed, including the Bonneville Power Administration Building, the 911 Federal Building and the Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building, all in Portland.
Washington had nine buildings on the list, all in the Seattle area, except for the Vancouver building.
The Vancouver Federal Building, which was the second federal building erected in Vancouver following the downtown Post Office, dates to 1966, according to Columbian archives.
Screenshots of the U.S. General Services Administration website show the buildings in Oregon designated "non core properties."
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