Dive Brief:
- The U.S. General Services Administration last week announced $23.8 million for 13 federal facility improvement projects identified in partnership with local communities.
- The funds, provided under the Inflation Reduction Act, will be deployed through the GSA’s Good Neighbor Program, the agency reported. The program, managed by the GSA’s Center for Community Planning + Design, aims to help regional offices meet federal agency space requirements in ways that also advance community development goals. The funded projects span 10 states and include site repairs, enhancements and sustainability measures, such as stormwater management improvements and increased greenspace, per a news release.
- The projects will also help federal buildings meet high performance green building and low-embodied carbon standards, the GSA said.
Dive Insight:
With mandates for over 400,000 federal employees to return to the office from the start of this year, there is a heightened need to maintain and upgrade federal facilities to create amenity-rich spaces. Such improvements, JLL said in a 2023 report, can help the government compete with the private sector.
The funding announced April 10 will enable the facilities to carry out “much needed repairs on federal buildings in communities overburdened by pollution and marginalized by underinvestment,” Federal Chief Environmental Justice Officer Jalonne White Newsome said in the release.
Federal agencies have been under pressure to meet federal sustainability targets, with government officials saying that the scale and scope of energy efficiency projects needed to meet future federal sustainability targets will require resources beyond what has historically been available, according to a study published by the U.S. Government Accountability Office in September.
The projects announced last week align with President Biden’s Federal Sustainability Plan, the GSA said. The Federal Sustainability Plan urges the federal government to reach net-zero emissions buildings by 2045, including a 50% emissions reduction by 2032. Despite previous skepticism from federal officials, the GSA said in April that IRA projects, such as these 13 funded projects, will accelerate its efforts to achieve a net-zero emissions federal building portfolio by 2045.
Some of the projects receiving the funds will convert federal facilities into high-performance green buildings by improving how the sites manage stormwater and extreme heat, according to the release. The GSA cited examples of stormwater management improvements such as converting concrete parking areas into new bioretention areas and permeable pavements as well as heat island mitigation, which could include replacing traditional sidewalks with tree plantings and reflective payments.
The funding includes $3.7 million to boost site sustainability at three federal facilities in Newark, New Jersey; $2.4 million for improving accessibility and a public streetscape at the C. Clyde Atkins U.S. Courthouse in Miami; $1.4 million to strengthen resilience at the Charles E. Bennett Federal Building’s parking lot in Jacksonville, Florida; and $1.2 million to install a new stormwater management system at a facility in Thomasville, Georgia. Just over $3.1 million will be provided to reconstruct a failing parking lot at the Charles F. Prevedel Federal Building in Overland, Missouri, and $250,000 will be channeled toward repairing the drainage system at the Benton Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Benton, Illinois.
The Rodino Federal Building in Newark, New Jersey, where GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan announced the funding, will receive $3.6 million for stormwater management and tree planting as well as building resilience and adaptation updates, the agency said. “This investment in the Rodino Federal Building campus…will bolster clean energy, create good-paying jobs and strengthen our communities to better withstand the effects of climate change,” Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said in a statement.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Courthouse in Newark, New Jersey is also slated to receive $3.9 million to replace its windows later this year, according to the release.
These investments would help the agency collaborate with communities as it works to “deliver the highest quality workplaces” for its client agencies, Carnahan said in a statement.
