2 days Ago By Garrett Bergquist
LAWRENCE, Ind. (WISH) — A federal employee union representative and longtime Treasury Department worker said Thursday that closing federal buildings in Indianapolis would prevent people from accessing services there. Duncan Giles, the president of National Treasury Employees Union Local 49 , works in the Minton-Capehart Federal Building, which was briefly listed for “disposal” earlier this week.
News 8 first reported on the listing of three Indiana federal buildings on the list on Tuesday . He said the listing confused many of the roughly 800-1,000 people who work in the downtown Indianapolis building and made them wonder if they’ll have a place to work. Giles said people who work in the building are supposed to return to 100% in-person work on Monday, following President Donald Trump’s return-to-work executive order .
“This is a heck of a time for folks being told they’re returning to the office, having to face the job cuts that the administration is wanting through their DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) efforts that’s going to severely impact services that can be done for the American taxpayers,” he said. Giles said government-owned buildings often are built to such specific requirements that they’re difficult to adapt to other uses. He said a private buyer could lease a building back to the government, but that’s extremely rare.
When the government leases office space, he said it’s usually one small section of a larger building with other tenants. Giles said he wonders if the posting is an effort to shrink the federal workforce by getting rid of buildings where they work. According to the Government Accountability Office , the federal government employs about 2.
25 million civilians, roughly 60% of whom the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security. This week, the General Services Administration (GSA), which oversees government-owned property, briefly listed 440 properties for disposal. The list included the Minton-Capehart building , the Major General Emmett J.
Bean Center in Lawrence, and the Lee H. Hamilton Federal Building and U.S.
Courthouse in New Albany. The Minton-Capehart building includes offices for the Social Security Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the IRS, and Giles said immigration courts were just moved there as well. The Bean Center is home to the Defense Finance Accounting Service, which processes paychecks for members of the Armed Force.
Roughly 5,000 people work at the building, which covers 1.6 million square feet and is the second-largest office building in the federal government’s portfolio after the Pentagon. Lawrence Mayor Deb Whitfield, whose City Hall office sits within walking distance of the Bean Center, said she only learned about the listings late Wednesday.
She said the facility’s employees are regular customers at businesses along East 56th Street, including Civic Plaza, barely five minutes’ walk down the street. She said she immediately contacted U.S.
Rep. André Carson and federal lobbyists. “That square footage of that building is massive, and being a decommissioned fort, you can’t imagine the opportunity that we have to keep it here in Lawrence,” she said.
News 8 asked the GSA for an interview about the listings, which have since been taken down. The agency did not make anyone available but did provide a lengthy written statement. “GSA is taking swift, common-sense action to solve the nation’s toughest problems of reducing the federal deficit and increasing government efficiency.
That’s why we’re exploring innovative approaches—including public-private partnerships, ground leases, sale leasebacks, and interagency co-working agreements—to optimize our real property portfolio in support of the administration’s [ executive order implementing the Department of Government Efficiency ]. These actions will result in increased service quality to our customers and savings to the American taxpayer. “The goal of publishing non-core assets was two fold: (1) to align with the President’s direction to bring federal employees back to high performing office spaces throughout the country and (2) drive maximum value for the federal real estate footprint for the benefit of the American taxpayer.
To be clear, just because an asset is on the list doesn’t mean it’s immediately for sale. However, we will consider compelling offers (in accordance with applicable laws and regulations) and do what’s best for the needs of the federal government and taxpayer. “Since publishing the initial list on March 4, 2025, we have received an overwhelming amount of interest.
“We anticipate the list will be republished in the near future after we evaluate this initial input and determine how we can make it easier for stakeholders to understand the nuances of the assets listed. As we stated in our press release, “GSA will continuously review and update the list of non-core assets.” GSA Spokesperson.
