Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, AGENCY NEWS: D.C. operations cannot entirely fit in Constitution Center: FTC testimony, (Dec 3, 2013)

By Tobias J. Gillett, J.D., LL.M.

In testimony today before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations, FTC Executive Director David Robbins contended that the FTC’s Washington, D.C. operation could not be completely housed in the Constitution Center, due to space limitations and cost constraints.

In his prepared testimony, Robbins informed the Subcommittee of the FTC’s progress in moving 905 of its employees from two leased satellite facilities at 601 New Jersey Avenue and 1800 M Street NW into the Constitution Center building at 7th and D Streets SW. At Constitution Center, 17 Senior Executive Service (SES) managers will be given 150 square foot offices; GS 11-15 employees, including mid-level managers, will receive 110 square foot offices; and other employees will receive 64 or 48 square foot workstations or hoteling stations. This represents a significant reduction from the current average of 270 square feet for SES and senior managers, 196 square feet for mid-level managers, 150 square feet for GS 12-15s, and 80 square foot workstations for other employees, according to Robbins. The Constitution Center facility will also contain a variety of other special purpose rooms.

Even with a significant reduction in the FTC’s footprint, moving all of the FTC’s District of Columbia employees into the Constitution Center, and giving the FTC’s headquarters building to the National Gallery of Art, would not be feasible, according to Robbins. The only space in the Southwest quadrant of the Constitution Center unoccupied by the FTC has been earmarked for the Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Even if those agencies were to give up their space, there would not be enough room. The General Services Administration had determined that the FTC requires a minimum of 446,054 square feet for its space needs in D.C., and the entire Southwest quadrant only totals 358,537 square feet. Moreover, the cost of housing the entire FTC in the leased Constitution Center for 30 years would approach $172 million more than if the FTC remained in its federally-owned building. That sum would be on top of the estimated $50 million to move the FTC staff out of the headquarters and into leased space.

If the headquarters were given to the National Gallery rather than sold, the government would lose the estimated $92,800,000 fair market value of the building, according to Robbins, as well as the $6 million the FTC pays to the Federal Building Fund each year, and would remain responsible for the upkeep of the building.

Finally, the building is “in good condition,” and should “meet the needs of the FTC for years to come,” Robbins averred. The construction on the FTC’s space at the Constitution Center is “at least 40% completed,” and “the Commission has worked diligently to ensure that the build out of the Constitution Center space is completed in time to allow Commission staff to move in and fully vacate the 601 New Jersey Avenue building before August 8, 2014, the expiration date of the extended lease.”

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