53-year-old building in Idaho Falls being sold in silent auction
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IDAHO FALLS – A government-owned building in Idaho Falls is being put up for auction.
The U.S. Department of Energy Information Operations and Research Center at 1155 Foote Drive shut down in 2018 after 50 years of operation.
The 37,844-square-foot building near the Idaho Falls Regional Airport has been sitting vacant for the last three years and is now being listed for sale by the U.S. General Services Administration.
GSA spokeswoman Christi Chidester Votisek tells EastIdahoNews.com a law passed in 2016 requires them to sell it.
“The Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act … requires the Office of Management and Budget and GSA to identify opportunities for the Federal Government to reduce its inventory of civilian real property – namely through accelerated sales of approved properties, more efficiently utilize existing properties, and reduce the cost for maintaining these properties,” Votisek writes in an email.
A news release from the GSA indicates The FAST Act was passed by Congress to “evaluate underutilized assets and shrink the federal footprint.” The Act created the Public Buildings Reform Board, which, when formed, began requesting property information from federal agencies to identify high-value properties.
The board has identified this building as a high-value property and its goal is to generate at least $500 million in sales.
“GSA is committed to responsible stewardship of the federal real estate portfolio,” Lisa Pearson, Acting Regional Administrator of GSA’s Northwest/Arctic Region, says in a written statement.
The proceeds will be used to make other properties available for disposal, according to the news release.
The DOE Information Operations & Research Center opened in 1968 and was primarily used as office space and a data storage center. Equipment and staff were relocated to existing DOE facilities in conjunction with the closure.
The building has officially been listed for sale and sealed bids are now being taken online through Feb. 15. The GSA is hosting an open house on Feb. 10 at 11:30 a.m. to give prospective buyers a chance to see what it looks like.
“It will be the final opportunity to inspect the site in person prior to the February 15th closing date,” says GSA project manager Joseph Potter.
To learn more about the bidding process, click here.