Trump Administration Sells First Major Federal Building in DC, Shifts Education HQ to Energy
As the Trump administration tries to shrink the federal real estate footprint, it just made its first major sale of a federal building in Washington, DC.
The General Services Administration (GSA) sold its National Capital Region/Regional Office Building located at 301 7th Street SW for just over $24 million. The buyer is DC-based development firm Dalian Development. The building was once home to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) but has been vacant since March 2025.
GSA says the sale will save the federal government more than $200 million in delinquent maintenance repairs and $5.5 million in annual operating costs.
“Great stewardship means letting go. It means letting go of things that no longer serve the public,” said GSA Administrator Ed Forst. “The American taxpayers have been carrying the cost of this vacant building for far too long.”
Dalian executives say plans for the building are still being evaluated, but could include retail, housing, and entertainment space.
“We see Southwest D.C. as one of the last great blank canvases in a major city in the United States,” said Dalian vice president of development Eric Mulata.
GSA has a list of other federal buildings it has up for sale.
Education Turns Over HQ to Energy
Meanwhile, the Department of Education is turning over its headquarters building to the Department of Energy as part of a broader real estate and agency restructuring effort.
The administration says the Energy Department’s current James V. Forrestal Building is outdated, and moving into Education’s Lyndon Baines Johnson Building at 400 Maryland Avenue SW will reduce deferred maintenance costs.
Education Department employees will relocate to 500 D Street SW, with the move targeted for August 2026.
“Thanks to the hard work of so many, we have made unprecedented progress in reducing the federal education footprint, and now we are pleased to give this building to an agency that will benefit far more from its space than the Department of Education,” said Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
The announcements come as the Trump administration continues to take away responsibilities from the Education Department.
It recently announced that the Treasury Department will take over management of defaulted student loans, one of just ten interagency agreements that shifted the Education Department’s responsibilities to other agencies.
