Federal agency with more than 300 workers moving headquarters to Tacoma from Auburn
Editor’s note: Story has been updated.
An agency that manages federal government property is moving its regional headquarters to downtown Tacoma next year.
On Wednesday, the City of Tacoma announced that U.S. General Services Administration Northwest/Arctic Regional Headquarters would be moving its offices from Auburn to the Columbia Bank Center, 1301 A St. in Tacoma.
On Wednesday, Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards issued an official welcome to the agency and the 320 existing jobs it is moving to the city.
“GSA joins a wide variety of public and private employers that make up Tacoma’s diverse economy, and GSA’s employees will be a welcome addition to the vitality of our Downtown,” Woodards said in a statement issued Wednesday.
“I hope they will feel right at home enjoying first-class amenities — like the Farmers’ Market, the vibrant arts scene, and Tacoma’s stunning natural beauty — all within walking distance of their new workplace.”
The move is planned for summer 2021.
“It’s my understanding that a large contingent of the workers already live down here, about 45 percent to 50 percent, so it should make their commutes easier,” Jeff Robinson, director of the city’s Community and Economic Development Department, told The News Tribune late Wednesday afternoon.
According to the GSA’s website, the Northwest Arctic Region “serves customers primarily located in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, helping them access workspace, telecommunications, information technology, vehicles, and thousands of other goods and services.”
“Filling the Columbia Bank Center with more than 300 high-paying jobs plays an important role in achieving Tacoma’s economic development objectives and the continued revitalization of downtown,” City Council member Robert Thoms, chair of the Council’s Economic Development Committee, said in Wednesday’s news release. “Beyond increasing jobs in Tacoma, the project raises demand for high quality office space, bringing more consumers Downtown to support our restaurants and other retailers.
“It is critical to create a vibrant, clean and inviting downtown, and hundreds of GSA professionals will be a welcomed addition.”
The GSA offices have been in Auburn for more than 50 years and are located in the Auburn Federal Complex. Nationwide, the GSA employs about 12,000 federal workers.
In 2017, the GSA announced plans to “dispose” of the Auburn Federal Complex, built in 1964, after “assessing the economic viability of maintaining the property and aging buildings.”
The Auburn campus is poised to be sold through the Federal Assets Sale & Transfer Act in the next year and a half, according to Chad Hutson, Region 10 Public Affairs Officer.
The FASTA Act was enacted in 2016 to establish the Public Buildings Reform Board, “with the goal of identifying high value federal property for direct-to-sale transactions. PBRB recommended 12 high-value assets be sold, including the Auburn campus,” Hutson told The News Tribune via email on Thursday morning.
“What happens with the property once it’s sold is up to the new owners,” he added.
“Our mission is providing effective workplace solutions for the federal government, including our own agency,” Chaun Benjamin, acting regional administrator, said in a statement issued Wednesday. “This move allows us to bring savings to the American taxpayers and provide our team with the right space to continue meeting our mission.”
The move comes less than a year after another entity announced its regional headquarters also were moving to Tacoma.
In August, TOTE Maritime Alaska announced it was moving its headquarters from Federal Way to downtown Tacoma.
This story was originally published February 19, 2020 at 5:32 PM.
