The Trump administration is looking to sell or cancel the leases on thousands of empty federal buildings. The timing is right because there are developers looking to buy empty office buildings and turn them into apartments and condos. Maybe we can get a win-win — solving the dual problems of a surplus of empty federal office buildings and the housing shortage.

The General Services Administration (GSA), which manages federal buildings and other real assets, owns or controls a lot of property. According to the agency, “GSA’s portfolio has grown to about 370 million square feet of space across the U.S. and eight territories…. That includes 1,700 owned and 6,700 leased assets of office buildings, courthouses, land ports of entry, laboratories, and other workspaces.”

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says the government spends about $2 billion a year to operate and maintain the buildings it owns, and another $5 billion a year to lease office space. These buildings are

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