Bozeman city and Gallatin County officials say they oppose the sale of the downtown federal building announced last week by the U.S. General Services Administration and have asked that ownership of the building instead be transferred to the city government. Federal officials say the move is part of a broader, national effort to cut costs, remove long-term liabilities and “ensure taxpayers do not pay for underutilized federal office space,” according to a GSA press release.   “We respectfully suggest that it would be shortsighted to dispose of a long paid-off federal asset that provides essential services in the middle of downtown Bozeman,” said a letter signed by the three Gallatin County commissioners sent last week to the GSA, Montana Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy and Rep. Ryan Zinke. The five-story, brutalist-style Bozeman Federal Building, which houses several federal agencies and a post office, resides on roughly two acres just a block off Main Street in downtown Bozeman. The 97,000-square-foot structure was built in 1966 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018. A 2026 tax appraisal valued the property at $8.2 million.  In response to the county commissioners’ letter, GSA spokesperson Michael Tammero, based in Washington, D.C., said Monday the GSA’s sale of the federal building “stands to benefit the Bozeman community as well as the federal real estate portfolio.”  “We will work with USPS to ensure that operations continue during and after the transition, whether that be as a tenant in the current building or in a new space that meets their operational needs,” Tammero said in an emailed statement to Montana Free Press.  In addition to housing one of Bozeman’s two post offices, the building also serves as office space for a slate of other federal agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Farm Services Agency.  The planned disposal, which GSA said would save more than $20 million in operating and delinquent maintenance costs, raised questions about what will replace the historic building and where employees will relocate.  The USPS solicited public comment on the relocation in April, after learning that the federal government was ending its own lease. The agency said they were searching for a space of around 4,800 square feet with 44 parking spaces, as close as possible to the old location. There are no updates on whether a viable location has been identified.  Staff from the Forest Service and NRCS said they had received no additional information beyond what was included in GSA’s Thursday announcement. Other employees who went in and out of the building last Friday also confirmed they didn’t yet know when they’d be moved and were waiting for more details.  In response to questions, a GSA official told MTFP that the agency is actively working to find alternative space for federal employees, noting options could range from using existing government leases in the area to procuring new leased facilities. They had not yet determined the next steps, including a timeline for sale or listing price. The county letter expressed skepticism that the federal government could find a suitable relocation option.  “We suspect that it will not be possible to find a suitable replacement location within one block of Main Street in Bozeman,” the commissioners wrote. “You will never get this real estate back without spending millions more in taxpayer dollars.”  The letter also suggested that instead of selling or developing the Bozeman Federal Building, GSA could transfer ownership to the city of Bozeman.  The 97,000-square-foot building was built in 1966 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018. A 2026 tax appraisal valued the property at $8.2 million. Credit: Isabel Hicks/MTFP Sen. Daines, who last week called the building disposal “a great step forward for the downtown Bozeman community,” said Monday he supported city efforts to acquire the federal building.  Daines will work with city officials, GSA and other federal agencies “to ensure the disposal process advances in a timely and transparent manner,” a Daines spokesperson said in a statement to MTFP. City officials made it clear in a press release Friday that they preferred to keep the Federal Building standing.  City spokesperson Takami Clark said that city staff is exploring whether they can acquire the property through the Historic Surplus Property Program, a National Park Service initiative that allows local governments to obtain and preserve historic buildings once used by the federal government at no cost. Clark said that if the city acquires the building through the program, it would plan to keep the post office as a tenant and consolidate other city services that currently span three downtown buildings. Those services include finance, human resources, city attorney, facilities, IT, GIS and sustainability, among others.  She said it was too soon in the process to answer questions about the budget or plans to solicit public feedback. “Bozeman residents have grown up around the Federal Building, and it has been a key feature of our downtown,” the city release said. “We hope to keep it that way for our future generations.”  In-depth, independent reporting on the stories impacting your community from reporters who know your town. The post Bozeman officials oppose proposed sale of downtown federal building, seek transfer to city government appeared first on Montana Free Press. ...read more read less