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'VA center named as
underused property
BOSTON (AP) — Three federal
agencies own 18 vacant or underused
properties in six Massachusetts com-
munities, the investigative arm of
Congress said in a report Tuesday.
The General Accounting Office was
asked by Congress to report on vacant
and underused properties controlled by
three agencies: the Department of
Veterans Affairs, the General Services
Administration, and the U.S. Postal
Service.
As of Oct. 1, 2002, the GAO reported,
the agencies reported 927 such prop-
erties in 294 cities throughout the United
States and Puerto Rico.
The report acknowledged that all
three agencies had "ongoing nation-
wide initiatives to realign their real
estate . portfolios" and get rid of
unneeded property.
In Massachusetts, the VA reported
13 vacant or underused properties in
Northampton, Brockton, and Bedford,
including one five -acre unused parcel
of land. Joanne Carney, spokeswoman
for the VA Medical Center in Northamp-
ton, was not able to immediately provide
details on the issue.
The GSA, which provides facilities for
a variety of federal agencies, reported
two vacant buildings in Watertown and
one underused building in Pittsfield.
The two Watertown buildings are
storage sheds on an 11 -acre property
that the GSA is preparing to deed back
to the state; and the GSA is studying
how to better use the Silvio Conte
federal building in Pittsfield, said Paula
Santangelo, a spokeswoman for the
GSAs New England office.
The Postal Service reported one
unused parcel of land in Bourne, but
in a footnote the report said the property
was "sold or under contract to be sold."
A Postal Service spokeswoman didn't
immediately return a call seeking
comment.
The report said the federal gov-
ernment's underused properties
present significant potential risks
"not only for lost dollars because
such properties are costly to maintain
but also for lost opportunities"
because the properties could be put
to better use, exchanged for other
needed property or sold to raise
money.
Holding unneeded property can also
"present an image of waste and ineffi-
ciency that erodes taxpayers'
confidence and can have a negative
impact on local economies," the GAO
said.
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