Were any RI federal buildings on the proposed closure list? What we know.
Federally-owned buildings across Rhode Island, including the IRS's service center in downtown, have been spared from an initial list of 443 buildings that may be closed and sold.
The closest buildings initially listed were on the South Coast:
Fall River's Social Security Administration building at 400 N. Main St.
New Bedford's U.S. Custom House, the historic Greek Revival building at 37 N. Second St.
In a statement, the General Services Administration wrote that the buildings have become "functionally obsolete and unsuitable for use by our federal workforce."
Since that initial list was posted, it has been taken down. The listing of 443 properties was saved to the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.
See the original list of "non-core" properties set to be disposed of here.
While some IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers are on the 443-property list to be shuttered, "The Federal Center," a hulking four-story brick building in Downtown Providence, is not on the list. That federal building houses one of Rhode Island's two IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers. The building was framed as key to bringing people to the Westminster Pedestrian Mall before it was dismantled.
The Providence Taxpayer Assistance Center is downtown at 380 Westminster St., in "The Federal Center," a hulking four-story brick building. Normally it is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Warwick's Taxpayer Assistance Center is at 40 Quaker Lane. It is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and is closed between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. and on weekends.
Among the most noteable buildings on that initial list closure were:
Headquarters of the Department of Justice
Headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigations
Old Post Office, formerly the Trump International Hotel
The administration is often tasked with getting rid of surplus or excess government property and land. In Rhode Island, and New England, that often means offloading lighthouses under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000.
Some recent lighthouses that have been offloaded, or are in the process, are:
Beavertail Lighthouse
Prudence Island lighthouse
Watch Hill Lighthouse
Warwick Neck Lighthouse
Read about all the 21 lighthouses in Rhode Island, many privately owned, in this primer by Katie Landeck.
Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Providence Journal subscription. .
Follow Wheeler Cowperthwaite on X, @WheelerReporter, or reach him by email at wcowperthwaite@providencejournal.com.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI's federally-owned buildings safe from closure for now
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