{"id":4392,"date":"2026-07-06T11:35:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T11:35:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4392"},"modified":"2026-07-06T11:35:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T11:35:26","slug":"could-downtown-bostons-mccormack-courthouse-become-housing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4392","title":{"rendered":"Could downtown Boston\u2019s McCormack courthouse become housing?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An independent board advising the federal government on the future of property within its vast real estate portfolio is likely to recommend selling downtown Boston\u2019s McCormack building \u2014 a deal that could perhaps become the city\u2019s grandest office-to-residential conversion yet.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Public Buildings Reform Board, a bipartisan group due to shutter at the end of the year, said at a recent public hearing that it would recommend selling eight federal properties and was considering recommending an additional 26 buildings \u2014 including the John W. McCormack US Post Office and Courthouse in Boston and the US Custom House in Portland, Maine. Selling those properties would cut 7.34 million square feet from the federal real estate portfolio and save up to $1.2 billion in building maintenance and upkeep across a 30-year period, the board said. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cAmerican taxpayers are paying a premium for federal office space, but many of these spaces are aging, underused or vacant, and in dire need of investment and repair,\u201d said D. Talmage Hocker, a commercial real estate executive serving as the PBRB\u2019s acting chair, in a statement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Former Democratic Massachusetts congressman Michael Capuano also serves on the PBRB, which last year said it was considering recommending selling three substantial federal properties downtown \u2014 the McCormack, the John F. Kennedy Federal Building, and the Thomas P. O\u2019Neill Jr. Federal Building. <\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond those three buildings, the government has already approved the recommended sale of the eight-story Coast Guard building on Fort Point Channel. All four properties are less than one-third full on a good day, and have substantial deferred maintenance requirements, said David L. Winstead, a PBRB member, in an interview.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe average of all these properties, in terms of daily utilization, is 27 percent,\u201d Winstead said. \u201cWe\u2019re way below the mark, and the carry costs for the federal taxpayer to maintain this number of people in these buildings … it\u2019s just not cost effective.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The PBRB recommends building sales to the federal Office of Management and Budget, which then approves or denies the suggestion. <\/span><\/p>\n

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In March, the PBRB alerted Boston officials that it would recommend selling the McCormack, according to Brittany Comak, a spokesperson for the Planning Department. The city would support converting the complex, which spans 727,000 square feet across three towers forming a U shape, into housing, she said. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe welcome the chance to collaborate on a strategy that strengthens the federal workforce\u2019s presence in Downtown Boston, while also unlocking opportunities for new housing in buildings that may no longer be suited for office functions,\u201d Comak said in a statement. \u201cExpanding housing opportunities in the urban core aligns directly with Boston\u2019s goals to increase the affordable housing supply, reduce vacancy, and support a vibrant, mixed-use Downtown neighborhood.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The PBRB partnered with commercial real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle to study federal real estate holdings and whether it makes financial and logistical sense to move federal employees and prepare a building for sale versus keeping the properties as-is. Selling the McCormack property would save an estimated $185.6 million; comparatively, Portland\u2019s Custom House would save around $10.2 million, according to a PBRB analysis. Other buildings that could represent substantial cost savings include the Minton-Capehart Federal Building in Indianapolis ($131.5 million) and the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles ($110.2 million).<\/span><\/p>\n

There are more hurdles to clear. Despite not having a majority of its facility in daily use, the McCormack building does house the active US Bankruptcy Court. Still, there\u2019s \u201ctremendous demand\u201d for a McCormack sale, said PBRB member Dan Mathews in an interview. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe building is mostly empty, but bankruptcy is in there, and those are historic federal courthouses,\u201d Mathews said. \u201cThat\u2019s a unique issue that would have to be worked through. It\u2019s not insurmountable, but it\u2019s an issue.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The PBRB anticipates finalizing its recommendations in September to give OMB time to review before the group\u2019s scheduled disbandment at the end of this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A bipartisan group is considering recommending the federal building for sale.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4391,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"yoast_head":"\nCould downtown Boston\u2019s McCormack courthouse become housing? - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4392\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Could downtown Boston\u2019s McCormack courthouse become housing? - Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A bipartisan group is considering recommending the federal building for sale.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4392\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-06T11:35:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4392#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4392\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"headline\":\"Could downtown Boston\u2019s McCormack courthouse become housing?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-06T11:35:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4392\"},\"wordCount\":707,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4392#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/6d0f056752e13e8dfdad982aa9c9b13e.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Business\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4392#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4392\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4392\",\"name\":\"Could downtown Boston\u2019s McCormack courthouse become housing? 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