By Ian Patterson & Dan Lips
Intro
As discussed in a previous article, there are many surplus federal properties in areas hardest hit by COVID-19 that we believe could be quickly utilized for field hospitals, homeless housing, and other needs. Lincoln has issued a grant proposal to develop software that helps state and local officials find and request use of these properties. Due to the time-sensitivity of some needs we’re now providing DIY tools for state and local officials to use in the meantime.
How to Use These Tools
Imagine you’re in the mayor’s office in a region that is expecting, or already has, significant facility needs due to COVID-19. With homeless housing in mind, for example, you could use our Google Map of surplus federal properties to look at just properties over 15,000 square feet in your area. Clicking on a property reveals details like type (hospital, office, warehouse, family housing, etc), construction year, address, current use (if any), utilization, and more. More data is available in the spreadsheets below than can fit in Google Maps, so check there as well.
How to Request Use of a Property
If a property is a potential match for the need, you can contact the state governor’s office and reference the Federal Real Property Unique ID. The state can request use of this property from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) via the WebEOC emergency request system, a source in FEMA told Lincoln. FEMA will then work with other federal agencies, including the General Services Administration, to initiate a transfer process.
Toolkit
Google Map Showing Surplus Federal Properties
This map has three layers for surplus properties of different size:
- 2,500 - 15,000 square feet - Excel Spreadsheet
- 15,000 - 50,000 square feet - Excel Spreadsheet
- 50,000+ square feet - Excel Spreadsheet
What Properties Are Included?
The tool is based on publicly available data for federal properties as of FY2018. Our team made an effort to filter out properties that are unlikely to be useful or readily available (including only “underutilized” and “unutilized” properties).
- Managing agencies excluded:
- Dept of Homeland Security
- Dept of Justice
- Battlefield Commission
- Smithsonian
- Real Property Use excluded:
- Railroad
- Monument
- Harbors
- Ports
- Comfort station / restroom
- Flood control
- Roads and bridges
- Navigation and traffic aids
- Prisons and detention centers
- Memorials
We further limited results to United States properties of 2500 square ft or more. Because of how we did our initial prototype in New York City, the downloadable spreadsheets exclude NY state properties. Instead, the map includes several layers for properties in the NYC area broken out by potential interest.
Questions or Feedback
Contact Dan Lips or Ian Patterson with your feedback and questions.
Disclaimer: Information and documents provided on this website are provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. Lincoln Network used reasonable efforts to include accurate and up-to-date information; it does not, however, make any warranties or representations as to its accuracy or completeness. Lincoln Network periodically adds, changes, improves, or updates the information and documents on this website without notice. Lincoln Network assumes no liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in this content. Use at your own risk. Under no circumstances and under no legal theory shall Lincoln Network its suppliers, or any other party involved in creating, producing, or delivering this website's contents be liable to you or any other person for any indirect, direct, special, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your access to, or use of, this website.
