Trump Administration cancels leases for 37% of Central Mass. commercial space used by federal agencies
Photo | Timothy Doyle
Central Massachusetts properties like the Glass Tower in Downtown Worcester are being impacted by efforts by the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency to terminate federal leases.
The U.S. Department of Government Efficiency has terminated seven commercial leases at Central Massachusetts properties, which were home to offices for federal agencies like the Food & Drug Administration, Department of Agriculture, and U.S. Customs & Border Patrol.
“We’ve been DOGE-ed,” said Christopher Egan, president of Carruth Capital in Westborough, which owns one of the impacted properties, 10 Bearfoot Road in Northborough.
The canceled leases had combined annual rent of $1.34 million and total 60,182 square feet, according to a WBJ analysis of the DOGE website cross-referenced with leases agreements released by the U.S. General Services Administration in January. The canceled leases represent 37% of the federal government’s leased space in Central Massachusetts, as listed by GSA.
The cuts are part of a broad effort by the new President Donald Trump Administration to significantly slash the size of the federal government.
The terminated leases, which include space in prominent Downtown Worcester properties like the Glass Tower at 446 Main St. and Mercantile Center, are among 748 leases canceled throughout the country, according to the DOGE website.
There was some confusion over whether all the leases were actually canceled. The DOGE website has posted erroneous information previously about federal government cuts it later had to retract, although the information about the canceled leases was still live on Monday afternoon.
As an example, the owner of Worcester’s Mercantile Center at 120 Front St. received a notice terminating a lease for 14,511 square feet in the building, but then the building’s owner received a second notification rescinding the termination, according to an email sent to WBJ by T.K. Skenderian, spokesperson for Wellesley-based Franklin Realty Advisors, which is owner of 120 Front St.
Yet, at least three of the property owners confirmed their leases to federal agencies had been canceled by DOGE.
Robert Haddon, owner of an impacted property at 140 Shrewsbury St. in Boylston, said the cancellation was disappointing but noted he understood the move as a taxpayer, saying the 2,360 square feet he leased to the Food and Drug Administration was underutilized.
“It is what it is,” Haddon said. “I got the notice last Tuesday.”
Nicholas Deane, owner of Stanley Mill in Uxbridge, confirmed the lease had been terminated for 4,852 square feet of office space at the site used by U.S. Department of Agriculture. He expressed concern for the workers impacted by the termination.
"They're the ones who are saving us from bird flu," Deane said. "They have real work, and it's stuff we need."
Deane noted the space will now be available for lease.
The office owned by Carruth Capital at 10 Bearfoot Road has been utilized by the U.S. Geological Survey. Egan said the 31,991-square-foot office building has multiple tenants but said Carruth is open to leasing the entire facility to a single tenant.
WBJ was able to determine which leases have been terminated by matching the DOGE data with a full list of federal government lease agreements released by GSA. The full list of Central Massachusetts federal leases listed by DOGE as terminated are:
- 140 Shrewsbury St., Boylston - A lease for 2,360 square feet of office space used by the Food and Drug administration, which was set to expire in June 2027.
- 10 Bearfoot Road, Northborough - A lease for 20,893 square feet of office and warehouse space used by The United States Geological Survey, which was set to expire in November 2029.
- 118 Turnpike Road, Southborough - A lease for 10,787 square feet of office space set to expire in November 2029. The Internal Revenue Service has office space at this property, according to CoStar.
- 146 Mendon St., Uxbridge (Stanley Mill) - A lease for 4,852 square feet of office space used by U.S. Department of Agriculture set to expire in November 2029.
- 9 Main St., Sutton - A lease for 1,273 square feet of office space set to expire in July 2027. U.S. Department of Agriculture has office space at this property, according to Google Maps.
- 120 Front St., Worcester (Mercantile Center) - A lease for 14,511 square feet of office space set to expire in June 2028. It’s unclear what tenant is impacted; multiple federal agencies have or have had space at the site, including the Internal Revenue Service, the FBI, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to CoStar.
- 446 Main St., Worcester (Glass Tower at 446 Main) - A lease for 5,506 square feet of office space set to expire in November 2030. The U.S. Trustee Program, a component of the Department of Justice, has had a location at the site, according to Google Maps listings.
Nationally, the total number of canceled federal office leases doubled in February, with more than 254 leases encompassing more than 3.8 million square feet of space, according to CoStar. All U.S. states except Rhode Island and Indiana have been impacted.
The U.S. General Services Administration implemented a strategy to ensure efficient use of property and reduce the federal government’s footprint in 2015, according to its website. DOGE, created in the wake of Donald Trump’s January inauguration, has rapidly accelerated efforts to shrink the amount of space leased by various federal agencies across the country.
DOGE has claimed its cuts to federal spending have saved the country billions, but the agency has struggled to catalog the alleged savings, according to the New York Times. Over the weekend, DOGE deleted hundreds of erroneous claims about supposed savings related to canceled contracts, totalling $4 billion.
Trump and other administration officials have repeatedly said DOGE’s efforts are being led by billionaire Elon Musk, while the administration’s lawyers have argued in court Musk is simply an advisor to the president, according to NBC News.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to include more details about the impacts of the lease termination in Uxbridge.
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.
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