The nearly 190,000-square-foot Cesar E. Chavez Memorial Building in downtown Denver is one of a roughly two dozen federal structures in the Mile High City area that may soon be put up for auction.
Located at 1244 Speer Boulevard, the Chavez building was built in 1984 and tops out at ten floors. It was designed by the Denver-based architectural firm of Murata Outland Associates.
The structure, which according to the General Services Administration, “serves as a gateway building into Denver’s Civic and Justice Center and the Golden Triangle Neighborhood,” underwent a significant renovation just over a decade ago, which resulted in it securing a Gold LEED certification.
Earlier this month, the GSA published a list of what it deems as “non-core” federal properties that could be put up for sale in response to the ongoing movement spirited by the Department of Government Efficiency to reduce the federal budget.
In releasing that list, the GSA said that by disposing of the Chavez building and other area federal structures, it was eliminating “costly maintenance,” which in turns would allow the agency to “reinvest in high-quality work environments that support agency missions.”
Colorado’s just over 1 million square feet of underused building space is far greater than such states as Utah, with 830,000 square feet, and New Mexico at 477,000 square feet.
Most of the underused federal property is to be found, not surprisingly, in Washington, DC, with just over 17.6 million square feet, and neighboring Maryland, with 11.3 million square feet.
The Chavez building also houses a fitness center, a handful of conference rooms, and a daycare center. When exactly the building will be listed for sale has not yet been announced.
March 18, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of General Services Administration
