U.S. General Services Administration
GSA helps local community maintain slice of U.S. history
As GSA marks its 75th anniversary and we reflect on how far we’ve come, we also recommit ourselves to our priorities for the future. GSA manages over 380 million square feet of real estate, which means that one of our major priorities is optimizing the federal portfolio. Sometimes that means modernizing a historic building – and other times it means ensuring a property changes hands so that it can find a new purpose in the community.
“GSA has seen a lot of change in the last 75 years, a defining purpose continues to be the federal portfolio as we remain agile and responsive to the evolving needs of our federal clients,” said Region 9 PBS Regional Commissioner Dan Brown. “Today, our priority is to deliver exceptional customer experience, best value in real estate, acquisitions, and technology services to the government and American people.”
“We help the federal government dispose of real estate that is no longer needed by federal agencies and assist with finding new purposes for those assets elsewhere,” said Sophia Taylor, Realty Specialist and Project Manager in Region 9’s Real Property Disposition Division. “This is especially true when there’s an identified need for those properties in local communities. So when the U.S. Air Force opted to transfer ownership of one of its excess properties, GSA stepped in to facilitate the sale negotiations and conveyance to Pima County,” Taylor added.
Looking back in time
The year was 1949. President Harry Truman established GSA with one goal in mind: to make government work better for the American people and to save money while doing it. One of their tasks was the disposition of surplus war goods.
At the same time, tensions were rising between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union, leading to a decades-long period of distrust and fear. The U.S. Air Force was exploring new ways to ensure national security, including intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) systems to use as a retaliatory weapon for any attack by the Soviet Union. One of the test sites for these weapons was Air Force Facility Missile Site 8, also known as the Titan II ICBM Site 571-7 facility in Sahuarita, Arizona,
From 1959 on, this site was used for development and testing, until Strategic Arms Reduction Treaties and arms control negotiations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union began to show real promise. The Air Force agreed to convert the former launch complex into a museum in 1984 and by 1991, when the Cold War ended, this was the last remaining Titan II launch complex to be decommissioned.
Finding a new purpose
The U.S. Air Force established Pima County as the museum’s lessee, and within months, Pima County contracted a sublease with the Arizona Aerospace Foundation (AAF) to manage day to day operations and preserve aerospace artifacts of historical or technological significance. Since then, the AAF has maintained public access and proved to be effective stewards of the property for the past 38 years.
Recognizing the significance the now-museum played in American history, the property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in December 1992 and designated a National Historic Landmark in April 1994 thanks to support from the AAF, Pima County and local community members.
“GSA’s Real Property Disposition process operates under U.S. Code, 40 Chapter 5, which outlines a sequence of actions that begins with an agency reporting excess property to GSA,” Taylor mentioned when asked how her team became involved with this project. “Because this specific property is not just listed on the National Register of Historic Places, but also a designated National Historic Landmark, our team was met with several challenges that brought learning and creativity to each resolution.”
From providing adjacent landowners the opportunity to purchase the property at fair market value and screening the property for homeless suitability to a lengthy historic consultation, the team leveraged resources and worked closely with federal agency partners and internal subject matter experts to ensure regulatory compliances were met.
In June, the Arizona Aerospace Foundation and community of Pima County celebrated the acquisition of this unique slice of American history. The Titan Museum was acquired at fair market value for $650K, the negotiated-sale eliminated the need to put the property up for public sale or auction.
“As a fan of U.S. history, I really enjoyed visiting the Titan Missile Museum and taking in its rich past as well as navigating the unique challenges that come with working with a property of its historic significance,” shared Taylor. “It’s incredible to be a part of an organization that is dedicated to making direct positive impacts in the local communities it serves. I think the success of the Titan Missile Museum negotiated-sale is just one of many examples of this.”