U.S. General Services Administration
Region 10 Newsroom
GSA's Northwest/Arctic Region Public Affairs Office, located in Auburn, Washington, issues media releases and advisories to provide the news media and public with important information on GSA projects and activities within the four states of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
For more information, contact:
Public Affairs Officer
Christi Chidester Votisek
415-816-8512
christina.chidester@gsa.gov
The Northwest/Arctic Region's home in Auburn is about to come to it's 50-plus year end as detailed plans for the sale of this 129-acre government complex have been publicly announced. Read More >
Thanks to a pilot program from the Veterans Administration Office of Rural Health, you will find caring teams from the VA and GSA able to find a way to help rural Veterans unable to travel and get the help they need to stay independent. Read More >
On July 4,1944, when Private First Class William Kenzo Nakamura drew his last breath, after saving his platoon from machine gun fire in Castellina, Italy, his young life had not only wove a rich tapestry of the Asian-american experience, but one that defined the American spirit. Read More >
Building managers across R10 have had a total shift in duties during the pandemic. The teams responsible for office needs have no one in the office to be responsible for. How are they coping with near-empty buildings. Read More >>
Federal Acquisition Services had to move quickly at the beginning of the pandemic to secure much-needed items for sanitization and protection of the federal workforce and use its purchasing schedules for all types of government agencies. Read More >>
The new GSA regional office building design was well underway when COVID stopped everything in its tracks. How did GSA teams adjust and re-think federal office space? Read More >>
GSA had to re-think ventilation techniques in federally owned and leased spaces to minimize exposure to COVID and we visit with two GSA employees responsible for this work. Read More >>
R10' s Industrial Hygienist looks back over a demanding year as the lead for the first GSA region to quickly respond and manage the first exposure to COVID in a federal building. Read More >>
It was all hands on deck recently at the Northwest/Arctic Region campus in Auburn, Washington, when an area was set aside to stand up a COVID-19 vaccination site.
Leaders from federal, state, and local government agencies worked together to add drive-in vaccination lanes to the Auburn General Services Administration site to augment the already existing COVID-19 testing lanes.
GSA Partners With Multiple Government Agencies to Boost Free COVID-19 Testing at Auburn Campus
As COVID-19 rates continue to rise in the south King County area, the partnership between GSA's Northwest/Arctic Region and the King County Public Health Department, the City of Auburn, and Puget Sound Regional Fire District has never been more important.
The Northwest/Arctic Region has played a significant role during the pandemic in many areas including cleaning buildings where positive cases were detected and helping partner agencies meet the region's medical needs with equipment and services. Now, add COVID-19 testing site to that list.
On September 1, the Northwest/Arctic Region's Auburn campus officially became a COVID-19 testing site for King County. A section of the campus, near the water tower, is now populated with hundreds of orange traffic cones and white tents.
Meet the people, and experience the beauty and meaning behind the stunning artworks in America's federal buildings. They are your legacy, and a window into our combined American experience.
For starters... think art curators only exist in museums? Meet GSA's Virginia Matthews, caretaker of masterpieces
Part four of our four-part series looks at the lives of some of the people who work for GSA in Alaska. What brings them to this breathtaking, but unforgiving corner of the world, and shares some of the reasons why they love their unique home.
Part three of our four-part series looks at the challenges of doing business in Alaska from getting products to the state via barges and to communities with limited access points to the unique needs of our federal partners who rely on GSA to meet their mission.
SEATTLE, WA -- The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) will begin construction on an exterior restoration project of the 86-year-old Seattle Federal Office building located in downtown Seattle.
The $24.2 million exterior improvement project will help preserve the first official federal building constructed in Seattle to house federal agencies. Coincidentally, the project is starting during National Historic Preservation Month. This project is a testament to the importance GSA places on restoration and preservation.
GSA's role in Alaska is unlike any other region in the United States. Follow the Northwest/Arctic Region teams as they navigate some of the harshest environments in the world to deliver on its mission to serve its federal partner agencies. Part two of our series looks at the frozen outpost border station of Alcan and the unique role GSA plays in keeping this "town" of 20 running.
The ALCAN Border Station sits on the Canadian border - a Yukon-area outpost and the only “town” in America whose services are provided solely by the General Services Administration (GSA).
While ALCAN is technically not a town it is recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau as having a population of about 20. Those 20 residents, most of whom work for Customs and Border Protection (CBP), rely on GSA for nearly every single service a city would typically provide.
AUBURN, WA -- The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) today donated more than $187,000 worth of computer equipment to students and teachers in the Winlock and Sultan School Districts.
The Northwest/Arctic Region made the donation of the refurbished computers through the Computers for Learning program, which enables schools and educational nonprofit organizations to obtain excess computer equipment from federal agencies.
GSA's role in Alaska is unlike any other region in the United States. Follow the Northwest/Arctic Region teams as they navigate some of the harshest environments in the world to deliver on its mission to serve its federal partner agencies.
TOK, Alaska - It's minus 38 degrees and the air bites at your lungs when you inhale. Cars and trucks at Young's Motel are all plugged in. You don't dare drive in this part of Alaska in February without an engine block heater. Otherwise, you're going nowhere if the engine sits too long in the bitter cold.
Nearly all Northwest/Arctic Region staff think of CenturyLink Field as being the home to the Seattle Seahawks and the accompanying event center home to boat shows, concerts, and food events.
When Northwest/Arctic Region Industrial Hygienist Bob Bliss got the first call about a possible COVID-19 exposure in a federal building there were 64 U.S. cases of the virus and one death. That date was March 3.
TACOMA, WA -- The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) today announced its Region 10 headquarters will be relocated here the summer of 2021.
Nearly a year ago, the Anchorage, Alaska region experienced a 7.1 magnitude earthquake that resulted in seismic damage to the Anchorage Federal Building. While GSA teams did an amazing job of bringing the building back up within days of the earthquake, some issues still remained.
Early last Friday morning, deep beneath the surface of the western Washington state landscape in GSA's Northwest Arctic Region, the Earth was shifting resulting in a magnitude 4.6 earthquake.
Later that morning, GSA Region 10 staff woke up to start their day, which included launching the first-ever virtual emergency management drill that included a simulated 7.6 magnitude earthquake striking along the Washington and Oregon coastline.
On the morning of November 30, 2018 just like millions of other workers, GSA's Tom Deakins started his work day by going through some emails. Then, the desk began to shake.
Then, it began to shake A LOT!
For many of us, the ground moving underneath would be unsettling, maybe even terrifying. For residents of Anchorage, Alaska, this was just - Friday.
But this time, the shaking continued and grew more intense. Deakins and the residents of Anchorage Alaska, were experiencing one of the most significant earthquakes in recent memory.
March 18, 2019 Press Release: Budget includes proposed funding for fire and life safety upgrades for the Anchorage Federal Building
AUBURN, WA. - U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Emily Murphy today announced key investments that are a part of the President's fiscal year (FY) 2020 budget request. The proposed $11 billion gross budget authority for GSA reflects the administration's commitment to strategic investments in innovative solutions that will strengthen our nation's cyber and physical infrastructure and deliver better and more cost-effective services across the federal government.
In the middle of a hectic work day, do you ever wonder how to reset your stress clock to get through the rest of the day? If you work in or around the Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt (EGWW) Federal Building you may be in luck. Thanks to the efforts of Building Manager John Gregory, the EGWW earned a ‘Silver' certification from the Backyard Habitat Certification Program (BHCP) in early June, creating a peaceful way station for both small wildlife and people.
It's not often GSA staff can quickly translate tenant satisfaction survey responses into actionable projects that result in happy tenants and building improvements at the same time.
But when tenant satisfaction survey results came back from the occupants of the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse in Portland, Oregon, GSA staff acted fast to address the need.
Portland is very much a biking community, with thousands cycling to and from work each day to the downtown core. Tenants of the Hatfield Courthouse, many of whom travel to work by bike, were running out of places to put their bikes upon arrival.
Giant scissors, red ribbon, and cake await a small crowd who've gathered in a nondescript, Class-A office building in Lakewood, Washington. The Veterans Benefits Administration opens their new Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment office in Lakewood, Washington.
The Pioneer Courthouse in downtown Portland, Oregon, underwent a $1.7 million exterior restoration project that finished on-budget, on-time and brought the 142-year building some new life in an ever-thriving and growing downtown core.
The new year dawned much brighter for students and teachers in the Winlock School District thanks to General Services Administration (GSA) and the GSA Computers for Learning (CFL) program. GSA's information technology (IT) donation to the tiny rural Washington State school district completely revamped their IT capability right before Christmas, when the Winlock janitor packed his truck like Santa's sleigh to transport an estimated $130,000 of equipment from the GSA Northwest/Arctic Region's Headquarters in Auburn, Washington.
GSA announced the appointment of Bruno Kelpsas to serve as the regional administrator of GSA's Northwest Arctic Region, effective January 2, 2018.
GSA Northwest/Arctic Region began construction on an exterior restoration project of the 142-year-old Pioneer Courthouse located in downtown Portland, Oregon. The exterior improvement project will help preserve the oldest existing federal building in the Pacific Northwest and second oldest west of the Mississippi.
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In a sweeping gesture of generosity, and an eye toward honoring Dale Chihuly's hometown, he and his wife Leslie formally gifted five art installations inside the Tacoma Union Station building to the U.S. General Services Administration in a January 25 ceremony.
Nearly 200 women in the Portland Community have reason to step confidently into their next job interview thanks to the leadership and generosity of GSA Northwest/Arctic Region employees and their federal tenants.
When you step through her doors, you are surrounded by the precious treasures that characterize her grace and style. She, like many ladies of her day exudes a quietly elegant demeanor touched with the gracious warmth of a true Grande Dame. She is a star—Portland's symbol of progress in her day—built on the cusp of the depression; The Gus J. Solomon U.S. Courthouse.
GSA, along with the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, and Mayor Gary Weeler, will celebrate the 100th birthday of the James A. Redden U.S. Courthouse at 310 W 6th Street in Medford, Oregon, on Thursday, May 5. The public celebration will include an open house from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.
GSA's Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building located at 1220 SW 3rd Ave, Portland, OR, is the honored recipient of the Top Ten Plus award by The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Committee on the Environment (COTE). In its fourth year, the award recognizes one past AIA COTE Top Ten Project Award recipient which has quantifiable metrics that demonstrate the true impact the sustainable design has achieved. The project, designed by SERA Architects, Inc. and Cutler Anderson Architects was selected in 2014 as a recipient of the AIA/COTE Top Ten Project Award program.
Congratulations -- Hurff Ackerman Saunders Federal Building wins LEED Silver. The Federal Building is one of only seven buildings in Alaska with a LEED EB certification and GSA's first Alaska LEED EB building!