As President Trump’s administration continues to cut the size and scope of government, two key federal buildings in Marion County are on the chopping block.
Maybe.
The Major General Emmett J. Bean Federal Center in Lawrence and the Minton-Capehart Federal Building in Indianapolis were included on a “non core property list” of buildings on March 4 recommended for sale or transfer on the General Service Administration’s website.
A third building in Indiana, the federal courthouse in New Albany, also was on the list.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle reported the list was reduced to 320 properties later that day, which still included the Indiana buildings. The list was removed altogether on March 5.
In its place is a message that reads an updated list is “coming soon” and that the agency is “identifying buildings and facilities that are not core to government operations, or non-core properties, for disposal. Selling ensures that taxpayer dollars are no longer spent on vacant or underutilized federal spaces.”
The ping-ponging has left local officials both confused and alarmed. The Marion County buildings have thousands of jobs for services that appear to be critical.
U.S. Rep. André Carson said in a statement March 5, in part, the two buildings in Marion County are “two of the most important federal facilities in our region.”
Carson’s statement said the 1.5-million-square-foot federal center on a 70-acre site in Lawrence is the second largest federal building behind the Pentagon. The building is a hub for thousands of federal employees and several agencies, including the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, which handles payroll for the Department of the Defense.
The Indiana Capitol Chronicle reported 4,000 of the service’s 13,000 employees work at the center.
“The Defense Department’s primary mission is readiness,” Carson said. “Disrupting and displacing military paychecks for every service branch is the opposite of readiness.”
The Minton-Capehart Federal Building is home to offices for several federal agencies including Veterans Affairs, Social Security and Immigration Court.
“Donald Trump has maintained he will not touch Social Security — but this plan will sell the very building where Social Security employees help Indianapolis residents with their benefits every single day,” Carson said in the statement.
In a statement sent to Mirror Indy, a GSA spokesperson said “the goal of publishing the list was twofold:
“To align with the president’s direction to bring federal employees back to high performing office spaces throughout the country” and to “drive maximum value for the federal real estate footprint for the benefit of the American taxpayer.”
“To be clear, just because an asset is on the list doesn’t mean it’s immediately for sale. However, we will consider compelling offers (in accordance with applicable laws and regulations) and do what’s best for the needs of the federal government and taxpayer.”
Gov. Mike Braun’s office did not immediately respond to Mirror Indy’s request for comment.
Closing Bean Center could ‘hinder growth for Lawrence’
Lawrence Mayor Deb Whitfield said the Bean Center is a significant part of the Lawrence community and closing it would hurt local businesses.
She said the center employs thousands of people from across central Indiana, bringing them to Lawrence, where many shop and eat. She pointed out the federal government is talking about closing a major jobs hub just after IndyGo opened the Purple Line for $188 million to connect Lawrence to downtown.
“It could hinder growth for Lawrence as we are currently building and having economic growth right now,” Whitfield said.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett’s office and Downtown Indy Inc. could not immediately be reached.
‘Chaos and fear’
In his statement, Carson said the potential closures are causing “chaos and fear” that will hurt veterans and seniors.
He pinned the list of closures on billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. The congressman said he is working with colleagues to “stop DOGE’s destruction and reverse these devastating actions.”
“DOGE claims these buildings are functionally obsolete and unsuitable for use by the federal workforce,” Carson said in the statement. “This is untrue. I serve as a senior member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, and we publicly reviewed and approved both local facilities to ensure they are in the best condition possible to fulfill their respective agency missions.”
Employees are left in the lurch
Federal employees are left confused and worried by the ordeal.
The publishing of the list came as a surprise to federal employees, said Duncan Giles, the local chapter president of the National Treasury Employees Union.
Giles said communication between the federal government is lacking — that’s in part because federal agencies are being downsized.
“There’s fewer and fewer people to do the work there,” he said. “They weren’t able to communicate anything out.”
He said he has been fielding calls from many federal employees looking for answers.
“When people hear things like this, they think it’s going to turn on a dime,” Giles said. “They think it’s going to happen tomorrow.”
But he hopes people don’t panic.
“Nothing happens overnight,” Giles said. “It takes an awful long time to sell a building like this.”
Mirror Indy reporter Darian Benson covers east Indianapolis. Contact her at 317-397-7262 or darian.benson@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X @HelloImDarian or on Bluesky @darianbenson.bsky.social.
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