CLEVELAND — Larry Jackson knows every inch of the Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building.
He’s been a janitor there for 17 years, through a program that puts disabled people to work at federal properties.
“I love my job, ’cause I love people,” said Jackson, a 70-year-old veteran who spends his off hours volunteering and serving as an associate pastor at his church in Cleveland.
“I’m still supporting my family,” he said. “I’m still doing a lot of things.”
But the future of Jackson’s job – and the office tower he’s cleaned for so long – isn’t clear.
The U.S. General Services Administration, or GSA, put the 32-story Celebrezze building up for sale in May as part of a broader cost-cutting effort. At 1.2 million square feet, it’s currently the second-largest building in the nation on the federal government’s chopping block.
For Jackson, that decision came as a surprise.
“I’m shocked,” he said. “And I’m bewildered.”
He knows the historic office tower, built in 1966, needs work. But it houses roughly 4,000 federal employees, at agencies ranging from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service and the Veterans Benefits Administration to the Social Security Administration and the IRS.
Even before the government shutdown and threats of mass layoffs, federal workers wouldn’t talk about the situation at East Ninth Street and Lakeside Avenue. But Jackson isn’t a federal employee. He’s freer to speak up.
He’s employed by Vocational Guidance Services, an agency that serves people with disabilities. The 135-year-old organization has had a contract at the Celebrezze building for decades, covering a staff of about 30 janitors and supervisors.
“We’re very particular. … To do the best we can. To make people happy,” he said.
Lately, though, Jackson’s seeing a lot less happiness at the federal building.
He described an environment where people are stressed and anxious – where it feels like there’s a dark cloud overhead.
“Ain’t no fellowship, togetherness,” Jackson said during an interview at a labor-union office east of Downtown. “Everybody’s just holding on. Like it won’t be no tomorrow.”
GSA, which manages federal real estate, didn’t respond to detailed questions from News 5 about the status of the sale effort; the building’s condition; and the agency’s assertion that unloading it could save taxpayers more than $180 million, between upkeep and renovations.
Citing the government shutdown, the agency also declined a request from News 5 to film in the lobby and other public areas of the building. The tower is still open, though some of the offices inside are closed due to the stalemate in Washington, D.C.
“The building sale will proceed in coordination with tenants and agency partners,” a GSA spokeswoman wrote in an email. “GSA will seek input from the market, determine the best path forward for the area and rightsizing our real estate portfolio.”
An agency real estate database does not show how full the building is now. Earlier this year, GSA data indicated that the Celebrezze building was about 80% leased.
“We’re not suggesting we abandon it and leave it there as an eyesore,” U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, a Westlake Republican, told News 5 during a recent interview. “But why would the taxpayer want us to pay tens of millions of dollars a year to keep a building open that we just don’t need? That’s just a perfect example of wasteful government spending.”
Moreno said the goal is to sell the building on the open market, consolidate federal offices and recoup some money for taxpayers. “It’s not about lowering the amount of jobs,” he said. “It’s about making certain that we’re effectively using space.”
Between 2011 and 2016, the federal government spent approximately $120 million to install a second glassy skin around the tower – to cut energy costs, improve security and address deterioration of the original façade. At the time, GSA said emptying out the building and replacing it would have cost more than $400 million.
Government records show the tower still needs major plumbing upgrades and other repairs. Real estate brokers say that deferred maintenance will be a turnoff for prospective buyers – and will drive down the sale price.
“Even if you gave it to me for free, I don’t think I would take it,” Terry Coyne, executive vice chairman with the Newmark real estate brokerage in Cleveland, told News 5 in April.
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U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown, a Warrensville Heights Democrat, has been asking GSA for more information on the property and the sale effort for months. She’s skeptical about the agency’s math.
“What is the data?” she said. “What did you use to determine this information?”
She’s also worried there will be painful fallout for Downtown Cleveland – for both the real estate market and the job market – if such a large building goes dark.
“I am going to continue to fight for the people and for the building,” she said. “This is an economic engine within the Downtown area.”
Vocational Guidance Services, the nonprofit group that Jackson works for, declined an on-camera interview request. In an emailed statement, the agency did not address the federal government’s effort to sell the building and move the tenants into private properties that have their own cleaning crews.
“VGS Inc. is proud to celebrate over 30 years of partnership with the U.S. General Services Administration,” wrote Susie Barragate, the group’s president and CEO. “We are committed to creating meaningful employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities and applaud our dedicated employees on these contracts whose hard work and professionalism make this impact possible.”
The nonprofit has a long-term contract that also includes federal courthouses in Cleveland, Medina and Columbus.
For Jackson, working with Vocational Guidance Services has been a blessing.
A childhood bout with rheumatic fever left him with health complications. As a young man, he enlisted in the Army, where he was ultimately discharged due to medical problems. But with some help, he found jobs – first as a barber and later as a custodian.
“We gotta work to survive as long as we’ve got our health and strength,” he said.
He’s praying that the cloud over the Celebrezze building lifts.
“If you really wanna know,” he said of the future, “I’m just gonna put it in the hands of a higher being.”
