Aside from an icy breeze blowing through downtown Atlanta, there was little movement Thursday morning around the city’s federal office buildings.
Instead of a flow of workers and visitors, a frigid wind was the only force rotating the revolving door at the Richard B. Russell Federal Building. The public cafeteria at the Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center was an expanse of empty chairs.
Those have become common sights since the 2020 pandemic introduced remote work to many government office workers, but that might soon change.
Starting Monday, many federal departments and agencies will begin their mandated return-to-office push following President Donald Trump’s order requiring workers to return to physical buildings. The return, while varying by agency, is expected to return thousands of federal workers downtown, likely adding traffic to morning commutes and foot traffic back to an area that’s struggled to support retail and restaurants.
“It’s been pretty quiet for the last few years down there,” said AJ Robinson, president and CEO of Central Atlanta Progress, downtown’s main civic organization. “It will definitely help the neighborhood and the neighborhoods around it and small businesses.”
A trio of federal buildings — Sam Nunn, Richard B. Russell and the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Building — are clustered along Ted Turner Drive and Forsyth Street next to the Five Points MARTA Station. While the specific number of employees based in those buildings wasn’t immediately available, more than 62,000 federal civilian employees are based in metro Atlanta, according to a Congressional Research Service report from December.
The U.S. General Services Administration, which oversees the government’s leased and owned properties, did not respond to a request for comment.
The federal workforce landscape has drastically changed since December. Spearheaded by Tesla CEO and Trump ally Elon Musk, the Department of Government Efficiency has scrutinized the size of federal departments and government office leases. Many agencies — such as the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — have already undergone layoffs.
Those workforce cuts could temper the effects of the forthcoming return-to-office order, but the anticipated uptick in activity has downtown stakeholders optimistic. Shaneel Lalani, owner of Underground Atlanta, aims to add more restaurant spaces catering to lunchtime crowds, since that group may soon increase.
“This year, we’re leaning toward more restaurant spaces (targeting) daytime crowds, government employees and the government buildings that are around our property,” he said.
The push comes despite hybrid and remote setups remaining popular among private- and public-sector workers. Many federal workers on social media have bemoaned the return-to-office order, saying it will create more traffic, overcrowd offices without the space for the staff and kill employee morale.
Robinson said he’s not sure if many of the affected workers are excited for the daily trek downtown, but he said the area’s businesses welcome their return.
“That population and density (of government workers) is just part of downtown’s fabric,” Robinson said. “And they’ve been pretty much absent since COVID, at least the federal government in particular.”
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
