en.Wedoany.com Reported - NASA is searching for a new headquarters building in the Washington area, with a goal of selecting a location by the end of the year.

As part of a reorganization plan announced on May 22, NASA appointed Dave Mitchell as the special task force lead for the headquarters relocation. Mitchell previously served as the agency's deputy associate administrator for the Mission Support Directorate.

Although the possibility of moving the headquarters out of Washington was discussed last year, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman stated in the reorganization memo that Mitchell's task is to find a new office building in Washington that achieves "more efficient space utilization" than the current facility.

Speaking at a National Academies of Sciences meeting on June 3, Mitchell revealed that NASA's current headquarters building has been in use for over 30 years, with a lease expiring in August 2028. "We are under a tight timeline right now," he said.

With assistance from the General Services Administration, Mitchell has already begun searching for new office space. "I'm running around the streets of Washington, looking at commercial real estate, learning a whole new world," he said, noting that he has already inspected eight to ten properties.

Mitchell noted that the "sluggish" Washington commercial real estate market is favorable for the search. "Whether it's leasing or buying, now is a good time," he said. A report from real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield in April showed that the commercial real estate vacancy rate in Washington for the first quarter of 2026 was 23.2%, up from 21.6% in the same period last year. The firm expects leasing activity to increase in the short term, but due to persistently high vacancy rates, market conditions will remain "favorable to tenants."

Mitchell's goal is to select a new office by the end of the year. "I am highly focused on this," he said. "We must find this building as quickly as possible."

The new headquarters may have less office space than the current facility. "We will have to reduce our footprint," Mitchell said. "That is also the administrator's vision." He did not specify the extent of the reduction but indicated that some current staff members may be relocated to the Goddard Space Flight Center in suburban Maryland.

"We are looking at several buildings at Goddard and planning to invest funds in renovations," he said. Mitchell did not specify which personnel might be moved to Goddard but noted that some headquarters employees living in Maryland might welcome the move. "If we approach this correctly, it could work out well."

Although NASA will vacate its current headquarters in two years, the agency is renovating one aspect of the building. Isaacman announced on social media on June 2 that the building's lobby will be updated and opened to the public, featuring exhibits including models of NASA spacecraft and other vehicles, as well as interactive displays and a coffee station.

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