City's Efforts to Land McIntyre Building for Naught?

Sequestration has claimed several federal budget casualties since it went into effect on March 4 and earlier this month city officials learned about another one when they learned they will not obtain the Thomas J. McIntyre Federal Building.

As of Thursday afternoon, a letter written by Mayor Eric Spear to U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, Kelly Ayotte, R-NH and U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, D-NH, has not resulted in any change on this issue.

When asked if he had heard back from any members of the NH Congressional Delegation on Thursday, Spear replied, "I have heard nothing."

He then recalled that he saw Shea-Porter at an event on Friday and Shea-Porter told him "she knows how important this issue is to Portsmouth and she is working on it."

Mark Gordon and Liz Johnson, who serve as the press secretaries for Shaheen and Ayotte, issued this statement on Thursday saying they also know how much the city cares about this issue. “Our offices are aware of this issue and will continue to be in touch with city officials,” the statement read.

For the city, years of work to lay the groundwork to acquire the Daniel Street federal building after federal workers relocate to a new facility at Pease International Tradeport may be lost if a resolution is not found. The city has also allocated $325,000 in its proposed fiscal years 2014 to 2019 Capital Improvement Plan to pay for the demolition and redevelopment of the 2.2-acre downtown property, according to city documents.

Spear made it very clear in his April 16 letter the city is not pleased with the latest development regarding the federal building.

"The consequences of the city putting its trust into the federal government's assurances of imminent relocation are the loss of significant economic redevelopment opportunities and years of wasted effort to comply with the location process," Spear wrote.

According to city officials, President Obama's proposed fiscal year 2014 budget cuts funds that would pay for the transfer of the Thomas J. McIntyre Federal Building to the City of Portsmouth. More than $25 million was appropriated in the original federal legislation sponsored by former U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg, R-NH, in 2003 to transfer the building to the city and to construct a new federal facility at Pease to house the federal agencies that are now in downtown Portsmouth.

Based on prior meetings with federal General Service Administration officials, Spear noted the city was under the impression it would acquire the federal building in 2015 after the federal agencies moved to their new home at Pease. Now the entire plan is in jeopardy.

Do you think the City of Portsmouth should continue to press the federal government to transfer the Thomas J. McIntyre Federal Building to Portsmouth?