WASHINGTON — NASA plans to find a new headquarters building by the end of this year while remaining in the Washington area.
As part of a reorganization of the agency announced May 22, NASA announced it had named Dave Mitchell, who had been associate administrator of the agency’s Mission Support Directorate, as the special assignment lead for NASA Headquarters relocation.
While there had been discussion last year about moving the agency’s headquarters out of Washington, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a memo about the reorganization that Mitchell was charged with finding a new office in Washington that would offer “a more efficient footprint” than its current building.
The lease on the current headquarters building, which NASA has used for more than 30 years, expires in August 2028, Mitchell said at a National Academies meeting June 3. “We’re up against it at this point in time,” he said.
He said he has already started the search for new offices with the assistance of the General Services Administration. “I’m learning a whole new world of walking the sidewalks of D.C. and looking at commercial properties,” he said, visiting eight to 10 properties so far.
The search is being helped by what he described as a “depressed” market for commercial real estate in the city. “It’s a good opportunity here, whether we lease or we purchase,” he said.
An April report by the real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield stated there was a 23.2% vacancy rate for commercial real estate in Washington in the first quarter of 2026, up from 21.6% a year ago. The firm said it expected an increase in leasing activity in the near term but that conditions would remain “tenant-favorable” given the high vacancy rates.
Mitchell said that his goal was to select a new office by the end of the year. “I’m laser-focused on that,” he said. “We’ve got to find this building pretty darn quick.”
The new headquarters office will likely be smaller than the agency’s current offices. “We’re going to have to have a smaller footprint,” he said. “That’s the administrator’s vision as well.”
He did not say how much smaller the new headquarters would be, but some people who work there now may be reassigned to the Goddard Space Flight Center in the Maryland suburbs.
“We’re looking at several buildings at Goddard that we’re looking to put money in to refurbish,” he said. He didn’t state which personnel might be moved to Goddard but noted some headquarters employees who live in Maryland might welcome a move to that center. “This could close nicely if we do this the right way.”
While NASA is leaving its current headquarters in two years, the agency is renovating one aspect of it. Isaacman announced on social media June 2 an updated lobby for the building, one that is open to the public. It includes exhibits such as models of NASA spacecraft and other vehicles, as well as interactive displays and a coffee stand.
