Scoop: St. Pete NOAA offices eyed for lease termination in DOGE purge, ex-official says
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NOAA Fisheries' Southeast Regional Office in St. Petersburg. Photo: Kathryn Varn/Axios
NOAA offices at a waterfront complex in St. Petersburg could have their leases terminated at the end of the year, per a former agency official.
Why it matters: Among them is NOAA Fisheries' Southeast Regional Office, which is responsible for fishing regulation, habitat conservation and protection of vulnerable marine life in a large swath of the southeastern U.S.
Driving the news: A list of potential lease terminations circulating among current and former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employees includes four leases at 263 13th Ave. S., Andrew Rosenberg, a former NOAA official on the agency's fisheries side, told Axios.
- Also on the list is the NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction, which is considered the nerve center of national weather forecasting, Axios previously reported.
- It's the latest fallout from Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, which has laid off scores of federal workers and canceled numerous government contracts and leases.
The other side: A senior White House official previously told Axios that the Trump administration is "simply reevaluating the lease terms [for NOAA], not closing any building, which any good steward of money would do."
Between the lines: A spokesperson for the Southeast Regional Office did not return Axios' requests for comment. A representative of the building's Winter Park-based owners told Axios they hadn't been contacted about potential lease termination.
- Strong Management holds one lease with the U.S. General Services Administration, which manages property for federal agencies, president Zander Strong said.
- NOAA has been in the building since 2004 or 2005, he said, and the lease was set to end next summer.
Zoom in: The complex sits on Bayboro Harbor in the St. Pete Innovation District's marine science corridor, which is home to more than 1,900 industry employees.
- Per the district website, it's "the largest collection of marine science, oceanographic and environmental research agencies and institutions in the Southeast."
Context: A regional fisheries office acts as a resource for commercial and recreational fishers to seek permits or ask questions about regulations and enforcement actions, said Rosenberg, who used to run NOAA's Northeast fisheries office.
- It also implements federal policies such as the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, per the website. In the Southeast, that includes protecting marine life such as sea turtles, bottlenose dolphins and coral.
What they're saying: "It's a really important locale for some of this work," Rosenberg said of the St. Pete office.
- "There may be some reason to terminate the lease, but nobody is articulating that," he said. "All of this is being done without any discussion, any transparency."
Axios' Andrew Freedman contributed to this report.