The Trump administration’s inclusion of a major NOAA office building in Maryland on a list of government offices that could see lease cancellations came as a shock to the man who oversaw the design and construction of the state-of-the-art facility just off the campus of the University of Maryland.
“It’s the nerve center of the entire public-private weather enterprise,” said Louis Uccellini, the former director of the National Weather Service who personally oversaw the design and construction of the building in College Park, Maryland. “If they were to just arbitrarily shut the lights out, they’re basically shutting the lights out on the entire weather enterprise.”
Uccellini said the building was on a list of leased properties identified by the General Services Administration that was shared with him by a current NOAA employee and confirmed that the facility was noted with a “TBD” mark next to it.
The building’s inclusion on a list of properties that could be vacated under lease terminations was first reported by Axios.
