The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) reversed course in terminating two commercial leases in Massachusetts.
DOGE terminated leases as a way to reduce federal spending, with the website featuring a list of the leases on its savings page. DOGE was established by an executive order signed by President Donald Trump to cut federal jobs and slash government spending. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been heavily involved in DOGE’s operations.
The two leases were part of 17 commercial leases in Massachusetts that were listed as terminated on DOGE’s website.
As of Wednesday, the two leases have been removed from the website.
The two leased spaces removed from the termination list are used by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and are located at the Mercantile Center, 120 Front St. in Worcester, and 118 Turnpike Road in Southborough in a building owned by the Ferris Development Group.
Two other IRS offices are still slated for closure on DOGE’s list — in Springfield and Lowell.
Ryan O’Toole, an asset manager for Ferris Development Group and T.K. Skenderian, a spokesperson for the owners of the Mercantile Center, Franklin Realty Advisors, both confirmed to MassLive their companies received notices from the federal government that the terminated leases had been rescinded.
The commercial lease in Southborough contains 10,787 square feet of office space that was set to expire in November 2029. The commercial lease in Worcester features 14,511 square feet of office space and was set to expire in June 2028.
Ferris Development Group first received a notice in February about the termination of the lease, according to O’Toole. One month later, they received another notice that the lease was rescinded. The IRS is under a multi-year lease agreement and is expected to fully anticipated to remain in the building for the remainder of its term, which expires several years from now, according to O’Toole.
Skenderian told MassLive that Franklin Realty Advisors received “conflicting information from the government” about the lease agreement. He told MassLive the company received the notices three to four weeks ago and has not received any updates since then.
Both Skenderian and O’Toole told MassLive they did not know why DOGE rescinded the terminations.
DOGE’s press office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.
The terminations of leases in Southborough and Worcester are not the only ones that the Trump administration has walked back.
The General Services Administration, an agency responsible for managing the federal government’s real estate, announced this month they are reversing more than 100 lease terminations, according to the New York Times.
On the DOGE website, more than 100 government leases that were listed have since been removed, the Times reported.
Musk’s team did not give a reason for the changes and The White House did not respond to a request for comment to the Times.
There are still 15 terminated commercial leases in Massachusetts listed on the DOGE website.
The leases are as follows:
- 1600 Osgood St., North Andover Center: A lease for 5,300 square feet of office and special-purpose space used by the Drug Enforcement Administration that was set to expire in January 2026.
- 325 Chelmsford St., Lowell: A lease for 3,900 square feet of warehouse space used by the National Park Service that was set to expire in September 2028.
- 900 Chelmsford St., Lowell: A lease for 26,752 square feet of office and special-purpose space used by the Internal Revenue Service that was set to expire in September 2026.
- 451 West St., Amherst: A lease for 22,428 square feet of office space used by the Natural Resources Conservation Services, a part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, that was set to expire in August 2025.
- 9 Main St., Sutton: A lease for 1,273 square feet of office used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service space that was set to expire in July 2027.
- 1 Federal St., Springfield: A lease for 894 square feet of office space used by the Small Business Administration that was set to expire in June 2028.
- 1550 Main St., Springfield: A lease for 14,036 square feet of office space used by the Internal Revenue Service that was set to expire in March 2027
- 1141 Main St., Springfield: A lease for 599 square feet of office space used by the Employment Standards Administration that was set to expire in July 2029.
- 10 Bearfoot Road, Northborough: A lease for 20,893 square feet of office and warehouse space used by The United States Geological Survey that was set to expire in November 2029.
- 140 Shrewsbury St., Boylston: A lease for 2,360 square feet of office space used by the Food and Drug Administration that was set to expire in June 2027.
- 146 Mendon St., Uxbridge: A lease for 4,852 square feet of office space used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service that was set to expire in November 2029.
- 210 Beacham St., Everett: A lease for 2,789 square feet of office space used by the Agricultural Marketing Service that was set to expire in August 2028.
- 138 River Road, Andover: A lease for 4,903 square feet of office space used by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was set to expire in April 2026.
- 300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley: A lease for 72,220 square feet of office and special-purpose space used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that was set to expire in December 2032.
- 446 Main St., Worcester: A lease for 5,506 square feet of office space used by the U.S. Trustee Program, a component of the Department of Justice, that was to expire in November 2030.