Fuller, emptier, costlier

by Dave Soulia, for FYIVT.com

When roughly 3,000 Vermont state employees began working remotely in 2020 under a COVID-19 emergency order, the shift was widely understood as temporary.

Five years later, state records show a more complicated outcome: Vermont’s office footprint grew, vacancy increased, and the state ultimately signed new leases to support a return to in-person work.

The Numbers Behind the Shift

The figures come from the state’s “Space Book,” an annual inventory of buildings and leases maintained by the Department of Buildings and General Services (BGS).

In 2020, the state reported:

• 2,965,032 square feet of state-owned rentable office space
• 888,222 square feet of leased space
• 202,102 square feet vacant (about 6.8%)

By 2025, those numbers had changed to:

• 3,055,730 square feet of owned rentable space
• 932,994 square feet of leased space
• 268,132 square feet vacant (about 8.6%)

In total, Vermont’s office footprint increased by about 135,000 square feet, while vacant space rose by more than 60,000 square feet.

That growth occurred during a period when thousands of state employees were working remotely or on hybrid schedules.

A Major Building Sits Empty

One of the most visible changes involves the John J. Zampieri State Office Building in Burlington.

In 2020, the building housed hundreds of state employees, including the Vermont Department of Health.

By 2025, the building — totaling 104,520 rentable square feet — is listed as vacant, with no assigned occupants.

The Department of Health relocated its central office to Waterbury in 2024, citing changes in workplace patterns following the pandemic.

Consolidation and Redistribution

The Burlington move reflects a broader shift.

Agencies consolidated staff into fewer locations, particularly in the Waterbury state office complex, where assigned occupancy increased significantly over the same period.

At the same time, the state expanded its use of leased space. The 2025 Space Book reflects new and reconfigured leases, including a large consolidation lease in Barre Town that was not present in the 2020 inventory.

The result is a portfolio that is both larger and more fragmented, with some buildings underutilized while others operate at higher density.

Return-to-Office Adds New Costs

The shift became more visible as the administration moved to bring employees back into the office.

Governor Phil Scott ordered a return to office in 2025, requiring most state employees to work in person at least three days per week. The Vermont Labor Relations Board later ruled the directive violated collective bargaining obligations, a decision now under appeal.

During that process, the state also entered into additional leases in Waterbury totaling about 22,000 square feet. Those leases are estimated at roughly $430,000 in the first year and $2.3 million over five years, according to prior reporting.

The additional space was intended to accommodate employees returning to in-person work.

A System Built on Changing Assumptions

Taken together, the records describe a sequence in which Vermont maintained and expanded its office footprint during the remote work period, reorganized agencies around hybrid work arrangements, and then added new space to support a partial return to the office.

State officials have described these changes as responses to evolving workplace needs following the pandemic, including shifts toward hybrid schedules and efforts to consolidate operations.

The Space Book itself does not assess policy decisions or explain the rationale behind individual moves. It provides a snapshot of the state’s physical assets — what it owns, what it leases, and how those spaces are currently assigned.

What the Data Shows

Read across multiple years, the data illustrates how Vermont’s office system changed during and after the pandemic.

The state did not significantly reduce its total office footprint after employees began working remotely. Instead, it redistributed that footprint, leaving some properties vacant while increasing density in others and expanding leased space in certain locations.

The Bottom Line

The legal dispute over the return-to-office order focuses on labor law and collective bargaining. The Space Book data highlights a separate question: how those policy decisions intersect with the state’s physical infrastructure and costs.

As of 2025, Vermont maintains a larger office portfolio than it did before the pandemic, with a higher level of vacant space and new lease obligations layered on top.

Those conditions developed over several years, as emergency measures, agency-level decisions, and statewide policy changes unfolded at different times.

For taxpayers, the outcome is visible in the numbers: more total space, more vacant space, and additional leasing costs — even after years of widespread remote work.