SALISBURY, Md. – The Maude R. Toulson Federal Building on Main Street, home to a branch of the U.S. Post Office, may soon be on the market.
The General Services Administration (GSA) had identified the Salisbury property as one of 83 in Maryland potentially up for sale as part of its effort to offload “non-core properties.”
Built in 1924, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The GSA originally included the Toulson building in a list of 443 properties slated for possible sale. However, hours after the list was published, it was reduced to 330 properties. It remains unclear if the Salisbury location is still included, as the webpage listing the properties has since been taken down.
President Donald Trump referenced his efforts to reduce the federal government’s footprint in his address to Congress on Tuesday night, stating, "We'll be ending the flagrant waste of taxpayer dollars."
Local officials are closely monitoring the potential sale’s impact on downtown Salisbury.
“You know, obviously, the Toulson building is a big part of the main street of downtown,” said Salisbury Mayor Randy Taylor. “So we're in a wait-and-see kind of mode. I think we all have a lot of questions surrounding, you know, the federal assets and how it's going to impact us locally.”
The future of the U.S. Post Office and the U.S. District Court offices inside the building remains uncertain.
Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman said the Trump administration’s moves to shrink the federal government will have economic consequences in the state.
“We are keeping a very close eye on what is actually happening, including layoffs, including Warren Act notices from some of the contractors who are losing contracts with the federal government,” Lierman said. “That will all play into our revenue estimates.”
The Toulson Federal Building is the only property on Maryland’s Eastern Shore included in the GSA’s initial list of 83 potential sales. No federal properties in Delaware or on Virginia’s Eastern Shore were identified for sale.
Gov. Wes Moore expressed concerns about how the process has been handled.
“The way we’ve just decided to shutter federal agencies, the way that we’ve laid people off and then rehired them days later because we acknowledge we made a mistake—I just don’t have a full sense of confidence that this process is being implemented correctly or wisely,” Moore said.
As federal officials weigh their next steps, Salisbury leaders remain on alert for potential impacts to the city’s downtown area.