Many Congressmembers opposed the General Services Administration's renovation of the Poff Federal Building in Roanoke, Virginia when it began in 2010. A $51 million price estimate seemed excessive for an office building that cost only $14 million to build in the first place.
When the project was completed in 2014 at a final cost of $80 million, it had run through "a mix of mind-bogglingly bad (and allegedly illegal) bid management, cost overruns and all-around poor planning," according to The Roanoker magazine.
Federal workers told Congress the construction had not improved their working conditions and had actually made the building less safe, even after spending what's the equivalent of $106.4 million in 2024 dollars.
