Issue Position: Project Phoenix

Issue Position

Instead of contributing to the value of surrounding areas, dilapidated state-owned facilities are beginning to detract from main streets across the state. Many older state-owned facilities have costly maintenance and repair needs and are inefficient and unproductive. We must reform how state government occupies space for greater efficiency, productivity and cost control, not to mention the importance of state-owned assets to their surrounding areas.

The state can improve the value of its portfolio with proper facilities maintenance and a firm accounting of facility lifecycle costs. Simply using the same amount of space per state employee as is standard in the private sector could save an estimated $180 million.

Project Phoenix is our initiative to improve the state's occupancy of real estate across North Carolina. The Department of Administration and the Office of State Budget and Management are in the process of assessing all state-owned property. This study will allow us to compare the lifecycle costs of state-owned buildings to alternative options, such as public-private partnership models and lease agreements.

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