- Reduce level of construction expenditures for new facilities
- Use available facilities regardless of program ownership
- Negotiate lower rents for existing site rentals
- Close those buildings that are most expensive to operate and maintain
- Evaluate need for all faculty to have separate office spaces and promote sharing whenever feasible (the “virtual” office concept)
- Negotiate new electric, gas, and water rates with utilities
- Install solar panels over parking areas and on roofs to reduce energy costs and potentially sell energy back to the grid
- Aggressively solicit rental of theaters, auditoriums, sports arenas, halls, and gymnasiums by outside groups
- Lease college buildings’ roofs for cellular/microwave dishes
- Lease out under-used facilities
- Lease or sell unused buildings and properties
- Rent out space during off-hours
- Sell real estate which is currently used but expendable
- Compare costs of renting or buying area office buildings versus undertaking new construction efforts
- Refer to "Environmental Savings" for more ideas related to buildings and facilities
The shortest distance between two points is under construction.
- Noelie Alito
The Walrus and the Carpenter
Were walking close at hand:
They wept like anything to see
Such quantities of sand:
“If this were only cleared away,”
They said, “it would be grand!”
- Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
When designing buildings, institutions should take energy efficiency and maintenance requirements into consideration. Simple things, such as the choice and placement of toilets or bathroom sinks, can have major financial implications over time in terms of maintenance, cleanliness, and water usage.
ReplyDeleteThere are a number of extraordinarily creative facility projects being successfully developed throughout higher education. Many of these institutions have introduced concepts and projects to meet fiscal challenges. They are presented here as higher education examples to stimulate thinking regarding how to maximize capital and bond dollars, generate rental incomes, or attract other funding sources to share in the maintenance and operational costs or to fund academic programs or student services.
ReplyDeleteThe University of California (UC) System
ReplyDeleteSince the mid-1990s, the University of California (UC) system, in collaboration with the State’s Public Works Board, has supplemented its capital project financing mechanisms. Historically, the University had received direct annual capital appropriations in the State budget. As this source of funding began to diminish, the University, working with State agencies and the Legislature, created an alternate method, which leveraged annual state appropriations to provide capital project funding.
Under this mechanism, UC enters into a lease-purchase agreement with the State that is recorded as a capital lease. The state sells lease revenue bonds to finance construction and equipping of state-owned buildings, on UC land, to be used by the University. During the construction phase, the University acts as the agent for the State. Upon completion, the buildings and equipment are leased to the University under terms and in amounts that are sufficient to satisfy the State’s lease revenue bond repayment requirements, with the understanding that the State will provide financing appropriations to the University to satisfy the annual lease requirements. At the conclusion of the lease term, ownership of the building and equipment transfers to the University.
As of 2004, such Capital Lease transactions had provided in excess of $1.3 billion of building and equipment funding for UC projects, with annual State financing appropriations for principal and interest on the lease revenue bonds equaling approximately $117 million.
San Diego State University Foundation-Paseo Project
ReplyDeleteThe City of San Diego's 131-acre College Community Redevelopment Project Area focuses on student housing needs, transportation planning, parking and public improvements. The City is working with private developers to provide adequate student housing. Development has begun on several student housing projects; the Paseo, a large mixed-use project being developed by the San Diego State University (SDSU) Foundation, is in the planning stage.
On 11 acres, the Paseo will improve one of San Diego's older neighborhoods by combining housing with commercial and retail shops, employment opportunities, University facilities, and public transportation, and create a community gathering place where everyone feels welcome and connected.
Plans for the project include 250,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space, up to 470 apartments and 100,000 square feet of campus-serving office space. The current concept is anchored by an AMC multiplex movie theater, which would serve as University lecture halls on weekday mornings. Retail shops and cafes and restaurants with outdoor dining are also planned. The project will also include 1,922 managed underground parking spaces in a 2-level garage.
Some additional information on the San Diego State University Foundation-Paseo Project
ReplyDeleteThe Paseo will support thousands of new residents in the area, house 1,300 SDSU students, provide more than 1,000 jobs, act as the southern gateway to SDSU, and create a dynamic work-live-play environment near the campus. The design of the area will provide synergy between the campus and college community, and will be coordinated with the development of a 6-mile trolley line extension through the campus, set to begin operating in July 2005.
The estimated total project cost is $330 million and the project is scheduled to be completed in 2008.
Ohio State University Gateway Project
ReplyDeleteIntended to create a new front door to the 70,000-person campus of the Ohio State University, South Campus Gateway is an 887,000 square foot, five-building, mixed-use urban environment that will provide a common ground between the University and the surrounding neighborhood. Program elements include 250 residential units for the University community; office space for University functions; and street-oriented retail including grocery, restaurants, and cinema. South Campus Gateway will support reinvestment in the surrounding residential neighborhood and reinforce a sense of place and identity for all stakeholders.
University of Pennsylvania-Sansom Commons
ReplyDeleteThe Sansom Commons Project at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) is a 305,000-square foot mixed-use development, consisting of a 56,000 square foot University bookstore, the Inn at Penn, an adjoining 195,000 square foot, 259-room hotel which is operated by a private company, and 54,000 square feet of additional retail and restaurants. The bookstore, operated by Barnes & Noble, is the retail anchor of the development.
The University purchased much of the 2.4 acres of land for Sansom Commons from the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority in the early 1980s. Following an analysis of all possible scenarios for ownership and operation, Penn determined that it would own and finance the project itself. The University hired a development manager who supervised all project oversight including architectural and engineering services, retail leasing, hospitality operations, marketing, public relations, and construction management.
In addition to the University’s decision to own the project in its entirety, they also placed the project on the City of Philadelphia’s tax rolls as a for-profit venture. With no reliance on outside financial or development resources, and with extensive cooperation from local authorities, the entire predevelopment and construction process required only three and one-half years.
San Jose State Classroom/Office Complex
ReplyDeleteUsing approximately 5.5 acres of land along the perimeter of the main campus of San Jose State University, the project called for the development of 1.8 million square feet of "Class A" tenant office space distributed in five buildings. In addition, the project was planned to generate more than 500,000 square feet of replacement classroom/faculty office space for a total of 2.3 million square feet of new construction. Related facilities to support the development would include 3,400 parking spaces and a 30,000 gross square foot theater. The total project cost was estimated at $400 million in 2001.
The project was to be financed through non-recourse tax-exempt and taxable bonds as a special limited obligation of Spartan Shops Inc., one of San Jose State’s 501(c) 3 auxiliary support organizations. The project was to be self-supporting and was projected to generate excess revenue over and above that needed to pay debt service.
A major international technology corporation, looking for a million square feet of contiguous space was identified as a tenant. The potential tenant was pleased with the idea of having a "corporate campus" located on a university campus. The ability to use the engineering and mathematics faculty along with the students was a major bonus for them. The location adjacent to the central city core was also seen as an exciting benefit.
Unfortunately, the commercial real estate market in the Silicon Valley contracted in the first quarter of 2001, causing the tenant to withdraw the initial offer. While the University has suspended plans for this development, it remains an excellent example of an opportunity to leverage both the land and the campus environment of a major public university in an urban setting.
Tufts-Dowling Hall
ReplyDeleteThe 210,000-square-foot, seven-story Dowling Hall includes the student services center, and the campus safety office, and links the building with the upper campus via a 152-foot glycol-heated bridge. The student services facility is located on the top floor of the structure and the campus public safety office is located on the ground floor. The remaining five floors comprise a University parking structure.
Given that the student services and public safety office provided a naming opportunity, this project is often cited as one of the few parking structure projects ever constructed on a university campus which has been funded with a private donation.
Arizona State University Arts and Business Gateway Project
ReplyDeleteThe Arts and Business Gateway project is a high-profile development of an undeveloped 13-acre site adjacent to Arizona State University's main campus in Tempe, Arizona. The University acquired the site in 1983. Planned for the site are major academic uses, including a headquarters for the W.P. Carey School of Business, expansion of the Herberger College of Fine Arts and the College of Architecture and Environmental Design. In addition, the site is planned for commercial uses including a conference center with hotel, a grocery store and other retail space, multi-family housing, and parking.