Office of Administration outlines push to consolidate state real estate, sell vacant sites and study desk usage

Missouri’s Office of Administration told the House Budget Committee on March 12 that it is pursuing a multi‑year strategy to consolidate state office space, sell or convey underutilized properties and get better data on how state office desks are used.

What OA presented Commissioner Ken Zellers and OA budget manager Hannah Swan introduced the Division of Facilities Management, Design & Construction (FMDC) overview and said the office is trying to maximize state‑owned assets and limit costly leased builds. Brian Yance, FMDC director, testified that the division treats space utilization below approximately 25 percent (meaning 75 percent of seats are empty) as underutilized and puts such properties on a conveyance/sale list for further action.

Key takeaways - No vacant state office buildings: OA said it currently has no vacant state office buildings occupied previously by state staff and left empty; it does, however, maintain former institutions (e.g., DESE and DYS facilities) that require conveyance legislation before sale.

- Conveyance and sales: OA reported accelerated conveyance activity compared with earlier years: three years of conveyances passed the Legislature in recent sessions and multiple buildings in St. Louis were under contract. The example cited: the Wainwright building appraised at roughly $6.2 million but sold for $8.25 million after bids; OA staff said renovating it into office space would have cost far more (staff cited an estimate of roughly $23 million), so sale to a buyer who plans redevelopment yielded net value.

- Vacancy, occupancy and remote work: Committee members repeatedly requested a single consolidated inventory that lists every property the state owns (including MoDOT and Conservation if possible), and OA agreed to assemble and share such a list. FMDC is preparing a facilities list that shows building square footage, seats and which agencies are domiciled in each building; OA said it can provide how many seats are in a building and how many FTE are domiciled there, but agency‑by‑agency data about how often staff actually use those seats requires cooperation from individual agencies.

- Space utilization study: OA said it has contracted a vendor to perform a statewide space‑utilization review of state‑owned buildings; the vendor visited buildings to record desks, offices and assigned seats and to make recommendations about consolidation, shared workspaces and reconfiguration.

- Strategy: OA staff described a preference for owning buildings where economically sensible and for negotiating leases that do not saddle the state with long‑term capital obligations. The office said it is prioritizing consolidation in large metro areas (St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield) and wants flexibility to move on deals quickly when opportunities arise.

- Cole County warehouse consolidation: The office described purchases and renovations in Cole County aimed at collapsing roughly half a million square feet of leased warehouse space into state‑owned warehouses (the Scruggs facility, about 251,000 square feet, and a nearby hundred‑thousand‑square‑foot site). OA said the move saves annual lease costs but requires several FTE to manage inventory, security and operations in a centralized warehouse; the committee asked OA to document where other agencies can reduce warehouse FTE or lease costs to reflect the consolidation savings.

Requests from the committee Committee members asked OA for: - A consolidated, statewide list of all properties the state owns and an update on vacant or underused properties (OA agreed to provide it). Representative Riggs asked for an urgent copy and OA said the work has begun. - Agency‑by‑agency data showing how many employees are domiciled to each building and, where available, how often those staff report to a desk (OA said that requires an agency survey and agreed to work with agencies and the committee to collect it before next year’s budget cycle). - A breakdown of the planned savings from consolidating leased space into state‑owned buildings and documentation showing how lease terminations and new state FTE for warehouse management will net out (OA agreed to provide detail on core reductions in lease authority and how warehouse staffing will be covered).

Why it matters State leaders said consolidation and better utilization data can reduce long‑term lease costs, preserve scarce general revenue and help the state take advantage of opportunities in a hot real‑estate market. Committee members pressed OA to move quickly on consolidating or conveying underused properties and to provide the requested lists and utilization data well before next year’s appropriation cycle.