Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the State Leases Dcs Ubs topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
State building panel defers vote on 5-year renewal for DCS lease; approves short-term Attorney General relocation
Summary
The State Building Commission Executive Subcommittee approved a one-year temporary lease for the Attorney General's staff and deferred action on a proposed five-year renewal for the Department of Children’s Services (DCS) at the UBS Building, citing questions about long-term costs and renovation timelines for state-owned 220 French Landing.
The State Building Commission Executive Subcommittee on Monday approved a one-year lease to temporarily house the Attorney General’s staff and deferred a decision on a proposed five-year renewal for the Department of Children’s Services at the UBS Building.
Deputy Commissioner John Hall of the Department of General Services asked the subcommittee to approve two separate leases in the UBS Building, saying the first was a short-term, one-year lease for Attorney General staff while renovations to the War Memorial Building are completed. "The first 1 is for a lease for the attorney general's staff and we ask for your approval of a lease for 1 year, while we complete the renovations to the War Memorial Building," Hall said. The subcommittee approved that lease by voice vote.
The panel then discussed a second item: a proposed amendment to extend the DCS lease for five years beginning Dec. 1, 2025. Hall said the amendment would reduce the agency’s leased space from the original 83,000 square feet to approximately 64,000 square feet by moving the Department of Disability and Aging to the Davy Crockett Building. He said the state’s long-term goal remains returning agencies to state-owned buildings: "Our long term goals remain the same, to exit leases and return agencies to state owned buildings. So we ask for your approval." Hall also said DCS workspace is at least 50% federally funded and that renovating 220 French Landing to receive DCS would require a capital project.
Comptroller Komprow opposed committing to a five-year renewal. "I just can't be for this at all," Komprow said, citing what he described as more than $11,000,000 spent on vacant space since 2020. He asked whether a shorter renewal could be analyzed and urged caution about locking the state into another long lease. Several members pressed Hall for details about renovation costs and timing; Hall said the initial estimate to renovate 220 French Landing (the Labor and Workforce building) is about $52,000,000, and that the earliest the state could exit the current 227/220 lease would be Jan. 1, 2027, depending on funding.
After discussion, Comptroller Komprow moved to defer the DCS renewal to the subcommittee’s next meeting and asked staff to meet with him and other members to review options and provide a one-page briefing on the current lease costs and renovation estimates. The motion to defer was seconded and passed by voice vote.
Other business on the subcommittee’s agenda included acceptance of multiple report items (five capital projects, one alternate delivery method and two disposal easements) and approval of minutes; both were accepted by vote. Secretary Hargett moved the selection of LCMA LLC as designer for Austin Peay State University’s event center renovation; that selection was approved by the subcommittee.
The subcommittee adjourned after completing the agenda.
