DTMB tells House committee it manages 45 state facilities, defends withholding daily badge occupancy data

Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget officials told the Michigan House Appropriations Committee on a presentation focused on state-owned buildings, leases and occupancy that DTMB manages 45 facilities totaling more than 13.5 million square feet and said it is pursuing a statewide space-analysis study and lease reductions while declining to publish daily badge-swipe occupancy data.

The presentation and ensuing questions centered on why DTMB will not provide daily building-occupancy reports that a Detroit News FOIA request sought, the department’s space study and its plans for leased space and parking as hybrid work practices continue. Mike Turnquist, director of DTMB, said the department considers badge-swipe occupancy data a security concern and offered to brief legislators outside the public hearing.

The issue matters because occupancy and lease decisions affect downtown businesses, parking inventory and the state’s real-estate costs. Lawmakers pressed the department for figures they said are necessary to set budgets and to assess whether long-term reductions in office footprints are appropriate.

Turnquist said DTMB’s current portfolio includes roughly 933 acres of land and more than 14,000 parking spaces, and that the agency manages both large historic office buildings such as Cadillac Place in Detroit and newer facilities…