DCAM outlines $1B+ deferred maintenance and multi‑billion decarbonization need across correctional portfolio

Sen. Will Brownsberger, chair of the Special Commission on Correctional Consolidation and Collaboration, opened the commission’s Oct. 17 meeting by introducing a DCAM presentation on the state correctional portfolio and capital needs.

Adam Bakke, Commissioner, Department of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAM), told commissioners that DCAM manages roughly 61,000,000 square feet across about 1,700 state buildings and that correctional facilities represent about one‑sixth of that portfolio. “We are responsible for a variety of things from fundamental real estate,” Bakke said, explaining DCAM’s role in building maintenance, planning, design and capital construction.

Bakke summarized DCAM’s findings: the correctional portfolio includes 36 identified correctional sites (19 Department of Corrections sites and 17 sheriff’s facilities), of which 12 DOC sites currently house active populations; the average building age is about 51.1 years for DOC facilities and about 52.3 years for sheriff facilities; documented deferred maintenance across the correctional portfolio is roughly $1 billion; and estimated costs to fully eliminate fossil fuels across these facilities are in the low‑to‑mid billions of dollars, depending on overlap with deferred maintenance work.

The p…