Agenda - 02-09-2010 - 1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Additional Divestiture Opportunities With the relocation of departments to permanent space, divestiture of additional properties is possible. The Board is asked to discuss and provide direction on: • 1914 New Hope Church Road (old 911 Center); no departmental use is recommended. Appraised value of this property has been cited at $430,000. • 129 East King Street (old Purchasing Offices); no departmental use is recommended. Appraisal will be sought at such time the Board declares this property surplus. (The Heritage Center Study Group expressed interest in the building, but lacks financial resources.) Hillsborough Commons Hillsborough Commons contains a total of 108,000 square feet and 10 acres of land. The County leases approximately 56,000 square feet of the Center for Social Services offices. The offices opened for business in the newly upfit space on January 20, 2010. Total upfit costs, including soft and hard costs as well as furnishings are estimated at $67/square foot. The lease approved by the Board in 2008 includes an option to purchase the shopping center no later than February 2012 for $14,904,000, which represents the asking price of $15,489,000, minus $15,000 per paid month rent. Should the County choose to exercise the option to purchase the Center, it could become the primary human services delivery campus in Central Orange County. The only lease that would survive the purchase is Dollar Tree; the others may be renewed at the County's discretion. As previously discussed, certain businesses on the site may be complementary to the human services offerings and therefore the County might have interest in renewing the leases, however. Some Board members may recall the case with the Skills Development Center, in which some areas were used for County programming while others were kept for lease to private businesses. Although the portions of the property intended for private lease were financed differently and carried a higher interest rate, the process was otherwise not dissimilar to that proposed for Hillsborough Commons. It set a successful precedent should the Board choose to repeat such action. Several decisions should be made within the upcoming fiscal year. The Board is asked to discuss the merits of a purchase, identifying additional information that may be needed to aid in that decision. A decision on the purchase needs to be made by mid-2011 to allow for financing options to be arranged in a timely manner. A March 6, 2008 action by the Board includes a 15,000 square foot addition to the Southern Human Services Center, if possible. The cost of this addition is included in the Capital Investment Plan over three years, commencing in FY 2010-2011. Complete funding for the addition could be available in FY 2012-2013, assuming the economic conditions allow the funding plan laid out in the 2009-2019 CIP to be followed. FINANCIAL IMPACT: No action impacting finances is requested at this time. Financial impacts will be presented with regular agenda items when they are scheduled. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board discuss the topics as outlined and consider the following: