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26 <br /> 1 This summer, the County and Town were notified that the UNC Office of Real Estate and <br /> 2 Campus Enterprises was willing to offer Orange County a 10-year ground lease on the facility at <br /> 3 2700 Homestead Road starting in the late spring of 2026. While the offer to lease the property <br /> 4 does not involve any rent, the County would be required to fund any necessary improvements <br /> 5 and renovations and maintain the building and its upkeep for the period of the lease. The facility <br /> 6 is currently being used by UNC for significant file storage needs and for offices and property <br /> 7 storage for UNC Campus Police. UNC will require several months to relocate what is currently <br /> 8 located at the property and is hoping for a decision by the County as soon as possible so that it <br /> 9 can start the moving process. <br /> 10 <br /> 11 Phase I Costs: <br /> 12 Due to the complexities of renovating a UNC-owned property where the State Office of <br /> 13 Construction would have jurisdiction, staff recommends employing a design firm for $16,521 to <br /> 14 ensure compliance with State Office of Construction's standards and to provide cost estimates <br /> 15 for the proposed Phase II renovations. This would be the sole FY 2025-26 funding need. AMS <br /> 16 has conducted a review of the facility's core building systems — Heating/Ventilation/Air <br /> 17 Conditioning (HVAC), fire alarm, and the roof— to assess the feasibility for its use for the Cold <br /> 18 Weather Cots program. To occupy the facility to any level, the 24-year-old fire alarm system <br /> 19 would need to be replaced for $33,967. Additionally, small renovations would be needed to <br /> 20 allow the space to work for the cold-weather cots at an estimated cost of$30,000. As the move- <br /> 21 in date would be early in July 2026, these costs would be included in the Manager's <br /> 22 recommended budget for FY 2026-27. <br /> 23 <br /> 24 Phase II Costs: <br /> 25 The costs to renovate the space for use as a day center with additional County offices would <br /> 26 include the replacement of the roof within five (5) years ($500,000 - $1,000,000), and the <br /> 27 replacement of a significant portion of the HVAC system ($250,000). These expenses and <br /> 28 additional design and renovation costs would need to be developed and submitted in the FY <br /> 29 2026 - 36 Capital Investment Plan. As the County does not own the facility, it cannot finance any <br /> 30 capital improvements to the property. The County would need to identify pay-go funding or <br /> 31 unassigned fund balance to fund any of these investments. <br /> 32 <br /> 33 Caitlin Fenhagen, Deputy County Manager, made the following presentation: <br /> 34 <br /> 35 Slide #1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> NORTH CAROLINA <br /> Discussion of Ground Lease with <br /> UNC for 2700 Homestead Road for <br /> Cold Weather Cots and Integrated <br /> Day Center Programming <br /> September 16, 2025 <br /> BOCC Business Meeting <br /> 36 <br />