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