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Municipalities and other public sector bodies have started to direct increased attention toward identifying and managing their capital assets. For the most part, these assessments focus on the maintenance and replacement of municipal infrastructure. While this is critically important, we believe that attention should also be directed toward the municipal real estate asset base.
There is a large “captive” value in municipal land holdings. Some of that value can often be beneficially transferred to functioning municipal services and assets, rather than remaining as surplus land holdings. The value of truly surplus land can be significantly increased by making it “market ready”. This could involve a strategy such as the assembly of adjacent holdings, correcting planning limitations or physically improving the property.
Watson & Associates and our strategic partner Urban & Environmental Management Inc. work together in this area, carrying out steps such as the following:
- Reviewing existing inventories of municipal land and facility holdings – updating as required;
- Reviewing existing policies and protocols for use or divestment;
- Categorizing properties on a priority basis, considering our assessment of development potential;
- Turning non-functional holdings into functioning assets or into a capital funding source (through sale) and then into ongoing tax revenue (through development);
- Selecting properties with the highest development potential and outlining approaches for market readiness;
- Making recommendations on the next steps, including the maximization of interim use revenue.
The objective of assessment is to produce a strategic and sustainable approach that benefits the municipality in both the short and long term, through the identification and development of marketable properties that are currently providing little or no value to the community.
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