Department: County Administration
Department Head/Elected Official: Diana Ramirez, Harris County Administrator
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Discussion Item
Project ID (if applicable):
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Justification for 0% MWDBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
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Request by the Office of County Administration and the Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity for discussion and possible action on the report summarizing status of the County’s participation in the Putting Assets to Work (PAW) incubator program and recommended next steps.
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Background and Discussion:
On August 23, 2022, the Commissioners Court approved Harris County’s grant agreement with the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) to participate in an incubator program focusing on:
1. Mapping publicly owned assets (Asset Mapping)
2. Putting Assets to Work Playbook prepared for Harris County (PAW Playbook)
As part of the incubator program, Harris County was one of the first five jurisdictions across the nation to participate in the incubator and to receive technical assistance to find ways to unlock value from real estate assets owned by the County to meet critical community needs. The technical assistance was provided through the GFOA by the Urban3 (Asset Mapping) and by the Sorenson Impact Center at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business.
To consult and advise on this project, a Real Estate Portfolio Technical Advisory Group (TAG) was formed with representatives from the following departments:
• Office of County Administration
• Department of Economic Equity & Opportunity
• Office of the County Engineer
• Housing & Community Development,
• Flood Control, and
• Office of Management & Budget
The attached report summarizes the work completed and highlights proposed next steps that include the following.
• Begin working with Hayat Brown, LLC, currently under contract with OCA, for real estate advisory services that include the review of the initial asset maps, updating valuation scenarios, identifying a set of real estate assets that have the potential for the greatest return on investment to the County (direct monetary or community benefits), and provides project-related services (e.g., site selection, valuation and financial feasibility, property acquisition, development, leasing, disposition, and deal structure analysis) on a task order basis.
• Request Commissioners Court approval of the Policy Guidelines as the framework and principles used for asset selection, project delivery, and ongoing monitoring.
• Request Commissioners Court approval of a Real Estate Portfolio to be managed by the TAG for the benefit of Harris County’s residents and business community.
If authorized by the Commissioners Court, the TAG would begin work and return to the Court intermittently to seek approval of next steps.
Expected Impact:
The use of the asset mapping framework enables the County to identify potential County-owned real estate for development or re-development projects in collaboration with other public and private sector partners that would simultaneously meet specific County community needs and priorities, spur increased economic development, and potentially generate additional revenue beyond the property tax levy.
Alternative Options:
This is a new initiative and no alternative options identified.
Alignment with Goal(s):
_ Justice and Safety
X Economic Opportunity
_ Housing
_ Public Health
_ Transportation
_ Flooding
_ Environment
X Governance and Customer Service
Prior Court Action (if any):
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Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
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8/23/2022 |
208 |
Approval of Agreement between Harris County and Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada to Participate in a Putting Assets to Work Incubator |
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03/26/2024 |
672 |
Request by the Office of the Purchasing Agent that the County Judge execute an agreement with Hayat A Kelil-Brown DBA Hayat Brown LLC in the amount of $500,000 for reposition properties consulting services for the Office of County Administration for the period of March 26, 2024 - March 25, 2025 with four (4) one-year renewal options. |
Location:
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Precinct(s): Countywide
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Anticipated Court Date: 9/19/2024
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date):
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or COVID-19 related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Jesse Dickerman, Managing Director, OCA and Kera Backer, Project Manager, TAP
Attachments (if applicable):
1. Putting Assets to Work Initiative Report