A Web-Based Asset Business Plan for Each General Services Administration Property
General Services Administration, Public Buildings Service Central Office
The Asset Business Plan (ABP), an integral component of asset management, provides comprehensive information to associates, GAO and OMB. The Public Buildings Service’s ABP received the International Development Research Center’s (IDRC) best practices award for 1999. It was the first time that a federal agency received this award.
ABP – a web based application – has a photo, description, location, function and federal use for each asset. It establishes financial information for, rent, operating costs, repair and alteration. ABP provides market, rental rates, space availability, absorption, and vacancy information. ABP compares PBS rental rates with local market rates to ensure that PBS rental rates are equitable. ABP develops building strategies to ensure assets support federal missions.
PBS, a pioneer, is the first and only federal agency to have a business plan for all assets. It is a creative approach to dealing with federal real estate that adopts private business practices. The change in thinking is that federal assets must be well utilized and support federal missions. ABP has served well the PBS Portfolio Restructuring Strategy in 2002 that focused reinvestment in core assets. Core assets are mission driven and PBS intends to retain them for the long term. PBS would incur prohibitive costs if it were to lease replacement space for these core assets. ABP was an established tool that appropriately matched the President Executive Order 13327 of February 2004. The Order calls for promoting the efficient and economical use of Federal real property. ABP is integral in GSA getting Green status on the President’s Management Agenda.
All PBS properties (buildings, parking, land parcels) have ABP’s. The ABP contributes to PBS efficiency by providing ready information, exchanging good practices and sharing ideas to better asset management. It is used to control operating costs, to present strategies for focusing scare reinvestment resources and improve customer satisfaction. ABP is used to plan projects, tenant movements and enhancement to operations that maintain and improve customer satisfaction.
All levels of associates and stakeholders use ABP. Its website exceeds 5,000 hits annually since 20004. The Office of Real Property Asset Management (RPAM) conducts ABP review to ensure completeness, accuracy and cohesiveness. PBS success since ABP has been introduced in 1998 is exceptional. Over 200 (30 millions RSF) vacant and underutilized buildings were disposed of, the bonus was that PBS avoids $400 million in repair costs. Operating costs are 10-12% less than BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association). Customer satisfaction is 93% in core assets.
ABP is portable, replicable and transferable. APB’s transferability stems from the logic and focused method to collect information and from its multi-faceted uses. Land holding agencies, local government and real estate entities can use the ABP platform. Federal agencies (State), State governments (California), local governments (Alameda, CA , Montgomery, MD) inquired about ABP from RPAM. These entities appreciated ABP so they indicated that they would model their real property systems after ABP. PBS uses ABP in its professional education.
Contact:
Mohamad Balhis
Portfolio Management Specialist
Office of Real Property Asset Management
GSA/PBS, Central Office
mohamad.balhis@gsa.gov
