"Hopefully by shrinking state government, by making it more lean, we will really start to move when the economy turns around," says Irwin in an interview with GlobeSt.com.
All of the state's real estate holdings were consolidated under the control of the DMB in 2002 by then-Gov. John Engler, a move that gave the state better control over its real estate holdings. "Rather than having a dozen different agencies negotiating their own leases, we brought that under one management, with real estate people doing the work, and consolidating a lot of what we do," he says.
Several high-profile state properties have already been sold or in the final stages of disposition. Such properties include state land near Ann Arbor, to be used by Toyota as a research and development facility; a former state office complex in Downtown Detroit; and a former state hospital site in Northville.
Irwin says he is hoping to get approval from the State Legislature this summer to put the Western Wayne Correctional Facility in Plymouth Township on the sales block. Irwin was in Warren Friday to help officially open a new Department of Environmental Quality regional office in the city. The office is the first state-owned building to be certified as "green" or environmentally friendly. The office is also equipped with a fleet of five Ford Escape hybrid-engine vehicles.
The building, located on the old Warren Tank Plant brownfield site, features numerous "green" design features that are expected to reduce overall potable water usage by 20% and reduce energy usage by 35%. The design also uses more natural day lighting, storm water for irrigation rather than potable water, renewable energy on-site, sustainable wood sources, regionally manufactured materials, and low-emitting materials like paints, glues, carpets, to reduce building toxins.
Irwin first became affiliated with state government in the late 1970s, serving as a state senator from the eastern Upper Peninsula. After 12 years in the state Senate, he worked in private development and as a consultant in Lansing, returning to state government upon Gov. Jennifer Granholm's election.
Irwin says when he first got into state government "the economic cycles were more predictable and less severe." By contrast, today's economy is "undergoing more of a structural change, and that puts the state's fiscal situation into much more of a bind," he says. "We've had to dramatically change the approach to state government."
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
