Capital & Real Estate

Oversight of Capital & Real Estate

The Office of the State Architect (OSA) is charged by the State Building Commission (SBC) with the oversight of the real estate and capital project processes from procurement to close out. The terms of this oversight are set forth in the Policies and Procedures of the SBC as supplemented by the Policies and Procedures of the OSA, and apply to each of the eight State Procurement Agencies Department of General Services Real Estate Asset Management (STREAM), University of Tennessee, Tennessee Board of Regents, Austin Peay State University, East Tennessee State University, Middle Tennessee State University, Tennessee Technological University, University of Memphis that are authorized by the SBC to handle real estate and capital projects.

Capital Projects

Capital projects are almost always construction projects including both maintenance projects in excess of $100,000 (referred to as capital maintenance projects) and projects involving the demolition or construction of facilities regardless of cost (referred to as capital improvement projects). Any construction or installation work performed on State owned real property will likely be considered a capital project. Capital projects are further governed by the policies and procedures of the SPAs handling the projects.

Real Estate Projects

Real estate projects include both acquisitions and dispositions of land, as well as easements, leases and other land use agreements. Real estate projects are initiated by the individual agencies and higher education campuses to meet their needs. Oftentimes, these needs are set forth in master plans or priority lists approved by the agencies and other bodies with oversight over the operations of the agencies and higher education campuses. Except in certain cases, real estate projects are handled as arms-length transactions based on fair market value. Real estate projects are further governed by the policies and procedures of the State Procurement Agencies (SPAs) handling the projects.