City of Ballwin, Missouri, is negotiating a contract with local architecture firm Archimages to determine the feasibility of renovating Ballwin’s government center and the Donald “Red” Loehr Police and Court Center. Due to the estimated cost of the project, city officials decided to move forward with plans to renovate the government center before going ahead with the other building.
Over on the West Coast, Orange County legislators have recently recommended an increase in its original budget to renovate government buildings for “additional repairs that will boost the cost for work on ancillary buildings from $10 to $12.5 million.” If passed, this increase will cover repairs to most of the rooftops and additional office space, as well as a new chamber for the legislature adjacent to the historic chambers.
In both of these examples, cost remains a critical factor in delaying renovations that are often needed to maintain publicly-owned buildings like libraries, government centers and courthouses. Those of us at The Refinishing Touch know this story well – community members and city officials want to give a building a “fresh look” but the project is often held off or delayed due to cost concerns.
Our advice to public officials – as well as members of the community – is to think about the long-term costs associated with renovations and to implement systems that track areas of potential cost savings, such as furniture assets. In a government white paper we issued in January, we estimated that more than $500 million (84%) could be saved annually in government renovations by refinishing furniture assets, compared to buying new, which can cost upwards of $714 million each year. Cost savings such as these are beneficial not only for citizens, but for the economic health of the nation as well.
Learn how furniture asset management, including refinishing, reupholstery and remanufacturing, can reduce government spending by accessing The Refinishing Touch white paper here.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.