Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

State officials deciding whether to lease or build

CARSON CITY — Faced with a shortage of money for maintenance, the state is looking at leasing private space rather than constructing new public buildings.

The state owns 2,847 buildings, some dating to the 1860s, but there’s been a lack of funds for repairs and deferred maintenance.

Members of the state Public Works Board met today to start in motion a study of how much money is needed to preserve the buildings.

Board member Bryce Clutts of Las Vegas said there is hundreds of millions of dollars of need that the state can’t afford, and some of buildings are falling apart.

The board has submitted a construction budget estimated at $68 million, of which $64 million is for deferred maintenance. But there could be a need of up to $1.5 billion, officials said.

Gus Nunez, administrator of the state Public Works Division, said the priorities are prisons and hospitals.

“We can’t let those things shut down,” he said. “When you get to parks and museums, the money is all gone.”

The division contracting a study to determine whether it may be best to lease private space rather than construct new buildings and face the costs of upkeep.

Nunez said the state already leases 1.8 million square feet of private space at a cost of $34 million a year. That cost is going up 1.5 percent a year, he said.

The board will put together a report for the Legislature with suggested solutions.

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