Putting Assets to Work
Repurposing underutilized government property
Putting Assets to Work (PA2W)'s Mission
Local governments in the United States own immense amounts of property, structures, and other assets that they may not know how to fully utilize. In some cases, they may not even know what they own or what those assets could be worth.
At PA2W, we help governments understand exactly what they have, what it’s worth, and how that value can be leveraged to fund residents’ priorities without raising taxes.
How it Works
01
Asset Mapping
In partnership with experts specializing in this work, the government inventories publicly owned assets in a jurisdiction. Typically, the value of publicly owned assets far exceeds estimates, which are usually developed using the historical cost of purchase, not current market value.
02
Asset Selection
The government identifies one or more of those assets that are underutilized to be developed to their highest and best use within parameters set by policymakers.
03
Asset Repurposing
The government uses internal or external expertise to improve, manage and maintain the asset. The new value/revenue that is created is transferred to the public in the form of concrete benefits. Government and outside entities provide oversight throughout the process.
Our Publications
“We pulled together what we called our housing strike force to look across all of the publicly held land and ask what we are collectively trying to accomplish in our neighborhoods. The resulting collaborative atmosphere proved to be an accelerant; 35 public land projects are currently in the pipeline, either under construction or in the process of selecting development partners.”
Josh Humphries, Senior Housing Policy Advisor, City of Atlanta
“We realized our property portfolio is pretty vast and we’re not using it to its maximum potential. Joining the PA2W incubator is an opportunity for us to think differently and think smarter about our real estate portfolio to serve our needs and address financial challenges. We need to be looking at opportunities for revenue streams so we’re not wholly reliant on property tax revenue. Because our real estate portfolio is so vast, this is a great opportunity for us to address our financial needs.”
Kimberly Olivares, Deputy Chief Financial Officer, City of Austin
Meet the Team
We are passionate about supporting governments and the communities they represent to make sure they get the most out of every asset.
