BGS asks committees to keep authority to sell 110 State Street amid FEMA talks

Commissioner Wanda Manoli of the Department of Buildings and General Services told a joint institutions committees conference on May 19 that the administration needs to retain language from the 2023 capital bill allowing the state to sell 110 State Street to preserve flexibility while negotiating with FEMA and to avoid potentially large investments to convert the building for state office use.

Manoli said the 2023 capital bill inserted the authority to sell 110 State Street and gave the city of Mont Pillar a first option to purchase; the city declined after BGS contacted it in June 2023. ‘‘We are not looking to … hold on to that property at this time,’’ Manoli said, arguing the agency should be allowed to complete its evaluation and, if appropriate, market the property.

The dispute centers on how FEMA funding and requirements affect the building. Manoli described BGS’s FEMA application process: staff document facility damage, estimate costs to bring the building to codes and standards, and submit those estimates to FEMA for review. She said FEMA may issue building-by-building proposals or permit the state to use Section 428, which Manoli said provides more flexibility for how funds are used. ‘‘Having the ability to sell the building really aligns with the idea around 428,’’ she said.

Manoli warned that if the legislature removes the sale authority, the state could be compelled to plan and fund work to reconfigure the building for state occupancy, including mechanical and electrical changes and accessibility upgrades. ‘‘We’re going to be putting a lot of money, lots of money into a building that will not be able to occupy even a whole department,’’ she said, and suggested that work could reduce usable floor area and cost millions more than a market sale would.

Senator Benson (identified in the discussion by committee members) urged caution, saying the Senate committee favored retaining the building because it is an ‘‘important historic site’’ and because the state does not yet know a future use. ‘‘It seemed prudent to keep it for now,’’ Benson said, according to the transcript.

Committee members pressed BGS for specific documents and numbers: they requested the FEMA application materials, the damage valuation for 110 State Street and any recent appraisals. Manoli said she did not have a recent appraisal with her and offered to have a staff member, Doug, present the application details and valuations at a follow-up meeting. Committee members proposed meeting later that day or the next morning to hear from Doug.

There was no formal motion or vote during the session. The committee left the language in place for discussion and requested that BGS provide the FEMA application and cost-estimate details so members can better evaluate whether to retain or amend the sale-authority language.

Next steps: BGS agreed to provide staff testimony on the FEMA application and the valuation of 110 State Street; the committee scheduled follow-up to review those materials and did not take a final vote on the sale-authority language at the May 19 session.