Public Real-Estate Management and the Planners Role

This paper views the possible role for planners in an emerging field: management of publicly owned real estate. The research demonstrates that expertise among current public real estate managers lags behind the private sector, resulting in a nonlevel playing field that may lead to a shortfall in meeting policy objectives. This study uses both published literature on real estate management practice and a survey of 30 municipal and regional public property managers to document the expertise gap. Results show that while municipalities and regional agencies conduct activities similar to their private sector counterparts, such as leasing and joint development, they often lack the decision framework to evaluate them financially. An opportunity exists for planners to step into a leadership role in public property management. In order to accomplish this, planning education should include more training in real estate accounting, data base management, market analysis, and finance.