GSA Real Property Utilization and Disposal Division

REAL PROPERTY UTILIZATION

AND DISPOSAL DIVISION

REAL PROPERTY UTILIZATION

AND DISPOSAL DIVISION

Fall 2009 Issue 3 Volume 2

Inside this Issue:

FALL 2009FALL 2009

Customer Profile: Bill Huie,National Park Service

Parks and Rec Conveyanceto University of Alabamaand Cities of Mobile andWarsaw

GSA Prepares CostEstimates for Five USPSProperties

Recent Sales In Georgiaand Pennsylvania

Change Is In The Air

Vitaliya Dashevskaya earnsher MBA

Marcus Hook Light StationAuction Coming Soon

Customer Meeting with U. S.Army Corps of Engineers,Mobile, AL

GRPIS Council Meeting atFort McPherson andSouth Florida GRPISMeeting

Ask The Expert

Laura Yeager’s Retirement

Change Is In The Air

Customer Profile: Bill Huie and The NationalPark Service's Federal Lands to Parks Program

It is a time of great change for GSA's newly christened. While all of the faces in our office remain the same,

the mission of our division has expanded, and the range of services that we can offerto our client agencies has increased dramatically. While our office still provides all ofthe traditional real property disposal services that you’ve come to expect, our newdivisional realignment is more in keeping with the passage of Executive Order 13327(Federal Real Property Asset Management) which gives GSA an expanded role inits ability to assist agencies with their real property asset management needs. Weinvite you to begin a discussion with us of the many new ways in which we can assistyou with your real property needs.

Real Property Utilizationand Disposal Division (4PZ)

GSA's Real Property Utilization and DisposalDivision has internal and external customers.Our external customers are the purchasers ofauctioned properties, the cities and counties thatare frequently able to reuse formerlyunderutilized Federal real property, and thegeneral public that enjoys the benefits of Federalproperty that has been reused as parks, historiclandmarks, emergency management facilities,and other similar uses. Our internal customersare the Federal agencies that utilize our servicesto dispose of their underutilized real propertyassets and to procure appraisals, environmentalstudies, boundary surveys and other relatedservices. However, we also work closely withother Federal agencies that sponsor programswhich have similar goals. These are calledsponsoring agencies, a unique internalcustomer that plays a vital role in our Federalreal property asset management efforts.

One very important sponsoring agency is theNational Park Service, whose Federal Lands toParks Program has helped communities acrossthe country create new parks and recreationareas by transferring surplus Federal land tostate and local governments, who in turn ensurepublic access to these properties and serve asstewards to properties' natural, cultural, andrecreational resources. The Federal Lands toParks Program serves as an important portal,bringing together Federal agencies owningproperties that are not fully utilized and often

financially difficult to maintain as an asset with localand state governments that are capable and willingto maintain these assets, preserve their culturalintegrity, and make them available to the public.

The Federal Lands to ParksProgram (has created mutually beneficialrelationships between Federala g e n c i e s t h a t o w n s u c hinadequately utilized, financiallydraining assets and communitiesthat are delighted to reuse theproperties for community gardens,local parks, gymnasiums, hiking/biking trails, as wellas boating and fishing access sites.

Mr. Bill Huie, of the NPS Atlantastaff, is the Federal Lands toParks Program Manager andour office has worked veryclosely with him over the yearson many conveyances to localand state governments for parkand recreation reuse. Bill andthe Federal Lands to ParksProgram have been a wonderful

asset to us for many years, and we look forward tocontinuing to work with him to help other Federalagencies better manage their real property assets.Look inside this newsletter for examples of thesetypes of projects!

http://www.nps.gov/flp)

Bill Huie, NPS

GSA Office of Real Property Utilization and Disposal

RECENT SALES IN GEORGIAAND PENNSYLVANIA

On May 6, 2009, GSA accepted a bid of $140,000 for theonline auction of a U.S. Marshals / U.S Attorney'sres iden t ia l p roper tylocated in Valdosta,Georgia. GSA ProjectM a n a g e r E l i z a b e t hDawson and MAI certifiedappraiser Peter Hotinea s s i s t e d t h e U . S .Marshals with procuringan appraisal of theproperty’s fair marketvalue prior to the auction of the property, and Ms. Dawsonalso assisted the agency with resolving issues arising froma hold-over tenant and with preparing the property forviewing and inspection by the public.

The online auction for the U. S. Forest Service's SheffieldResidence closed on September 10, 2009, with a high bidof $40,000. The property is a 1258 square-foot residentialproperty located in rural Pennsylvania, about 125 milesnorth of Pittsburgh. The property contained severalenvironmental challenges,including the presence of Lead-Based Paint, which GSA workedclosely with their partners at theForest Service to address priorto auctioning the property online.Vitaliya Dashevskaya was theProject Manager for the disposalof this property.

GSA strives to assist its client agencies in developingcreative real property solutions for their challenging realproperty needs, as was done in these instances. Manyagencies, such as the Forest Service in this case, canretain the proceeds from auctions of their excess realproperty. If you'd like to learn more about how GSA'sOffice of Real Property Utilization and Disposal can assistyou in developing creative solutions to your real propertyneeds, then please feel free to contact our office at 404-331-5133.

Through the assistance of sponsoring agencies, like the NationalPark Service (NPS), GSA can help Federal agencies put theirunder- and unutilized real property assets to better use by workingwith local governments and other qualified entities to make theseassets available for public benefits such as parks, law enforcementfacilities, and historic monuments. GSA recently worked with theNPS to transfer three properties out of Federal ownership and intothe hands of entities that will make them available for the publicbenefit.

On May 20, 2009, GSA assigned a20.5 acre parcel of land, including apublic boat ramp and parking area, tothe NPS for subsequent conveyanceto the City of Warsaw, KY, where it willbe utilized by the City for park andrecreational purposes. BruceMayhugh of GSA's Real PropertyUtilization and Disposal Division wasthe Project Manager for this action.

On July 1, 2009, GSA assigned theBlack Warrior River Lock and Dam No.12 property to the National Park Servicefor subsequent conveyance to theUniversity of Alabama for park andrecreational usage. The property,located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, will beutilized by the University as part of anexisting river walk park district alongTuscaloosa's Black Warrior and North River corridors. GSAworkedclosely with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, the originallandholding agency, NPS, who sponsored and approved thetransfer, the University of Alabama, a local Congressman's office,and also the City of Tuscaloosa, who had often expressed interestin the outcome of this transfer. Gabriel Head was the ProjectManager assigned to this transfer.

On August 4, 2009, GSA also assigned the former Corps ofEngineers Field Office, in Mobile, AL, to the National Park Servicefor subsequent conveyance to the City of Mobile for park andrecreation purposes, where it will be annexed to an existing PublicSafety Memorial Park, which was conveyed to the City in a similarfashion at an earlier date. GSA's Joe Crenshaw was ProjectManager coordinating this transaction.

PARKS AND RECREATIONAL CONVEYANCES

Black Warrior River

Warsaw, KY

It is with both joy and sadness thatthe staff of GSA's Real PropertyUtilization and Disposal Divisionannounces the retirement ofDeputy Director Laura Yeager onOctober 2, 2009. Laura's careerof Federal Service spans 34years, and for the past 19 yearsshe has been an irreplaceablepart of our staff and of our familyhere in 4PZ. Over the many years of her Federal career,Laura has made more friends than can be counted, bothhere at GSAas well as across the many agencies that wework closely with. She will definitely be missed by us all.

Vitaliya Dashevskaya, Project Manager from GSA'sReal Property Utilization and Disposal Division inAtlanta, recently graduated from Kennesaw StateUniversity (KSU) with a Master of BusinessAdministration (MBA). While enrolled in the ColesCollege of Business at KSU, Vitaliya concentrated inFinance where she excelled and graduated withhonors. Vitaliya joined our team in 2005, bringing withher a background in private sector real estate and anundergraduate degree in Real Estate from GeorgiaState University.

Laura Yeager

VitaliyaDashevskaya

And the MBAgoes to...

GSA Office of Real Property Utilization and Disposal

GSA's Real Property Utilization and Disposal Division inAtlanta has been working closely with USPS' SoutheastFacilities Service Office in Lawrenceville, GA, to prepare costestimates for five reimbursable pilot projects. This couldresult in GSA managing five disposal projects for the USPS,as well as associated appraisal, environmental, andsurveying services. Even in instances where GSA is notappropriated to manage the disposal of particular realproperty assets, agencies may utilize our services on areimbursable basis, as our relationship with USPS shows.Many Federal agencies that have historically managed thedisposal of their own real property assets, or employed theservices of brokers, appraisers, surveyors, or environmentalconsultants on their own, are finding that GSA can providethese services for them more cost-effectively and with moreoversight. We are more than happy to discuss with you howwe may be able to help you utilize these services.

4PZ Prepares Cost Estimates forFive USPS Pilot Properties

On May 28, 2009, the South Florida Chapter of theGovernmentwide Real Property Information Sharing (GRPIS)Council met at the National Oceanic & AtmosphericAdministration's (NOAA) National Hurricane Center (NHC) in

Miami, Florida.

Ms. Patty Gonzalez and Mr.Christopher Burr of NOAA provideda tour of the NHC located on thecampus of Florida InternationalUniversity. NHC is a branch of theNational Weather Service's TropicalPrediction Center. The Center isresponsible for tracking and

predicting tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes.National Weather Service (NWS) Meteorologist-in-Charge,Rusty Pfost, also discussed how the NWS gathers and analyzesglobal data from land, sea, and atmospheric sources to compile

data for timely dissemination tothe public. Additionally, a U. S.Navy Hurricane Forecasterprovided an overview of theirresponsibilities including theweather reconna issanceaircraft that collect and analyzestorms.

The following week, On June 4,2009, the Atlanta Chapter of theGovernmentwide Real Property

Information Sharing (GRPIS) Council met at Fort McPherson justsouth of Atlanta. The meeting was graciously hosted by Glynn

Ryan and Michelynn "Mike" Carellas of FortMcPherson. Mr. Jack Sprott, featured speakerand Executive Director of the McPhersonPlanning Local Redevelopment Authority, gave apresentation to the Council on the plannedredevelopment and reuse of Fort McPhersonafter its planned closure in September 2011.

The Governmentwide Real Property Information Sharing(GRPIS) program, and its associated councils located in variouscities, is comprised of members from a broad range of Federalagencies who work in the Federal real property arena. Thecouncil meetings, which occur two or three times a year, providean excellent medium for these members to meet and discussissues of common interest, to openly discuss "lessons learned",and to network with other members of the Federal real propertycommunity.

The next meeting of both the South Florida and Atlanta GRPISCouncils is planned for mid-November 2009. If you work in theFederal real property field, or in a closely related and supportingarea, and would like to get more information about the GRPISProgram, please feel free to contact GSA's Debbie Young,Council Coordinator, by phone at 404-331-3625, or email at

, for information about the South FloridaGRPIS Council. Similarly, for information about the AtlantaGRPIS Council, please contact GSA's Gabriel Head, CouncilCoordinator, by telephone at 404-331-0298 or by email atgabriel.head@gsa.gov.

debrab.young@gsa.gov

Jack Sprott

Governmentwide Real Property Information Sharing (GRPIS)Council Meetings in South Florida and Atlanta, GA

Photo of Officer HousingOr "Staff Row" at Fort McPherson

Customer Meeting with U. S. Army Corpsof Engineers (COE), Mobile, AL.

Mr. Rob L. Miller, Jr., Director, Real Property Utilization andDisposal Division (4PZ) and Ms. Lori Dennis, Chief,Southern Branch (4PZ) met with Mr. Willie Patterson, Chiefof Real Estate, Mobile District COE, and staff on June 9,2009. 4PZ provided information regarding the services andassistance available from GSA and how we can advise andassist Federal landholding agencies with portfolio strategyand asset utilization in addition to real property disposal.The Corps of Engineers expressed interest in learning moreabout our disposal process, hosting a GSA-taught trainingsession for their staff, and finding out more about theTargeted Asset Review studies that GSA can obtain for clientagencies. If your agency is interested in meeting withrepresentatives from our staff to discuss similaropportunities, then please do not hesitate to contact us. Wewill be happy to meet with you and discuss the ways that wemight be able to assist you!

South Florida GRPISMeeting

GSA Office of Real Property Utilization and Disposal

Helpful Links

Property Disposal's home page has links to all the

properties available for sale to the public.

Individuals can look at pictures of the properties,

obtain general information about open houses

and/or sales dates, download/print the Invitation for

Bids for each property and access our online auction

module.

Bidders can bid online for available properties

through this site.

Our Resource Center has a wealth of information

available to our client agencies. You can find online

forms, such as the SF-118, and a library of

information on the disposal program. Federal and

surplus screening notices are issued through the

Resource Center.

https://www.propertydisposal.gsa.gov

www.auctionrp.com

https://rc.gsa.gov

Our Staff:

To reach any member of our staff, dial (404) 331 and the

four digit number after their name.

-5133

-2699

-2696

-2721

-9451

-1141

-9610

-2363

-0614

-9611

-0298

(865)545-4032

-3625

Rob L. Miller, Jr., Director

James Brandon, Chief, Northern Branch

Lori Dennis, Chief, Southern Branch

-

Jacqueyln M. Carter, Admin. Support Asst.

Antionette Small, Administrative Contract Asst.

(

Kris Carson, Realty Specialist

Vitaliya Dashevskaya, Realty Specialist

Louis Mancuso, Environmental Engineer

Angela Risch, Realty Specialist

Susan Webb, Realty Specialist

(

Joe Crenshaw, Realty Specialist

Elizabeth Dawson, Realty Specialist

Gabriel Head, Realty Specialist

Richard Mayhugh, Realty Specialist

Debra Young, Realty Specialist

3107

-5133

Peter Hotine, Realty Appraiser

Cheryl Harvey, Property Disposal Support Spc.

Suzanne Ritter, Administrative Support Asst.

Sebastian Gregory, Desktop Publishing

-2698

-1142

-2706

-2697

-9612

Laura Yeager, Deputy Director

territory includes Delaware, Maryland, North

Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia,

West Virginia)

territory includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia,

Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee)

Expert’s Corner

The Expert's Corner section is a newadd i t i on to ou r semiannua lnewsletter. We've created it with thehope that it will become an interactivemedium where our readers can posequestions to our staff here at 4PZ, andwhere different members of our staffcan, depending on their particularareas of expertise, respond to ourreader's questions with feedback thatmight be of value not only to theindividual posing the question, butalso to other readers. If you have aFederal real property question thatyou'd like to pose to our staff, then weinvite you to contact Gabriel Head, theProject Manager coordinating thisf o r u m , e i t h e r b y e m a i l a tgabr ie l .head@gsa.gov or bytelephone at 404-331-0298. Sincethis is the inaugural appearance ofthis forum, and our readers haven'tyet had an opportunity to submitactual questions, we'd like to start thisinteractive forum by posing a questionof our own, one which we veryfrequently hear from our customeragencies:

We know about the more“traditional” activities that 4PZ canhelp us with, such as marketing andselling property, but what ELSE canGSA's Real Property Utilization andDisposal Division do for us?

: We can help you withalmost ALL of your real property assetmanagement needs. Executive

Order 13327 Federal Real PropertyAsset Management has greatlyexpanded the ways in which GSA canassist other agencies with their assetmanagement needs. Some of theseservices include:

Training;TargetedAsset Reviews;Utilization Studies;Disposal Option Studies;Land Use Studies;Marketing Studies;Appraisals;Land Surveys and Title Searches;Historical Compliances;Environmental Solutions:

Due Diligence;Contaminated PropertyConveyances;

Relocations;Report of ExcessAssistance;Enhanced Use Leasing;Transfers and Closings;Exchanges;Disposal Leasing.

Whatever your real property assetmanagement needs may be, GSA'sReal Property Util ization andDisposal Division will be more thanhappy to help. If you have particularneeds that you'd like to discuss withus, please do not hesitate to contactour office at 404-331-5133 to speakwith one of our many in-houseprofessionals.

Question:

Answer

You can find out more informationabout GSA Expo at

http://www.expo.gsa.gov.Contact by phone via the Expo hotline

(888) 272-5565 or e-mail at.expo@gsa.gov

GSA EXPO 2010It’s not too early to start planning!

GSA has been workingclosely with the U. S.C o a s t G u a r d t ofacilitate the disposal ofthe Marcus Hook LightStation in Wilmington,Delaware, through anonline auction that isexpected to begin inthe near future. If you'dlike more informationabout this uniqueproperty, contact LouMancuso at 404-331-9451.

Coming Soon:Marcus Hook Lightstation