State Can't Find 18,000 ‘Missing’ Buildings

Eyewitness News has reported about how our government loses track of cars, computers and other equipment, but what about losing entire buildings?

Eyewitness News discovered state managers want to hire a company to find thousands of missing buildings even though WFTV reporter Eric Rasmussen found many of them in a matter of minutes.

So how much is the state's disorganization really costing you?

Taxpayers footed the bill for a tiny house in Oakland, but state lawmakers don't know when or even why they bought it. They don't even know it exists. It's one of nearly 18,000 buildings state managers can't find.

“It's amazing to discover such a lack of information and knowledge about what they own,” commercial realtor Don Seligman said.

State managers can't find much of what they bought, because they never made a master list. They've been trying to make one for months, but don't know how.

“Why is it you have the list but state leaders don't?” WFTV reporter Eric Rasmussen asked Orange County Property Appraiser Bill Donegan.

“I don't know,” he said.

Eyewitness News found 1,200 of the missing buildings in Orange County by simply calling Donegan.

“We know where it is. All they have to do is ask us,” he said.

The values add up. Take the little house in Oakland, add the Lynx headquarters in Orlando, the massive state building a few blocks away, a non-descript building on South Street and the former Expressway Authority headquarters and state properties in Orange County alone are worth more than $440 million.

With Florida facing a nearly $3 billion budget hole, State Senator JD Alexander (R - Sebring) says there's no telling how much empty space could be leased out or sold off.

“Those are dollars that we can't spend on education, health care or the other critical needs of our state,” Alexander said. “They're leaving money on the table.”

Commercial real estate experts say vacancy rates are sky high.

“If you don't even know what buildings you have, you can't even begin. You can't even begin to recoup the money that's there,” said Benjamin LaFreniere, Quest Company.

But the state's plan to find those ‘missing’ buildings could cost Florida even more. The Department of Management Services wants to hire a private firm to do the job. It’s unclear at this time how much that will cost, but Donegan says it'll be money wasted on work he and other county appraisers have already done.

“It’s $30. I'll give it to you on a disc,” he said.

The house in Oakland is currently being used for storage.

Eyewitness News also learned state lawmakers may also renew 1.6-million square feet in lease contracts this year without knowing what they already own.