MADISON – State Representative Dean Kaufert [R—Neenah] is calling on the Wisconsin State Building Commission to delay the sale of the state DNR (GEF 2) and DPI (GEF 3) office buildings in downtown Madison for pennies on the dollar, calling it a bad deal for taxpayers.

The sale of the two properties is on the State Building Commission’s agenda for final approval at its 2:15pm meeting this afternoon. The Evers’ administration is proposing to sell the two buildings and properties for a combined $12.6 Million despite the fact that two independent appraisals estimated the properties value at $45.45 Million and $52.4 Million, respectively. $12.6 Million is only 25 percent of market value.

“Selling these state buildings and land that is on prime real estate in downtown Madison for pennies on the dollar is a bad deal for Wisconsin taxpayers and needs a lot more scrutiny before being transferred to a developer in a sweetheart deal while nobody is watching,” Kaufert said. “We’ll have a new Governor in a few months and the new administration should get a chance to see if this fits their new goals and policies. Even if it is decided to sell these properties in the future, we should negotiate a much better deal for taxpayers – we’ll always be able to sell it at fire sale price, but if approved today it’s gone forever and taxpayers foot the bill and lose the value.”

Kaufert also noted that the sale of the buildings, which provide considerable office space, would make it far more difficult to return state employees to a more heavily in-person work environment. Currently, some state agency employees work as little as one day per month in
the office. Kaufert previously served on the State Building Commission for 8 years under both Governors Scott Walker and Jim Doyle.