JEFFERSON CITY - To put more money into state highway projects, the Missouri Department of Transportation has been aggressively marketing property it no longer needs for the state highway system. Now the department's Realty to Roads program is earning national praise as a property management model.
The Federal Highway Administration has given the program its 2010 Excellence in Right of Way award in the Technical Specialties category. The award recognizes outstanding innovations in property management and honors those who excel in improving the property acquisition process.
"State departments of transportation have traditionally been more geared toward buying right of way for highway projects than selling it," said Kelly Lucas, director of MoDOT's Right of Way Division, who accepted the award. "We had to change the way we looked at property management and learn how to creatively move property we no longer needed."
MoDOT has used innovative tools, such as statewide sales blitzes, to move excess property, and its website provides virtual tours of properties for sale. The department also tracks property sales to gauge performance and ensure accountability.
The results have been positive for the state's construction and maintenance programs. In fiscal year 2009, the agency removed 228 parcels from its inventory, double the 112 pieces of property sold in 2008. The fiscal year 2009 sales generated more than $4.2 million for state highway improvements.
The department will attempt to sell 32 more pieces of prime real estate April 26-30 in a second Realty to Roads property blitz. The parcels range in size from a quarter of an acre to 200 acres. Some of the inventory will be conveyed by sealed bid, while other properties will be sold at public auction.
Additional information about the property for sale can be found on MoDOT's website, www.modot.org/realtyforsale.
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