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  • 1.  Capital Renewal Strategies

    Posted 08-21-2025 03:25 PM

    I'd be interested to know about any campus that has developed a successful Renewal and Replacement strategy to deal with their deferred maintenance backlog? I saw a presentation at Penn back in 2018 about Century Bonds that addressed the issue quite well and I know that Yale has done a superb job addressing this problem, I'm just wondering if anyone else knows a campus that has developed a revolving fund, R&R endowment, or any other financial strategy to successfully deal with the issue. 



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    Steven Thweatt
    Vice Chancellor for Administration - emeritus
    University of Colorado Boulder
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  • 2.  RE: Capital Renewal Strategies

    Posted 08-22-2025 09:30 AM

    Hi Steven. 

    At UCSF, over the last 10-12 years, we established specifically identified/funded programs for "Facilities Investment Needs" (DM and code compliance) and for 
    "Scheduled Renewal" (15-year and 25-year building anniversary funding for building systems and finishes). These appear as items on our ten-year capital plan and the funding is built into our ten-year campus financial plan. We also committed recurring operational funding for a management team to oversee the programs. The commitment of funds over the longer-term has allowed our Facilities Services and Real Estate teams to prioritize the work and maintain a level of activity over time. Of course, they would like additional funds and regularly request more, and sometimes the commitment of some funds needs to shift earlier or later in time. The execution team has been very effective at the prioritization of projects. Their consultation effort (engaging occupants for the renewal effort) and promotion of the work has helped maintain the financial commitment from leadership and the campus community. We have been fortunate to be able to sustain the program financially -- even in challenging times, the feeling has been that these programs need to continue. To initiate the FIN program and secure funding, we made an adjustment in how investment earnings were distributed, but we didn't explicitly tie those funds to the program in our ledgers. We had also created a "revolving fund" for some of the funding early on, but haven't found it necessary to continue that accounting. I hope that helps. I think the key is to create a program that has consistent long-term committed funding so that the benefits can be consistently reached. I'm happy to put you in touch with our program leads.

    Mike Clune, Senior Associate Vice Chancellor and CFO, UC San Francisco



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    Michael Clune
    Senior Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer
    University of California, San Francisco
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Capital Renewal Strategies

    Posted 08-22-2025 09:43 AM
    Edited by Jennifer Stutzman 08-22-2025 09:44 AM

    Duke has had a specific Deferred Maintenance fund since 1980, which was a set $/SF charged to the buildings.  Only within the last 6-7 years have we increased it for inflation and created renewal programs that focus on specific things, i.e. roofing, elevators, interior finishes, "small" renewal (projects less than $50K).

    I've been working on the change management, data management, program administration, etc. since I was brought on November 2023.



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    Jennifer Stutzman
    Facility Renewal Architect
    Duke University
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Capital Renewal Strategies

    Posted 08-22-2025 10:43 AM

    "At UNT housing we attempt to set aside 11% of gross revenues for R&R.  It's hard to do, we average around 9%."  credit Danial Armitage, AVP for Auxiliary Services.



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    Kristi Ormand
    Director, Division Budget & Ops
    University of North Texas
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Capital Renewal Strategies

    Posted 08-22-2025 05:26 PM

    Hi Steven,

    The University of San Diego has an annual deferred maintenance budget; despite this, we were facing a DM backlog several years ago which led to the development of the Renaissance Plan: https://www.sandiego.edu/offices/university-operations/renaissance-plan.php

    Essentially, we employed a "save, then spend" approach, coupled with a bond issuance when the interest rate markets were favorable. The plan was successfully completed, and transformed the west end of our campus. We are currently in the planning phases for Phase 2, which will include addressing other DM projects, as well as the construction of a state-of-the-art STEM facility thanks to a large donor contribution supporting our STEM programming. 



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    Marie Davis
    Assistant Vice President, Budget and Planning
    University of San Diego
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    Original Message


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