The State Building Commission executive subcommittee on Oct. 20 approved a three-year lease amendment that will allow the Tennessee Department of Correction to remain in its Columbia office while staff complete acquisition and construction of a larger facility, Deputy Commissioner John Hall said.

Hall told members the current office is approximately 7,100 square feet but no longer meets the department’s needs; corrections staff now estimate they need about 11,000 square feet. The property containing the incumbent office was recently sold, prompting the state to advertise for new space. The lease amendment maintains the current space while the procurement and build-to-suit proposals are evaluated.

A subcommittee member asked for the history of previous extensions and why the state expected a different result this time. Hall said earlier solicitations produced only one proposal — from the incumbent landlord — and that zoning issues and the department’s revised space needs had affected prior evaluations. He said this solicitation produced two build-to-suit proposals that staff judged to be viable.

"We only got one proposal and that was from the incumbent landlord," Hall said, describing the earlier round. "Because this time, we actually did get two good proposals. They are build to suits, not an existing office that is there. So we've checked those out already. So we think they're good proposals to proceed forward this time."

The subcommittee approved the three-year lease amendment with a waiver of advertisement. The motion passed by voice vote; no opposition was recorded in the meeting.

Next steps identified in the discussion included continued evaluation of the two proposals and re-advertising as needed; the meeting did not specify a timeline for selecting the new site or the fiscal impacts of the future lease.