Congress urged to fund rehab of US properties

Congress should promptly provide funds for the rehabilitation and maintenance of the country’s real estate assets in the United States, Senate Majority Leader Loren Legarda said recently.

Legarda said she was personally opposed to the planned outright sale of at least two of the country’s seven prime real properties in the US.

However, she also said Malacañang, in consultation with Congress, should finally determine "how the rapid degradation of the properties may be best addressed."

"We cannot just say we should not dispose of the properties, and at the same time not provide funds for their restoration and subsequent upkeep," Legarda pointed out.

A number of lawmakers have opposed the planned sale of the properties. Others have suggested getting rid of two or three of the less valuable properties so that the proceeds could be used to rehabilitate and maintain the more valuable ones.

The country owns a building on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York; a townhouse on 66th Street, also in New York; another building in Washington DC; a third building in San Francisco; a residential property in Glen Haven, Houston; a vacant lot on Terry Avenue in Seattle; and a property in Chicago.

Legarda said she personally preferred that the properties be redeveloped "at the least possible expense to government."

She said she had nothing against turning the idle properties, such as the vacant lot in Seattle, into income-generating assets, either by leasing them out or allowing other parties to build, manage, lease and then transfer the improve properties to the country later on.

"It is not clear to us whether or not the Chicago property is also idle. If it is, then the property should likewise be upgraded into a revenue-generating asset," she added.