NASCA Press Release: Pennsylvania Space Optimization and Utilization Project Announced as 2026 Innovation in StateGovernment: Facilities and Real Estate Optimization Award Recipient

For Immediate Release
October 9, 2026

Contact: Elizabeth Whitehouse, Executive Director, executivedirector@nasca.org

NASCA Press Release: Pennsylvania Space Optimization and Utilization Project Announced as 2026 Innovation in State Government: Facilities and Real Estate Optimization Award Recipient

Harrisburg, PA – The National Association of State Chief Administrators is proud to announce the Pennsylvania Space Optimization and Utilization Project (SOUP) as the 2026 NASCA Innovation in State Government: Facilities and Real Estate Optimization Award recipient.

The Innovation in State Government Awards recognize state administration department programs, projects, and initiatives that exemplify leading practices in the industry.

In two years, SOUP grew from the Commonwealth’s first comprehensive review of its real estate portfolio into a Commonwealth-wide approach to making informed real estate decisions. Led by the Pennsylvania Department of General Services (DGS), SOUP brings together portfolio data, employee work patterns, lease strategy, workplace design standards, and support for agencies and employees.

The goal is straightforward: reduce spending on unnecessary leased space, make better use of the Commonwealth’s existing facilities, and create workplaces that help employees and agencies do their jobs.

“This award belongs to the teams who did the work,” said Acting DGS Secretary Sandra Aguilera. “They listened to our agency customers. They solved hard problems. They supported employees through major moves. I am proud of this team, and I thank NASCA for recognizing what they accomplished.”

SOUP began with a structural problem: Commonwealth real estate decisions had traditionally been made at the agency level reviewing leases one at a time, often without a single portfolio view connecting actual space use, workforce schedules, lease milestones, capital needs, and workplace standards. Evolving work patterns made that fragmentation increasingly costly and complex. DGS responded with the Commonwealth’s first comprehensive portfolio review and an enterprise model that converts occupancy and real estate data into coordinated and informed decisions.

The central innovation is the operating model itself. SOUP combines four capabilities that had previously been managed separately: portfolio-level analytics, lease and master-lease strategy, standardized workplace delivery, and structured agency change management. Geospatial analysis of employee onsite schedules helps DGS understand where space is needed and when. Agency surveys and portfolio data establish operational needs. Lease expirations, relocations, renovation cycles, and renegotiations create opportunities to act. Design guidelines, furniture standards, reservation technology, and inclusive features then turn those decisions into workplaces that support productive public service.

The initiative delivered $14.2 million in annual lease savings, versus an original projection of $12 million, and $23.6 million in total lease savings versus $11.8 million projected. It reduced the leased office footprint by 639,331 square feet, more than twice the original projection of 270,000 square feet and reduced the number of leased Commonwealth office spaces from 324 to 312.

Those results come from both major consolidations and smaller actions across Pennsylvania. The work includes ending or reducing leases, renegotiating master leases, making better use of retained space, and identifying regional opportunities that were not part of the original plan.

“SOUP gives us a clear and repeatable way to manage the Commonwealth’s real estate as one portfolio,” said Catherine Califano, DGS Deputy Secretary for Administration and Real Estate Services. “We look at how space is being used, what leases are coming due, and how existing facilities can work better for us. Then we help agencies and employees through the change. That discipline lowers costs, reduces unused space, and creates attractive workplaces that better fit the work people do today.”

SOUP has changed the starting point for Commonwealth real estate decisions. Instead of asking how much space an individual agency has historically occupied, DGS asks what space is needed, where it is needed, how often it is used, and how it can be provided at the lowest responsible long-term cost.

DGS looked at the range of pain points in the system, the technology needs, safety concerns, and the moving procedures to streamline the adoption process. Agencies are supported throughout the entire process, and every project is measured against the same clear outcomes.

NASCA celebrates their selection, and we look forward to their continued work advancing excellence in state government operations. 

Founded in 1976, NASCA is the nation’s only nonpartisan, nonprofit organization serving chief administrative officers or CAOs. NASCA provides a forum for state chief administrative officers to exchange information and learn new ideas from each other and private sector partners. NASCA engages states in transforming government operations through shared knowledge, operational excellence, and thought leadership.

For more information on NASCA, please visit NASCA.org.