Let's come back to the TRF question first as the most constrained in time. I can understand why the College of Business might threaten to close their lab and turn the operation over to IS if COB doesn't get the funding they want. Students realize the COB labs are well-equipped, so they go there. You can get a core amount to pay for basic needs, and extras you pay for yourself as a department. The TRF should probably ask applicants to include information about what students are doing now without the funding in the department, and what the department would do without the funding.
Students can go just about anywhere to use a lab.
Department labs are more of a convenience. There are some resources available in department labs that aren't across campus. Special software is one thing, but also faculty nearby and lab assistants who know the software and the discipline in a departmental lab are part of the resources. If students need to use specific resources, then upgrade equipment to an acceptable operating level with TRF funding. There's a high student population there.