diff --git a/resources/3rdparty/CMakeLists.txt b/resources/3rdparty/CMakeLists.txt
index cf7053498..f2099eb11 100644
--- a/resources/3rdparty/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/resources/3rdparty/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,20 +1,58 @@
+add_custom_target(resources) 
+add_custom_target(test-resources)
+
 include(ExternalProject)
 ExternalProject_Add(
         xercesc
         SOURCE_DIR ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/xercesc-3.1.2
-        CONFIGURE_COMMAND ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/xercesc-3.1.2/configure --prefix=${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/xercesc-3.1.2
+        CONFIGURE_COMMAND ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/xercesc-3.1.2/configure --prefix=${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/xercesc-3.1.2 CC=${CMAKE_C_COMPILER} CXX=${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER} CFLAGS=-O3 CXXFLAGS=-O3
         PREFIX ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/xercesc-3.1.2
         BUILD_COMMAND make
         BUILD_IN_SOURCE 0
+        LOG_CONFIGURE ON
+        LOG_BUILD ON
+        LOG_INSTALL ON
 )
+add_dependencies(resources xercesc)
 
 ExternalProject_Add(
     glpk
     DOWNLOAD_COMMAND ""
     PREFIX ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/glpk-4.57
     SOURCE_DIR ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/glpk-4.57
-    CONFIGURE_COMMAND CC=${CMAKE_C_COMPILER} ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/glpk-4.57/configure --prefix=${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/glpk-4.57
+    CONFIGURE_COMMAND ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/glpk-4.57/configure --prefix=${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/glpk-4.57 CC=${CMAKE_C_COMPILER}
     BUILD_COMMAND make "CFLAGS=-O2 -w"
     INSTALL_COMMAND make install
     BUILD_IN_SOURCE 0
+    LOG_CONFIGURE ON
+    LOG_BUILD ON
+    LOG_INSTALL ON
 )
+add_dependencies(resources glpk)
+
+
+ExternalProject_Add(
+        googletest
+        #For downloads (may be useful later!)
+        #SVN_REPOSITORY http://googletest.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/
+        #TIMEOUT 10
+        DOWNLOAD_COMMAND ""
+        SOURCE_DIR "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/gtest-1.7.0"
+        # Force separate output paths for debug and release builds to allow easy
+        # identification of correct lib in subsequent TARGET_LINK_LIBRARIES 
+        CMAKE_ARGS  -Dgtest_force_shared_crt=ON
+        # Disable install step
+        INSTALL_COMMAND ""
+        # Wrap download, configure and build steps in a script to log output
+        LOG_CONFIGURE ON
+        LOG_BUILD ON)
+
+# Specify include dir
+ExternalProject_Get_Property(googletest source_dir)
+set(GTEST_INCLUDE_DIR ${source_dir}/include PARENT_SCOPE)
+# Specify MainTest's link libraries
+ExternalProject_Get_Property(googletest binary_dir)
+set(GTEST_LIBRARIES ${binary_dir}/libgtest.a ${binary_dir}/libgtest_main.a PARENT_SCOPE)
+
+add_dependencies(test-resources googletest)
+    
diff --git a/src/CMakeLists.txt b/src/CMakeLists.txt
index 78a65a203..398571b27 100644
--- a/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -107,9 +107,8 @@ endif(ADDITIONAL_LINK_DIRS)
 ##                                                                            #
 ###############################################################################
 add_library(storm ${STORM_LIB_SOURCES} ${STORM_LIB_HEADERS} ${STORM_GENERATED_SOURCES}) # Adding headers for xcode
-add_dependencies(storm xercesc)
 add_dependencies(storm sylvan)
-add_dependencies(storm glpk)
+add_dependencies(storm resources)
 add_executable(storm-main ${STORM_MAIN_SOURCES} ${STORM_MAIN_HEADERS})
 target_link_libraries(storm-main storm) # Adding headers for xcode
 set_target_properties(storm-main PROPERTIES OUTPUT_NAME "storm")
diff --git a/test/CMakeLists.txt b/test/CMakeLists.txt
index 42771c858..1d60c395b 100644
--- a/test/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/test/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -12,11 +12,13 @@ add_executable(storm-functional-tests ${STORM_FUNCTIONAL_TEST_MAIN_FILE} ${STORM
 target_link_libraries(storm-functional-tests storm)
 add_executable(storm-performance-tests ${STORM_PERFORMANCE_TEST_MAIN_FILE} ${STORM_PERFORMANCE_TEST_FILES})
 target_link_libraries(storm-performance-tests storm)
+add_dependencies(storm-functional-tests test-resources)
+add_dependencies(storm-performance-tests test-resources)
 
-include_directories("${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/resources/3rdparty/gtest-1.7.0/include")
+include_directories(${GTEST_INCLUDE_DIR})
 enable_testing()
-target_link_libraries(storm-functional-tests gtest)
-target_link_libraries(storm-performance-tests gtest)
+target_link_libraries(storm-functional-tests ${GTEST_LIBRARIES})
+target_link_libraries(storm-performance-tests ${GTEST_LIBRARIES})
 add_test(NAME storm-functional-tests COMMAND storm-functional-tests)
 add_test(NAME storm-performance-tests COMMAND storm-performance-tests)