Event Recap: P3 Panel: Everything You Want to Know!

November 02, 2021

The Public-Private-Partnership (P3) delivery method is increasingly being used by the government and school systems to overcome a variety of obstacles they face every day. With only a handful of organizations in the AEC industry who have experience with this unique type of delivery method, it is left to the rest of us questioning how are these projects are contracted, what are the capital risks, how do you team for a project like this? During the session, attendees engaged with 5 P3 experts to gain knowledge and insight as to what a P3 really is.

Jason Washington, Director of Public-Private-Partnerships Program at Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS), is leading the development and implementation of the Nation’s first K-12 bundled schools concessionaire model. The main reason PGCPS chose this delivery method was the financial savings and the commitment to delivering 6 new schools to a massively growing population of students, as quickly as possible. With such a large portfolio of buildings, Jason is currently looking into other ways they can utilize the P3 delivery method for renovations and other projects.

Darin Early, the Managing Director of Public-Private-Partnerships Program of Gilbane Development Company, is currently serving as the Principal-in-Charge for PGCPS the alternative construction financing delivery approach. Prior to the issuance of the PGCPS P3 project, Darin previously completed a P3 with Stantec to deliver a new school in Pennsylvania. Due to the government procurement laws with multiple prime contractors, the school district knew the project would most likely face higher costs and project delivery delays. To overcome these obstacles, the school system sold the land to the developer to build the new facility, and after the project was completed, the developer sold the property back to the owner.

Luis Vildostegui, Senior Principal of the Educational Studio at Stantec, recalled the amount of risk one takes with entering into a P3 project and the ways that Stantec mitigates those risks. In a P3, each firm has various contractual obligations; therefore, constant communication is essential. In Stantec’s most recent P3, the entire team (owner, developer, designers, etc.) came together to work 3 days a week in the Stantec office to ensure the project was proceeding in the right direction and on-time. While P3’s can be challenging, the previous relationships with the developer and the owner, made for a smoother project delivery.

While we expect that most P3’s happen with a public government or public institutions and private developers, this is not always the case. Michael Schade, Principal of Atkin Olshin Schade Architects, has worked on many P3 projects with private higher educational institutions and developers. In some cases, Michael had the existing relationship with the institutions, in other cases, he had the existing relationship with the developer who brought AOS on the team.

Jeffrey Folden, the Deputy Director of the I-495 & I-270 P3 Program for MDOT SHA, has previously awarded the P3 contract to a developer for the new $9-11 billion I-495 & I-270 P3 program. Later this year or early next year, teaming opportunities with the developer will be announced, and those who are interested will begin to network in effort to team for this project.

During this panel we learned that P3 project delivery method is different for each project, and there are some projects that may not benefit from the P3 project delivery method. Across the panel, it was agreed that:

1. There are many factors that go into deciding if the P3 delivery model is best for a specific project
2. Due to the amount of risk involved, prior relationships are necessary
3. Constant communication and deliberation are essential

Thank you to all attendees for joining this insightful conversation and to the panelists for providing insight and knowledge regarding P-3’s.