Page 31 - College Planning & Management, June 2017

Preventing Disputes With Your Partner
One concern that higher education
administrators may have when considering a P3 is how to prevent or effectively resolve disputes, especially when entering into a 30-, 40- or 50-year agreement.
Geoff Eisenacher, vice president of Part- nership Development for East Greenwich, RI- based Corvias, an organization that partners with higher education and government, explains that his firm creates a three-tiered governance committee with each partner. The committee includes executive, manage- ment and operating arms, which review and handle all ongoing issues, items and approv- als across all of a project’s levels.
“The governance committee is balanced 50-50,” Eisenacher says. “However, the impor- tant part is, because we have a true alignment of interests, are fee-based and working toward the same goal, the concept of dispute resolu- tion is usually around such things as operating expenses and budgets. Because we ensure that the college or university is involved in every single aspect and decision that the partnership is facing, we naturally have fewer disputes.”
of the Oaks on the Square apartment complex, which provides 1,010 beds in 618 apartments with varied floor plans.
Below the apartments are eight build- ings with ground floor retail and com- mercial space totaling 160,000 square feet. Both the apartments and retail space are and have been 100-percent occupied since the first phase opened in 2012.
Here’s how the numbers break down. Total project cost is $204 million, of which $106 million is EdR’s share of the invest- ment, $28 million is the infrastructure funded with public funds and $70 million is Leyland Alliance’s share of investment.
Project Outcomes
WSU: Anthony Wayne Drive On- Campus Apartments will debut in fall 2018 with 407 beds and another 434 beds in fall 2019. The total of 575 units and 841 beds include 258 studio units, 197 one-bedroom units, 47 two-bedroom units and 73 four-
bedroom units on a 2.5-acre site with three distinct towers: an 11-story central tower, eight-story North wing and six-story South wing. The 395,000-square-foot development includes 17,000 square feet of retail and a 9,7000-square-foot student health center. “When we open the first phase in August 2018,” says Michael, “it will be the highest- priced housing on our campus, and we believe it will still be 20 percent below market rate.”
UConn: Katie Delaney, community manager of the Oaks on the Square, notes that, “In order to appeal to prospective stu- dents and staff, we have to have a product that appeals to everybody.” With a fitness center, business center and yoga studio, the housing is doing just that. The mixed-use retail space is icing on the cake.
Trubiana agrees. “Storrs Center is spe- cial because it has transformed the area and the UConn campus. Leyland Alliance, UCo- nn and Mansfield Downtown Partnership worked very, very hard, and without them this project would never have happened. It has been a homerun on every front.”
Is It Your Turn?
These two projects are examples of many housing P3s across the nation, with more to come. In fact, Trubiana notes that, currently, his firm is tracking 31 campus pursuits and has nine under some form of development/construction. Perhaps it’s time for you to begin a conversation with your team about the capability of such a project to add to and/or upgrade your housing stock. If so, he advises administrators to designate and empower a leader who has the ability to make decisions to keep the process moving along at a respectable speed.
“It’s a fact that the number of university officials looking to P3s to solve their hous- ing needs has never been greater, and I’ve been doing this for almost 40 years,” says Trubiana. “They’re seeing the benefits of successful partnerships.” He encourages officials to check references. He also says to remember that you’re picking a partner, not a design, so pick one that has a proven track record and the financial strength to solve problems should something go awry. CPM
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