Paving the Way for Presidio Parkway Project

Skillfully steering a high-profile deal with complex twists and turns, we helped the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) reach financial close on the Presidio Parkway Project.

PROJECT DETAILS

The project, a $1.1 billion replacement of San Francisco's Doyle Drive, is the heavily traveled southern entry point to the Golden Gate Bridge.  With our guidance, Caltrans inked an agreement with Golden Link Concessionaire LLC, a consortium led by Hochtief PPP Solutions North America and Meridiam Infrastructure North America.  Golden Link Concessionaire would design, build, finance, operate and maintain the Presidio Parkway for 30 years.  The new roadway, which opened to traffic in July 2015, features extensive seismic upgrades, two sets of short tunnels, a wide landscaped median, enhanced pedestrian access and improved traffic transitions onto city streets.

Working with the consortium and other parties, we overcame several hurdles in advancing procurement of the innovative P3.  In addition to navigating the unprecedented project structure, we warded off litigation challenges filed by opponents who argued the roadway couldn't be built as a P3.  The California Supreme Court allowed the project to proceed as a public-private partnership in 2011, enabling it to achieve financial close.

In coordinating the deal, we also had to take into account a wide array of historic preservation and environmental issues involving the historic Presidio, a 150-year-old former U.S. Army base-turned-national park.  The Presidio Parkway design provides new direct access to the Presidio, reducing traffic detours through adjacent city neighborhoods.

We advised on a financing structure for the project that includes $45.6 million in equity, $166.6 million in senior bank loans and a $150 million Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan.   

Our successful work on the Presidio Parkway Project has helped pave the way for other transportation P3s in California and is expected to ease the path for future similarly innovative procurements.  The project's 2012 list of honors include being named as the:

INNOVATION

• The project made history as the first transportation public-private partnership (P3) under the 2009 California legislation enabling P3s for the delivery and financing of transportation projects.

HONORS & AWARDS

• "Infrastructure Project Award"  |  National Council for Public-Private Partnerships, 2016
• Top 3 "Global Transport Project"  |  PPP Bulletin International, 2013
• "Best Real Estate Deal of the Year, Infrastructure/ Public-Private Partnership"  |  San Francisco Business Times, 2012
• "P3 Project of the Year"  |  American Road and Transportation Builders Association, 2012
• "North American P3 Deal of the Year"  |  Project Finance magazine, 2012
• "Americas P3 Deal of the Year"  |  Project Finance International, 2012