Transforming Communities: Placemaking and the Public-Private Partnership
By Steve Haemmerle, Executive Vice President
Placemaking is more than simply addressing an immediate programmatic need by constructing a building. It means looking beyond the building boundaries, thinking about an institution’s or community’s larger goals and objectives, and figuring out how to connect with the broader community in a thoughtful and authentic manner. Thinking broadly and engaging the larger community often leads to projects best completed with the support of others, relying on the respective strengths of the public and private sectors – a Public Private Partnership. The University of Kansas (KU) Gateway District is such a project, a reconstructed stadium and new conference center with an adjacent and vibrant mixed-use district, a P3 success story in the making.
I had the pleasure of moderating a panel called “University of Kansas Gateway Project: A Story of Transformation Via a Stadium and Mixed-Use P3” at the 2024 Public-Private Partnership Conference & Expo in Dallas, Texas. There, I had a very engaging discussion with panelists Heather Blanck, Chief Procurement Officer, University of Kansas, and Jeff DeWitt, Chief Financial Officer & Executive Vice Chancellor, University of Kansas, exploring the ongoing development for the KU Gateway District, and some of the reasons behind its success. Here are some key takeaways from the panel, along with my own thoughts about how the public sector can best engage the private sector, having spent decades leading the development of high-profile projects as an owner in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors.
Think Big and Set Goals:
You can remodel an aging stadium, or you can build a vibrant mixed-use district and a new gateway to the University. Placemaking is best accomplished by approaching a project holistically, not just building in isolation. Rather than viewing the Memorial Stadium as a place for eight college games a year, we collectively envisioned it as an opportunity to engage the Jayhawk and Lawrence communities with a project that is activated year-round. The location of the stadium at the edge of the campus allows it to become a connection point between the university and the City of Lawrence and integrate it with the rest of the campus. While the Gateway District is still in its early stages and much hard work remains, it’s positioned to be that transformational project that the University has set out to create.
Finding the Right Partner:
Developing a successful P3 project is about finding the right private sector development partner – one that shares the vision and goals of its public sector partner and is committed to the collaboration and hard work necessary to deliver a successful project. From its initial feasibility study, program recommendations, and economic and fiscal impact analysis, Hunden Partners has worked with KU to move the project from concept into the implementation phase. In order to find the right development partner, it is important to clearly articulate the public sector’s goals and to be direct about defining the project and its components. The more complex the project, the more likely the case that the best approach may be engaging several private sector partners to meet the public sector’s goals, to most appropriately allocate risk and control, and to leverage the strengths of all entities involved in delivering the project. In the case of the Gateway District, for example, ownership of the stadium most appropriately resides with the University, and ownership of the proposed hotel most appropriately resides with the private sector.
The Importance of Public Funding:
Transformational projects have benefits and costs that go beyond the individual commercial components of a project, and public funding is almost always a part of the capital required to deliver a P3 project. Hunden Partners evaluated the potential funding streams available to the University of Kansas and its development partner. This analysis will be an ongoing effort and an important part of delivering a built project. While a sound and oftentimes creative approach to financing a project is necessary – projects don’t get built without the needed capital – it is the vision and authentic sense of place that transformative projects bring to a community that makes them worth all the effort and hard work. KU is a model P3 success story in the making, and Hunden Partners is thrilled to be a part of it.
