Earlier this month, the Florida legislature passed House Bill 85, which establishes statewide authorization and procedures for public-private partnerships. The law, which will be encoded as Section 287.05712, Florida Statutes, authorizes counties, municipalities, school boards, and other political subdivisions and entities to form public-private partnerships with the private sector to develop, operate, or maintain any facility… Continue Reading
Al Dotson
New Legislation Facilitates Public-Private Partnerships
Proposed Florida Public-Private Partnerships Law Continues to Move Through Legislature
We recently wrote about the Florida House and Senate bills regarding public-private partnerships that are currently under consideration. As a brief update, House Bill 85 was approved on Tuesday by the House Appropriations Committee. It is next scheduled to be considered by the State Affairs Committee, and from there, it could be considered for adoption… Continue Reading
New Federal and State Programs Will Boost Public-Private Partnership Development
President Obama Emphasizes the Value of Public-Private Partnerships Last Friday, President Obama visited Miami and, speaking at the Port of Miami, detailed his proposals for increased public-infrastructure spending through public-private partnerships. Although the President envisions traditional financing approaches for certain projects, he continues to emphasize the importance of P3s to rebuild our aging infrastructure and… Continue Reading
South Florida Law Firms Team Up In Support of United Way of Miami-Dade
The Bilzin Sumberg Dodge Squad is getting set to square off against three other South Florida law firms in an upcoming dodgeball tournament to raise funds for the United Way of Miami-Dade. On March 13, we will vie for the title of Dodgeball Champion 2013 alongside Akerman Senterfitt, Carlton Fields and Greenberg Traurig at 5:30… Continue Reading
Public-Private Partnerships in Good Times
In prior posts, we have explained that the proliferation of public – private partnerships in recent years has been due, in part, to the financial stresses placed on local governments during that same period of time. The logic is straightforward enough. Local governments rely on public facilities, such as ports and convention centers, to generate revenue. … Continue Reading
Bilzin Sumberg Hosts Inaugural New Miami Breakfast Series
This past week, Bilzin Sumberg hosted its inaugural New Miami Breakfast Series discussion, with a focus on Public-Private Partnerships. With the benefit of a diverse, expert panel and an engaged (and engaging) audience of business and community leaders we had a productive discussion on the benefits of P3s and their future in our community. The… Continue Reading
Thank You For Joining Us For Our New Miami Breakfast Series
Thank you for joining us for the inaugural session of the New Miami Breakfast Series. Public-Private Partnerships: Why They Are Growing in Popularity and Their Impact on South Florida The most flexible relationship between the government and a private contractor is a public-private partnership, commonly referred to as a P3, in which government and the… Continue Reading
Public-Private Partnerships, Seaports, and The New Normal
Posted in Public-Private Partnerships A recent article in the PPP Bulletin, “Change we can believe in?”, explains that “PPPs are the new normal” for infrastructure projects in the United States, and public-private partnerships are being relied upon for responses to Hurricane Sandy, transportation projects, water recycling facilities, airports, and everything in between. For the same reasons that P3s are… Continue Reading
Reception Celebrates Launch of AnsaldoBreda’s Miami-Dade Rail Car Project
Posted in Public-Private Partnerships On January 9, we hosted a reception to celebrate the launch of the Miami-Dade County Rail Car Project. Italian global transportation company AnsaldoBreda, will replace the existing aging Metrorail trains with 136 modern, heavy rail vehicles. Miami-Dade Transit awarded the $300 million contract to AnsaldoBreda to build the new fleet of Metrorail cars, which will… Continue Reading
Port Miami’s Development Improve Sea, Road, and Rail Access
Posted in Public-Private Partnerships We recently mentioned the Port of Miami’s ambitious development plans in the context of the several major public projects taking place in South Florida. Among these projects, it is clear that the activity at the Port is of the greatest interest to the Miami development community and, indeed, often appears to be the topic of… Continue Reading
Art Basel: Miami’s Cultural and Economic Gem
Posted in Hospitality, Leisure & Restaurants From December 6-9th, Miami hosts the 11th edition of Art Basel, the most prestigious art show in the Americas. More than 260 leading galleries from around the world will take part, showcasing works by more than 2,000 artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. As art collectors, celebrities, artists and journalists descend upon Miami for… Continue Reading
New Public Transportation Contract Fuels Growth
Posted in Public-Private Partnerships Italian firm AnsaldoBreda awarded contract to build Metrorail cars in 2015 Last week, the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners awarded a $313 million contract to AnsaldoBreda to design and build 136 new Metrorail cars to replace the existing fleet. The contract was awarded after a lengthy competitive solicitation process that included several twists and… Continue Reading
P3s Everywhere You Look
Posted in Construction, Public-Private Partnerships There are currently a lot of construction hats at Miami-area transportation facilities. The Miami International Airport has recently opened its newly constructed North Terminal and new MIA Mover people mover system, and construction is underway of the Miami Intermodal Center, a massive ground transportation hub connecting the airport to Metrorail, Metrobus, rental cars, etc. Not… Continue Reading
Reauthorization of EB-5 Program to Spur Business Development
The City of Miami is pushing for job creation and economic development through the establishment of an EB-5 immigrant investor regional center. The EB-5 program, initially created in 1990 by Congress, allows for foreign investors to invest and subsequently obtain an EB-5 visa. The visa grants 2 year resident status to qualifying investors and their… Continue Reading
P3 Opportunities Ahead For Public Transportation Systems
Posted in Public-Private Partnerships Moving forward, some of the most exciting opportunities for public-private partnerships will be in the area of public transportation. Traditionally, public transportation systems have been constructed and operated solely with public dollars. Unfortunately, now that the need for new fast and efficient public transportation systems is greater than ever, those public dollars are hard to… Continue Reading
Miami Beach Convention Center Seeking P3 for Re-Development
Convention Centers Look to P3s to Become More Competitive Globally The PPP Bulletin recently reported that the city of Los Angeles is considering forming a public-private partnership with a private-sector entity to manage the Los Angeles Convention Center. We recently discussed the advantages of using P3s for large government projects, and a Los Angeles official… Continue Reading
Alternative Methods of Awarding Government Contracts
Posted in Public-Private Partnerships Low Bidder, Slow Bidder? The Miami Today recently reported that key renovations and upgrades to several Metromover stations are scheduled to be completed this fall. (The Metromover is an automated “people mover” mass transit system operated by Miami-Dade County that whisks passengers, free of charge, to key locations throughout downtown Miami.) The article quotes Miami-Dade… Continue Reading