As the city of Hartford begins looking at a public-private partnership (P3) for Downtown North, it’s no surprise it has been a bit of a challenge to define just what a “P3” is. By way of example, the long-term lease of the city’s parking garages would have been a public-private partnership. P3s have been the solution of choice in this era of diminished desire for public projects supported by tax dollars. Interest in P3 projects is not limited to high tax states; they are a solution regardless of the tax rate — some would say a magical solution, promising public improvements at a fraction of the cost.
In essence, cash-strapped cities and states partner with private business to fund public infrastructure — from roads and bridges, to the sale of parking garages, or even to the building of ballparks. In the early ’90s, privatization was seen as the way to cut government cost by subcontracting government functions to private business.
Locally the most famous project was the privatization of the Hartford School System to Educational Alternatives Inc. The challenges of working out the contract with Educational Alternatives put an early end to that experiment.
Recently the American Institute of Architects (AIA) joined the conversation focusing on instances of assigning public infrastructure to a private partner. This appears to be the approach Hartford is taking for the proposed Rock Cats minor league ballpark.
First, the AIA suggests the role of the architect changes from designer for the city to subcontractor for the developer. Second, and more importantly, the AIA suggests that the long-term interests of the city and the short-term monetary motivation of the developer are in conflict, and only through tight negotiations and keeping a close watch on the development process will the government end up with the deal it expects.
P3s, then, are not well understood because local officials are normally too focused on the payoff: infrastructure on the cheap. The development comes, it seems, at a fraction of the price compared to a publicly financed project.
Instead the AIA suggests that cities must realize their private partners will put their own financial interests first, something that should be both expected and respected. Normally the project agreements take months, if not years, to resolve.
For example, on the old New Haven Coliseum site, a Canadian developer is in its second year of negotiations with that city and the state. All three parties are focused on identifying and putting in place all the financing before the deal is inked and any construction begins.
It took the city of Hartford 18 months to negotiate the Rock Cats deal, which hasn’t been warmly received. Now, the city has laid out a schedule with just a couple of months to negotiate a much larger deal, incorporating both building the ballpark from the first deal in addition to adding a half-dozen parcels around the stadium and obligating the developer to build the ballpark.
While Hooker Brewery’s interest is a good first step, they were already waiting in the wings, and, by their own admission, are looking for state money and tax breaks to relocate from Bloomfield. This is something we have to assume all other development may require, as nothing over two stories has been built in Hartford without public subsidy in years. Ballparks can generate private interests, but they don’t change market fundamentals.
It’s like the AIA said, public and private interests are out of line and fixing that takes time — time the city does not want to invest, but must, if this is going to work and turn a questionable process into the successful project everyone would like to see.
If this is going to happen, the Rock Cats need to extend their contract by a year in New Britain and Hartford needs to take that time to build the right development plan, identify the financing for the park and Downtown North.
Moving too quickly is neither bold nor visionary, but fool hardy. Hartford does not need another failed plan and Mayor Pedro Segarra needs a win. Right now, Hartford must find the courage and patience to step back, re-commit to the public and to the Rock Cats, and develop a rational plan for opening day 2017.
David Panagore is the former chief operating officer of the city of Hartford.
