Significant JPA Projects

Directed the financial advisory and procurement execution for the Port of Miami Tunnel (“POMT” – financial close in 2009) for the Florida Department of Transportation (“FDOT”). Despite extensive traffic & revenue analysis, the availability payment model was adapted from European social infrastructure (schools, hospitals) P3s to a U.S. transport project because the Port of Miami vetoed tolling shipping containers or cruise ship passengers. POMT required twin, 42-foot diameter bored highway tunnels – at the time, the largest bores in the U.S. in difficult geology. Sunken tube tunnel alternatives were rejected by Miami’s cruise lines due to the prospects of disruption to their passenger operations. No U.S. contractors would bid on POMT due to its technical complexity. Several European firms had the requisite expertise but would bid only if a P3 structure was applied. POMT was completed by a joint venture of Meridiam and Bouygues in 2014 at an all-in cost of $711 million compared to a budgeted cost of $1.2 billion. The Port of Miami Tunnel was awarded numerous Deal of the Year awards for finance, engineering and construction. It is regarded as one of the most significant transport investments ever made in Miami-Dade County.

Directed the financial advisory and procurement execution for the I-595 Reconstruction & Reversible Express Lanes for FDOT (“1-595” – financial close in 2009 by ACS). Despite the revenue-generating potential of the Express Lanes, FDOT opted to retain pricing authority and revenue risk, resulting in adoption of an availability payment P3 structure built on POMT precedents. Bids for I-595 were received one week before the Lehman bankruptcy and the 2008 Financial Crisis. Working in tandem with ACS, its advisors and lenders and the USDOT’s TIFIA Office, I-595 reached financial close as the first availability payment transaction in the U.S. The total project cost of $1.8 billion was below pricing expectations.

The stunning closings of POMT and I-595 during the worldwide financial meltdown in 2009 resulted in JPA, a firm of less than a dozen professionals at the time, being honored in London as P3 Bulletin’s Global Transport Financial Advisor of the Year, ranking ahead of Goldman Sachs and Macquarie.

Lead financial advisor to FDOT for the Miami Intermodal Center (“MIC” – initial closing in 2000, additional closings in 2005 and 2007). At +$2 billion, the MIC is one of the largest intermodal complexes in the U.S. It is adjacent to Miami International Airport (“MIA”) and is comprised of –

Interstate Highway connections to SR112 and SR836
Reconstruction of LeJeune Road
6,500-car consolidated rental car facility (“RCF”)
Automated people mover access to MIA’s Main Terminal
MetroRail extension and stations for Amtrak and Tri-Rail

Favorable financing was arranged by JPA for the $450 million RCF through an “Ultimate Recovery” debt structure. RCF customer facility charge revenue forecasts were disrupted by the Events of September 11, 2001. A financial model was needed that could absorb a Sept 11 shock and recover along a range of potential paths. JPA’s model used a “cash sweep” and contingent rents from rental car company tenants (all of whom were in bankruptcy at the time) to achieve investment grade ratings after exhaustive stress testing. Recently, the Ultimate Recovery model allowed the RCF debt to withstand the sudden shut down of air travel during Covid. The RCF has paid off all its junior lien debt, has never called the contingent rent provision, and is projected to pay off its outstanding TIFIA debt 10 years before the final maturity date of 2044.

Other JPA Projects

Advised the World Bank on international toll road projects in Argentina and Mexico (preparing FARAC roads for sale in the market).

Provided advisory support to Virginia’s Secretary of Transportation regarding the traffic & revenue forecasts underpinning contributions from the Dulles Toll Road to the initial extension of MetroRail to Dulles International Airport.

Special financial advisor to Florida’s Turnpike Authority and MDX on capital programming, P3 opportunities, toll policy and strategic planning.

Procurement advisor for Utah Department of Transportation for the $1.5 billion reconstruction of I-15 in Salt Lake City in preparation for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Procurement advisor for the Colorado Department of Transportation for the $1.7 billion T-REX Project. Consisting of 19 miles of double track light rail construction and upgrades to adjacent Highways I-25 and I-225, T-REX was designed to improve access from downtown to the Denver Tech Center. As the bid submission date neared, JPA’s due diligence revealed the pending financial collapse of a major proposer. Working with all parties, JPA was able to help qualify a substitute and avoid a re-start of the procurement process.

Special advisor to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (“WMATA”) for funding Metro Matters, a $1.5 billion modernization program. JPA identified over $500 million in untapped reserves in WMATA’s balance sheet by converting its multi-billion-dollar capital program from an encumbrance to a cash flow model.

Special advisor to Walt Disney Imagineering regarding finance and strategy for potential replacement of the monorail at the Orlando theme park.

Advisor to Union Pacific Railroad on transit-oriented redevelopment of Seattle Union Station and the Denver Union Terminal.

Financial advisor to the Port Authority of Allegheny County (“PAT”) on financing all its light rail lines, including a first-ever Advance Construction Financing using future federal grants as collateral to complete the Stage I Project and securing federal funding for a tunnel under the Allegheny River from the Golden Triangle to the North Shore. Led a work-out of the Airport Busway Project that was running four years late and double the budget. The Airport Busway was subsequently completed on time and $40 million under budget.

Financial advisor to the City of Charlotte, NC (“CATS”) on financing its $1.5 billion light rail system. JPA found sufficient cost savings in the $1.1 billion Blue Line Segment to offset a shortfall in local sales tax revenue and avoid a referendum to increase the existing levy.

Financial and procurement advisor to Bay Area Rapid Transit (“BART”) for its extension to Oakland International Airport (opened in 2014).

Work-out advisor to the U.S. Department of Transportation for the Extension of BART to San Francisco International Airport, initial Red Line subway construction in Los Angeles and San Juan’s Tren Urbano.

Financial advisor to New Jersey Department of Transportation for the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, the first transit P3 in the U.S.