When economic development projects go smoothly, public-private partnerships use synchronized teamwork to ensure an outcome that fuels commerce, creates jobs, grows the tax base, brings communities together and improves livability. Our team knows how to make this collaboration work. Clients tell us they value our extensive experience advising each side of the public-private equation, giving us keen insight into both business and government perspectives.
Clients reap the benefits of our ability to work seamlessly across states and localities, and they appreciate our deep knowledge of various industries; we know what it takes to get projects from ideas on paper to action on the ground. Consider these examples:
- For the transformative $150 million Federal City redevelopment project in the historic Algiers district of New Orleans, we conducted all the negotiations, crafted and nailed down the project agreements and handled the financing and government relations work. Our team’s efforts helped convert a former Navy installation into a mixed-use community with housing, retail, dining and entertainment, where now some 2,500 people live and work.
- We helped a multi-national health technology firm establish a second U.S. corporate headquarters in Nashville, creating nearly 1,000 new jobs. In this complex, high-end development project, we represented the company in all aspects of the negotiations and spearheaded the site-selection process.
- We have successfully negotiated billions of dollars’ worth of aerospace and aviation projects in the southeast over the last three years. This enormous amount of capital has resulted in thousands of high-paying jobs and an ever-growing tax base in the communities in which these companies now call home.
- We have counseled numerous clients on the launch of both domestic and foreign direct investment (FDI) manufacturing projects involving billions of dollars in multiple business sectors across our footprint. From developing industries such as renewable energy production, to the bedrock industry of shipbuilding, we have handled a multiple and varied client mix. We have the experience that matters.
Summary
While we advise many regional and national clients and public entities, we also serve large global companies that operate or want to operate in the Southeast. We represent public-private partnerships for airports, infrastructure and public transit projects, commercial developments, health care, oil and gas, energy, higher education, utilities, port facilities, entertainment and recreation, industrial, manufacturing, distribution and logistics, urban and community development projects, and transportation and tribal developments, among others.
Our team is known for conceiving and implementing creative solutions for projects in a wide range of opportunity zones, and we’re often brought in when a project stalls because people recognize our ability to get derailed projects back on track. Clients are concerned about issues, such as federal tariff and trade policies and the tightening of state and federal budgets, which can affect incentivized projects as well as the growing challenges in building a qualified workforce and potential employee pipelines. Consequently, in collaboration with our Government Relations team, we closely monitor the issues and lobby lawmakers for more favorable tax environments and vehicles for business development. Clients commend us on those efforts as well as our on-time product delivery and responsive communication.
Defining Strengths
Our team applies our skills to offer clients a range of services, including:
- Community Development/Revitalization: We represent business owners and not-for-profit entities in partnership with site-selection firms, local economic development professionals and government agencies. We negotiate benefits and incentives for competitive local business climates, healthy tax bases and high-quality infrastructure.
- Public Finance: We investigate tax or revenue-secured municipal bonds as well as corporate securities for private and not-for-profit development, cash flow and restructuring of existing debt.
- Negotiation, Litigation and ADR: We provide counsel for stalled projects, conflict resolution arising from questions of legality in public/private partnerships and development proposals and litigation for breach of contract or other underperformance claims.
