PRESS RELEASE
Mayor Gavin Buckley
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
160 Duke of Gloucester Street
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Media Contact: Mitchelle Stephenson, 410-972-7724 or mwstephenson@annapolis.gov
City of Annapolis Inks Concession Agreement
for Public-Private Partnership to Fund Hillman
Garage and City Dock Infrastructure Projects
Annapolis, MD (September 8, 2022) – The City of Annapolis has achieved a major milestone toward the completion of two historic downtown infrastructure projects. The City and Annapolis Mobility and Resilience Partners (AMRP) have successfully completed financial close to fund both the rebuild of Hillman Garage and the revitalization and resilience improvements for Annapolis City Dock. Maryland Economic Development Corporation (MEDCO) is the concessionaire, handling the sale of bonds, collecting the parking and other revenue, and making payments on the debt financing, construction contracts, garage operations and maintenance, and other expenses.
Series A, tax-exempt bonds were issued on September 8, underwritten by Morgan Stanley. The bonds were sold to investment groups for their Maryland investment fund portfolios, including investment houses T. Rowe Price, Nuveen, Franklin Funds, MacKay Shields, and JP Morgan Investment.
Construction on the replacement of the Noah Hillman Garage began in May and continues on schedule, with opening slated for June 2023. The new garage will feature 165 more parking spaces, stormwater and other environmental improvements, better ingress/egress, EV charging stations and working elevators. A ‘Reimagined City Dock’ will involve raising the sea walls and installing hydraulic, flip-up storm surge gates to protect downtown residents and businesses from floodwaters and storm surge. A new terraced green park will provide stormwater infiltration and offer an additional defense against rising seas. It will also provide great views and an expanded and programmable public space. The City Dock construction will take approximately 18 months and will begin in Fall 2023.
“I want to thank our City team including Finance Director Jodee Dickinson, former City Manager David Jarrell and our consultant Eileen Fogarty for getting this across the finish line,” said Mayor Gavin Buckley. “A lot of work went into this complex agreement and I’d like to acknowledge their expertise and patience. I can see the garage rebuild from my office and I know that downtown businesses and residents will be thrilled when we get to the other side of the construction. It’s going to be amazing for parking, for our environment, and for convenience. Each day we move a little closer to our goals.”
The City and AMRP have been working under a Pre-Development Agreement (PDA) since December of 2020. The member firms in the AMRP team include: Amber Infrastructure, a subsidiary of the Hunt Companies (developer); Whiting Turner (design-builder); BCT Architects (master planner); Walker Consultants (lead designer, Hillman Garage); WSP (lead designer, City Dock); Mahan Rykiel (landscape architect); Premium Parking (parking operator); and VIA (alternative mobility provider).
BACKGROUND
In February 2019, Mayor Gavin Buckley selected nearly 100 resident and business stakeholders for appointment to the City Dock Action Committee (CDAC) in addition to partners from the National Park Service, USNA, Anne Arundel County and Historic Annapolis. CDAC used the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) “Reclaiming a Local and National Treasure,” as a foundational document from the ULI Technical Advisory Panel convened in 2018 by Historic Annapolis, Preservation Maryland, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The CDAC was tasked with creating a plan to reimagine a resilient future for Annapolis’ City Dock. The CDAC was assembled into nine teams to develop ideas, recommendations and a conceptual design incorporating financing, parking, maritime uses, resiliency, business, and community benefits/character. In January, 2020, this group of committed Annapolitans reached a unanimous consensus for a dynamic vision for Annapolis’ waterfront with a world-class park, a continuous promenade connecting the United States Naval Academy to City Dock and a strategic approach to protect downtown from future flooding.
To make this plan a reality, the City advertised a Request for Qualifications to conduct the design/build work, which included a Public-Private Partnership (P3) financing mechanism. One goal of the P3 was to fund the majority of the project through private financing rather than asking City taxpayers to carry that cost. AMRP was selected from five teams to handle the design, build, financing, and operational components of the project.
Under the plan signed today by the City, AMRP, and MEDCO, the financing of Hillman Garage ($28.3 million) and a significant portion of City Dock ($41.62 million) will rely on a series of bond issues that will be paid back over 30 years from parking revenue generated by the new garage and on-street parking managed by Premium Parking. The total issuance of the Series A bonds is $47.3 million. Additional funding for City Dock will be provided by private bond offerings, a concession payment, and grants from state and federal government infrastructure funds. The State of Maryland has already committed $10 million, while $3.2 million was awarded to the City from American Rescue Plan Act funds. An additional $1.125 million has been committed from Congressional Direct Spending. Additional grant funding is being sought as the City Dock project design gets underway, including a $4.5 million request to elevate and restore the historic Burtis House.
“This is a great opportunity for our historic City,” said City Manager Michael Mallinoff. “When the work on the garage and City Dock is completed in 2025, it will not only help downtown avoid the destruction caused by flooding events, it will also be a model for pairing infrastructure work with resiliency efforts. This is part of our ongoing infrastructure investments that have long-term benefits for our entire community. We are doing this for the longevity of our historic City and I could not be more pleased that so many people have come to the table to make this community-driven vision a reality.”
# # #