The National Council for Public-Private Partnerships (NCPPP) has honored Falcon Hill Aerospace Research Park (Falcon Hill), a
partnership between Hill Air Force Base, Hunt Companies, Inc. (Hunt), and Woodbury Corporation (Woodbury), with the NCPPP 2012 Innovation Award. The award was presented at an awards dinner held on November 13 at the NCPPP Annual Meeting in Arlington, Virginia.
The Innovation award recognizes projects that provide a unique innovation to the field of Public-Private Partnerships through development or application of new concepts or methodology. The partnership created to develop Falcon Hill comprises an “enhanced-use lease agreement (EUL),” which allowed Hunt, as construction manager, and the development team (collectively known as Sunset Ridge Development Partners) to design-build, finance, operate and maintain this new private sector commercial project. The agreement marks the largest EUL for the Department of Defense (DOD) to date and the first large-scale EUL for the Air Force.
Under this type of agreement, the Air Force retains ownership of the land, but the land is leased to Hunt and Woodbury to develop. The private companies own the facilities they build, and are allowed to lease space to defense contractors and private firms inside and outside the base. The overall development plan for this eight million square-foot aerospace research park includes office, flex space, retail space and lodging facilities. When complete, the phased development will establish a major commercial district adjacent to and leveraging off the existing air force base. The project goal is to construct new buildings to replace obsolete and energy inefficient buildings originally constructed as World War II-era warehouses and currently used as administrative offices, and sets in motion attracting aerospace industry tenants as well as private users from around the world to new commercial space.
“We are extremely pleased the NCPPP is recognizing Falcon Hill for this award,” said Juan Gonzalez-Garza, Senior Vice President of Hunt Companies, Inc. “We are honored to be a part of such this state-of-the-art project and it is always our intent to provide the highest and best level of satisfaction for the Air Force personnel working at Hill Air Force Base.”
Every year, the NCPPP identifies projects that are outstanding examples of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). Nominations are judged on several criteria, specifically originality, quality of design, efficient and effective implementation, economics, longevity of operation, and meeting the definition of a PPP. Projects are awarded in the categories of Innovation, Infrastructure, and Service, and in some years a Leadership Award is given to an individual based on their leadership on PPP projects. The other 2012 Award recipients were:
ABOUT NCPPP
The National Council for Public-Private Partnerships is a non-profit, non-partisan organization founded in 1985. The Council is a forum for the brightest ideas and innovators in the partnership arena. Its growing list of public and private sector members, with experience in a wide variety of public-private partnership arrangements, and its diverse training and public education programs represent vital core resources for partnering nationwide. The Council's members bring an unmatched dedication to providing the most productive and cost-effective public services.
Every activity of the Council is geared to enhancing the partnership process from networking events, such as conferences and issue forums, to sharply focused opportunities, such as Committees, Institutes, the Speakers' Bureau and the Web Site. The benefits of the Council membership are bounded only by the energy of its members, which is vast.
Across the country, governments are being challenged to operate more efficiently and cost-effectively and are turning to an accepted tool for serving public needs. In addition to the resources available to its members, the Council has access to expert consultants providing accurate, timely information to the general public. It advocates partnering, where appropriate, at the federal, state and local levels through formal and informal presentations.
ABOUT HUNT
Hunt Companies, Inc. is a real estate company dedicated to building values through development, investment, and management. Hunt is focused in the core areas of public private partnership, military housing, community development, real asset investment management and multifamily housing.
Founded in 1947, Hunt is headquartered in El Paso, Texas, with 1,100 employees in regional offices throughout North America and Europe. Together, Hunt and its affiliates have more than $13 billion in assets under management, including 144,583 multi-family housing units and 8.3 million square feet of office, retail and industrial properties. Hunt has also developed 89,000 housing units, over 1 million square feet of commercial space and thousands of acres of land. Development project costs have totaled more than $6.3 billion with more than $8.2 billion in construction costs.
Visit www.huntcompanies.com to learn more about Hunt, its heritage and commitment to values that build.
