Even as the economy struggles, our growing regional population is demanding smarter investments to expand and improve transit. Given the scarcity of available public funds, governments are beginning to tap innovative financing tools such as variable parking pricing, public–private partnerships, and value capture around bus and rail stations. Because transportation networks and land values are closely linked, public investments in transportation infrastructure can increase the value of land surrounding these investments, benefiting landowners, developers and governments. This roundtable will explore how value capture and other innovative financing tools can generate revenue to finance transportation operations and future expansion, such as Bus Rapid Transit and upgrades to Chicago Union Station. Through careful planning, innovative financing can make the most of limited dollars and lay the groundwork for long-term sustainable growth in metropolitan Chicago.

Ryan Gravel, senior urban designer for Perkins + Will, will share how Atlanta is tapping $1.7 billion in tax increment financing to construct the Atlanta BeltLine, one of the most comprehensive urban redevelopment efforts underway in the U.S. The BeltLine includes a 22-mile loop of rail transit along former freight rail lines, through 45 neighborhoods surrounding Atlanta’s urban core, with anticipated daily ridership of 73,000 people.

J. Douglas Koelemay, vice president of community relations for Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), will discuss why business owners in Tysons Corner, Virginia, created a special tax assessment on commercial and industrial property owners that will generate $400 million to fund an extension of the existing Washington, D.C. Metrorail system to Dulles Airport. 

Gabriel Metcalf, executive director of San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) and member of the Transbay Joint Powers Authority Board of Directors, will describe how San Francisco is layering several financing tools, including tax increment financing, a special assessment, development impact fees, and a federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan, to build the new Transbay Transit Center. The new station will coordinate the Bay Area’s numerous transit systems, increase capacity and accessibility, and create one of the most transportation-rich-neighborhoods in the region. Gabriel will also discuss other innovative financing for transit used in San Francisco including sharing parking meter revenues and the Transit Impact Development Fee.

Register online today! The cost of the roundtable, which includes lunch, is $15 for current MPC donors and $30 for all others. Seating is limited, so pre-registration is required.