Why P3 is Expanding its CRE Role

SAN DIEGO—Public-private partnerships are playing a more important role than ever in CRE and the public sector, JLL's Andrew Phillips tells GlobeSt.com. Phillips, an 11-year veteran of Civic San Diego (formerly the Centre City Development Corp.), recently joined JLL's public-institutions team in California as a VP. We sat down with him for an exclusive chat about his new role and the importance of P3 in commercial real estate today.

GlobeSt.com: What do you hope to accomplish in your new post with JLL?

Phillips: I look forward to using the experience I gained working with the City of San Diego over the last 11 years to assist higher-education institutions, cities, counties, states or other special-districts clients of JLL who are developing land or looking for strategies to help maximize the value of their real estate holdings.

GlobeSt.com: What does it say that a services firm like JLL offers this specialty on its roster?

Phillips: JLL continues to grow its public-institution practice in the Western region. Bolstering our public-private-partnership resources, including staff expertise, will help further strengthen our ability to capture the vast opportunities in the West. We will be able to continue to provide expert real estate services to public-sector clients and provide a wide range of consulting services that leverage the entire spectrum of services we provide.

GlobeSt.com: What role has P3 typically played in commercial real estate, and how is this role changing?

Phillips: Public-private partnerships are playing a more important role than ever in the realm of commercial real estate and the public sector. As many special districts, cities, counties, states and higher-education institutions deal with shrinking budgets, those entities are looking at the assets they already have, such as real estate, and are looking to maximize the value of the assets. By partnering with the private-development community, the public sector can monetize its assets, create catalytic developments and create lasting benefits for the community.

GlobeSt.com: What other trends are you noticing with regard to P3?

Phillips: Public-private partnerships are being used more widely to procure social infrastructure. we see P3s being used to pursue development of courthouses, civic buildings, university facilities or projects that provide needed community enhancements such as parks or recreational facilities. As more and more public agencies look to identify new revenue sources, these public entities are looking at the assets they currently have and seeking private partners to assist in the development and/or management of those assets in order to reduce cost and risk.