Parking Partnership
INTRODUCTION
CSU is investigating a potential public-private partnership (P3), which would transfer responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the University's parking assets to a qualified third-party operator. In exchange for an upfront fee, the third-party operator would operate and maintain the parking assets for a defined period of time. CSU would invest the proceeds from the transaction into an endowment which would provide a regular income stream to support University initiatives.
RATIONALE
Given the budget challenges facing the state of Ohio and the prospect of continued flat-funding for higher education, the parking partnership will provide needed flexibility and resources to upgrade CSU's parking infrastructure, while also providing an additional income stream for helping fund important academic and student success initiatives and supporting faculty and instruction. The University is assessing the feasibility of this project based on the recommendation contained in the recent report of the State of Ohio Higher Education Task Force on Affordability and Efficiency which recommended a review of Ohio public university income-producing assets.
STATUS
The Project is currently in the procurement stage. The Request for Proposals (RFP) is scheduled to be distributed in the near future with proposal responses due on May 16, 2018. After the proposals are received, the university administration will create a recommendation for the Board of Trustees, for consideration at its May 29th meeting. All terms under which a P3 would operate, including parking rate schedules, garage upgrades and overall management responsibilities, will be included in this RFP and has been created with significant input from the University community.
USE OF ENDOWMENT INCOME
The income earned from the endowment created will be dedicated to support specific University needs including:
- Campus Infrastructure
- Academic Programming
- Campus Operational Support
- Student Programming
Additional discussions surrounding use of the endowment income will be undertaken transparently with the CSU community should the parking partnership be successfully completed. Annual income earned from the endowment is expected to exceed the annual positive cash flow generated by current University Parking Services operations.