John Laing : short-listed for Californian re-development project

Modernisation of San Francisco's Potrero Yard will future-proof the city's bus services and provide much-needed affordable housing

John Laing Group plc ('John Laing' or the 'Group'), the responsible investor and active manager of infrastructure projects internationally, is pleased to announce that it has been short-listed for the Potrero Yard Modernisation Project in San Francisco, California (the 'Project').

The Project to re-develop Potrero Yard, a bus storage and maintenance facility in San Francisco's Mission District, consists of two components that will be delivered through a Public Private Partnership ('PPP') with the City of San Francisco (the 'City') acting through the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (the 'SFMTA').

The first component is the replacement of the existing bus maintenance facility with a significantly larger, more modern and efficient bus maintenance and storage garage which will also include the infrastructure required to support the transition to a fully battery-electric fleet. This component of the Project will be delivered through an availability-based Design-Build-Finance-Maintain ('DBFM') delivery model.

The second component consists of a mixed-use residential and commercial development on the same site, including a large housing element with a substantial percentage of affordable housing. By expanding the Project scope beyond its much-needed bus maintenance facility also to incorporate a new mixed-use development, the City intends to maximise re-use of the site and contribute towards its efforts to address a lack of available and affordable housing for all.

The Project will be delivered by the SFMTA as the first part of their US$1.2 billion 'Building Progress Program'. The programme aims to modernise the SFMTA's ageing transit facilities to address growing demand, ensure efficiency of the City's transit infrastructure and improve its resilience to natural disasters. Once complete, the redeveloped Potrero Yard will incorporate modern technologies which will make the facility safer, more efficient and better able to support future project growth in demand for transit services.

John Laing alongside Edgemoor Infrastructure & Real Estate LLC is leading the Potrero Mission Community Partners, a consortium that also includes local and national commercial real estate development partners among others. Potrero Mission Community Partners is one of three short-listed teams selected to respond to the Request For Proposal ('RFP'), following which the City will select a Preferred Bidder to enter into a Pre-Development Agreement to advance the development and ultimately the realisation of the Project.

Anthony Phillips, John Laing's Co-Head of PPP & Greenfield Projects, said:

'John Laing is delighted to have been short-listed for the Potrero Yard modernisation project. This is a good example of the opportunities available to John Laing in adjacent areas, enabling us to leverage our greenfield infrastructure investment experience. The project will bring material benefits to the residents of San Francisco and enable further decarbonisation of the City's public transport system. Moreover, in a city where the availability and affordability of housing are major issues, the Project will provide much-needed supply and create a space where the local community can thrive.'