From left to right: City of Indianapolis Mayor Gregory Ballard; Bilzin Sumberg partner Albert E. Dotson, Jr.; Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez

Last week, Bilzin Sumberg hosted a two-day conference of national and international P3 experts, including representatives from various state and county governments. During the luncheon general session as I interviewed Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez, we touched on the Miami Dade Board of County Commissioners’ creation of a P3 task force to tackle the Courthouse projects in Miami-Dade County, in order to keep all facilities running and explore options for expansion, and specifically highlighted Commissioner Juan C. Zapata’s proposal to look into forming a public-private partnership to create the new facilities. Ft. Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler also discussed Broward County’s federal courthouse P3 project.

City of Indianapolis Mayor Gregory Ballard was on hand to provide insight into how he was able to use the P3 procurement and project structuring model to fund and develop a massive criminal justice complex, housing 30 courtrooms, 1,000 new jail beds and state and federal offices.

Mayors Gimenez and Seiler both remarked that the City of Indianapolis experience can provide a road map for South Florida communities to meet the various needs for infrastructure development critical to the continued growth of South Florida as a world class city.