Workshop: City Public-Private Partnerships: The Singapore and Washington Experience (Including Field Visit to the Anacostia Waterfront Area)

This two-part workshop was organized to discuss the “Agency” question in Local Economic Development (LED). The first day of the workshop, titled “City Economic Development: The Agency Question”, featured an in-house seminar exploring the different forms and functions of LED agencies.

The second day of the workshop, "City Public-Private Partnerships: The Singapore and Washington Experience (including field visit to Anacostia Waterfront Area), began with a presentation on the Singapore Economic Development Board: The Case of the City State Agency, a presentation by the DC Deputy Mayor's Office on the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative (AWI), followed by a field visit to the Anacostia Waterfront Area. This trip involved a hands on look into issues dealing with land development, private-public partnerships, the process of selecting a developer and the economic benefits that would accrue to the city from the proposed development project/s. The field visit also addressed directly some of the questions about the city enterprise and the transaction side of the development program, particularly as we look at the AWI Corporation that was formed and some of the activities it is involved in: the fish market development, urban renewal zone, stadium, historic area for preservation, parks and green area protection, and mixed-used development proposed for multi-income housing/residential and retail establishments.

 Video of Opening and Session One

Welcome and Recap of Day One
Stephen Karam, Sr. Urban Economist, Urban Anchor, FEU (World Bank)
presentation

Singapore Economic Development Board: The Case of the City State Agency
Dr. Belinda Yuen, Associate Professor, National University of Singapore
presentation | city profile

Established in 1961, the Economic Development Board (EDB) represents the earliest model of an economic development agency reviewed in this workshop. With a budget of S$100 million, it was tasked with spearheading a program of rapid industrialization to create jobs and promote economic development. The EDB evolved from its predecessor-the Singapore Industrial Promotion Board (SIPB)-which was deemed to be too small in scale to be effective. EDB was given broad powers and was initially entrusted not only with promotion, financing of industries, manpower development and provision of incentives, but also the development of industrial estates. In 1968, a public limited company, the Development Bank of Singapore and another statutory board-the Jurong Town Corporation (JTC)-were formed to take over the industrial financing and industrial estate development functions of EDB respectively. This allowed EDB to focus on its core mandate of investment promotion. Today, EDB has investment promotion offices across the globe, including N. America, Europe, and Asia. It's key functions are to (i) ensure information and ready access to industrial-serviced land; (ii) pro-business policy and tax regime; (iii) a wide range of flexible financing schemes (equipment leasing and loans), SME rebate scheme, and a Local Enterprise and Association Development Program.

Discussion: Abhas Jha, Country Sector Coordinator, ECSSD, Moderator

 Video of Session Two

Overview of the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative (AWI) and the Evolution of Its Organizational Structure
Ms. Valerie Santos Young, Chief Operating Officer, Office of the DC Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development
presentation | profile 

In 2000, Mayor Anthony Williams brought together the 20 Federal and District agencies that either owned or controlled land along the Anacostia river to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that created the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative (AWI). AWI produced the Anacostia Waterfront Framework Plan in 2003, in cooperation with citizens and community stakeholders, to guide the revitalization of the Anacostia Waterfront over the course of the next several years.

The Anacostia Waterfront Corporation was established in 2004 to implement the vision outlined in the Anacostia Waterfront Framework Plan. The city determined, after looking at best practices in other cities, that the implementation of the Framework Plan could only be accomplished by establishing a local waterfront authority-a separate entity exclusively focused and dedicated to the redevelopment of the Anacostia riverfront. The DC Council formed the AWC because they were intent on making the AWI more than just an economic development plan. Independence from the traditional government bureaucracy was also a motivation. Flexible procurement and processing requirements were established to allow leveraging of public and private resources for complex projects with a high social impact. In addition, the city felt that there was no capacity to implement the vision of the AWI within the existing government.

From 2004 to 2007, AWC led the redevelopment efforts of the neighborhoods, roads and parks beside the long-neglected Anacostia River, covering more than 2,800 acres of land along the river and stretching nearly seven miles from the Potomac River to the Maryland border. In 2007, the DC Council voted to bring the functions of the AWC back under the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development.

Topics covered:

• Presentation of the Anacostia Waterfront Framework Plan
• Explanation of how AWC functioned before being dissolved - funding, relationship to government, etc
• Description of the RFP processes used to develop land and link to any government assistance or subsidies for development
• Rationale for bringing the AWC under the Deputy Mayor-lessons learned

Discussion: Catherine Lynch, Consultant, MNSSD, Moderator

Bus Tour of the Anacostia Waterfront Investment Areas