Conference Presentation, Panel, Fireside Chat
Deep Dive: Deployment of High Demand Community Infrastructure Projects
Milken InstituteDan Carol, Bryan Borlik, Rachel Halfaker, Donnel Baird, Rob Day, Bill Lee, Patrick Meyers, Michelle Moore, Matt Petersen, David Guilford, Adam Fried, Robbie Jones
- Recorded opening panels and discussions on replicable success stories will be utilized for upcoming training sessions with the pre-development caucus over the coming months and into the future.
- A technical assistance workshop series and a dedicated module on high-demand community-scale projects are planned to support the EDA grant initiative, with registration open for the National Pre-Development Caucus expansion as attendees are contacted when trainings commence later this spring.
- The Trust for Public Land intends to utilize Park Score data across 14,000 cities, layered with demographics, to target funding to marginalized communities and close the park access gap affecting 100 million Americans.
- The Equitable Communities Fund and Zero percent match requirements aim to connect climate justice communities with funding and increase NGO capacity, while stipends for community participation are expected to be considered allowable pre-development expenses.
- Groundswell and partners plan to advance "shovel worthy" projects ranging from stormwater management to urban regenerative agriculture to help meet the Justice 40 goal of directing 40% of benefits to underserved communities.
- Spring Lane Capital aims to bridge the financing gap for the first two to three years of project deployment, enabling Atlas Organics to use new expansion capital to go nationwide with its composting approach.
- Block Power expects to secure a contract to decarbonize the first U.S. city by moving 6,000 buildings to 100% clean energy within the next five to seven years, with partnerships involving Goldman Sachs, the State of New York, City of Ithaca, Lowe's, Apple, and Google to facilitate scaling.
- If 10 to 20 cities commit to full decarbonization, data generated from the initial project will be shared with the next thousand cities across America, potentially achieving significant greenhouse gas reduction over the next nine years.
- LA Clean Tech Incubator expects to scale a debt fund nationally to assist early-stage entrepreneurs with federal grants and announce a program prioritizing DC fast charging at housing authority locations.
- Congresswoman Barbara is expected to introduce legislation to scale EV car share projects at housing authority locations and prioritize DC fast charging nationally, based on successful LA pilots.
- The Colorado Recovery Office plans to coordinate state and local projects to create larger, longer infrastructure initiatives that do not overwhelm local capacity, addressing the challenge of implementing one-time funds from ARPA and the Infrastructure Bill transformationally.
- A proposed $7.5 million allocation is expected to be used by Patrick Myers to hire staff in Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) to determine community needs before program implementation, acknowledging variations across Colorado's 64 counties.
- Los Angeles and other cities intend to create "sandboxes" to pilot new solutions, allowing entrepreneurs to iterate and scale successful projects.
- Market signals for the private sector are expected to be set by cities increasingly using mechanisms like building performance standards and credit trading.
- Training and accelerator programs are deemed necessary to shift entrepreneurs into a "developer mindset" capable of accessing project finance, while breaking projects into manageable stage gates is expected to help small companies grow into prime contractor roles.
- External work and service from organizations like Groundswell are considered essential to realize Justice 40 goals for communities lacking capacity to access federal resources.
- As alternative financing becomes mainstream, traditional financiers are expected to adjust their approaches to financing pre-development expenses.
- A shift toward institutional-grade developers from within underserved communities is anticipated to counter the trend of external developers, ensuring projects meet local needs rather than creating a "sugar high" of short-term funding.