MILWAUKEE, Wis.—Earlier this year, a dedication ceremony was held in Milwaukee, Wisc. for the first phase of Marquette University’s new $24 million Athletic and Human Performance Research Center (AHPRC).

The 46,000-square-foot innovative multi-purpose facility is the new permanent home for men’s and women’s lacrosse and men’s golf, and combines training, testing and research all under one roof. It also integrates athletics and research to develop new fitness technologies and advance the use of data analytics to improve performance and include those of athletes with special needs.

The first phase of this project was designed by architecture and design firm Perkins and Will and multidisciplinary design firm HGA Architects. Mortenson Construction is the general contractor on this project.

There was an urgency in that in their six years of existence, the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams have been without permanent locker room space. This new facility has given Marquette a competitive advantage for recruiting, according to Christopher Stolarski, Associate Director of University Communication. Player development and program culture have been enhanced by combining locker, office and training facilities, with key fitness research being conducted onsite.

Additionally, the AHPRC launched a pilot award program designed to facilitate and foster collaborative health- and performance-related research between disciplines. The first four pilot award winners were announced recently. Projects focus on stroke rehabilitation, diabetes, student-athlete injuries and concussion recovery.

“Our team has approached Phase 1 with a focus on refined design, high-caliber building materials, appropriate site use, and preparing the AHPRC for future expansion,” explains Lindsey Peckinpaugh, leader of Perkins and Will’s Sports, Recreation, and Entertainment practice in the Chicago studio.

“We view this as a project that will allow Marquette to serve unmet needs of its athletic program and advance the university’s commitment to research on athletic and human performance,” she adds.

This first completed phase includes space for faculty researchers, locker rooms and support space for lacrosse and golf teams, and strength and conditioning space for the athletic department. It also includes a team film room, and research and bio-assessment labs.

“Our partnership with Perkins and Will and HGA brought to bear a facility that does something truly unique in bringing together under the same roof an elite Division I NCAA athletics program and world-class researchers in human performance, rehabilitation and exercise science,” says Lora Strigens, Marquette’s vice president for planning and facilities management.

“Every step of the way, our design partners took great care to understand the needs of our student athletes, our researchers and how to create synergies between the two,” she adds.

The biggest project challenge so far has been from a design perspective. Peckinpaugh says a significant driver in this project was the need to meet aggressive speed-to-market demands.

“This resulted in phasing the project to deliver new athletic spaces as quickly as possible, which kept the project moving efficiently; minimizing disruption while balancing the needs of the research program and all sport and strength conditioning spaces.”

With the interior design, Stolarski says it was important to “meld” the aesthetics and branding surrounding the building’s athletic and research components.

“Utilizing a refined finish palette allowed both program components to interweave into the overall building design, and complementary branding design elements to contribute to the ‘wow’ factor for both athletics and research,” he explains.

“Phasing also influenced the architectural design as well, as it became critically important to ensure that Phase 1 felt completed, but also allowed for seamless integration with future phases,” adds Russell Wilson, project architect with HGA, who led the exterior design and served as associate architect and structural engineer of record.

“The design team resolved this challenge through the use of strong vertical rhythm and exterior features, such as sunshades and horizontal projections, and by borrowing from the material palettes of other campus buildings,” he says.

Key features of the impressive project include:

• Branded lockers for the players, customized for each sport.
• A customized engagement process that prioritized the input of players, coaches, researchers.
• A tailored approach to this facility which sets it up for easy phasing in the future.
• A team film room where teams and coaches can have larger meetings or review game and practice films.
• Generously daylit strength and conditioning space that coaches call a “game changer.” This space includes a turf area and cardio mezzanine that overlooks the entire space.
• Nutrition options to aid in post-workout recovery.
• Research and bio-assessment labs to analyze athlete fitness and training data, with the goal to improve performance and training methods in both Athletics and other programs.

The AHPRC is part of a long-term master plan that will be built in phases. Perkins and Will, HGA and Marquette are currently discussing what elements may be in the second phase of the facility. Marquette University will also continue to address the needs of its athletic program and be responsive to research growth over time.

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Accordingly, many schools have been forced to tighten their belts to survive in today’s challenging economic climate. They’ve slashed funding for special programs, cut staff positions, eliminated equipment purchases, and reduced facilities operation and maintenance budgets. Despite record-breaking demands of student population growth, many school construction projects and programs are being delayed or put on hold indefinitely.

This difficult business environment has prompted several public educational institutions to look beyond traditional design and construction delivery methods and pursue new financing options. Public-private partnerships (P3s) are emerging as a promising way to tap the resources needed to address schools’ capital needs, setting the stage for significant acceleration in this form of collaboration. Colin Myer, managing director of project financing at FMI, states, “Currently, we are working with several contractors to explore new types of alliances with financial institutions in order to set up consortiums offering a wide array of P3 services for schools and other public entities.”

Public-private partnerships that are focused on renewable energy — solar energy systems specifically — are particularly effective and positive for school districts due to benefits like energy cost savings, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), environmental stewardship, and learning opportunities for students. Al Bucknam, CEO of SunDurance Energy, a major national supplier of solar power solutions to the government and education markets, explains, “The energy budget is the biggest cost item for many schools. The P3 solar energy model lends itself well to achieve meaningful savings: zero dollars upfront and savings on electric bills going forward. This is where educational organizations find most value in these types of partnerships.”

In a public-private partnership, a solar developer or its investors own and operate the photovoltaic (PV) installations on behalf of the school district over a specified time period. The developer then sells the power to the school via a contract known as a power-purchase agreement (PPA). This arrangement allows the private entity to sell power at a lower rate (due to renewable and federal tax credits) to the educational institution and more importantly, it helps keep the educational institution from dipping into its capital budget.

Bucknam adds, “Key to these projects is to find a private party that can take the tax benefits and then sell the power or lease the project back to the public entity. That way, the public entity (in this case the school district) receives the net benefit of lower energy costs and in some cases also the renewable energy credits.”

Elements of financing renewable energy systems – such as federally subsidized bonds, laws, incentives and interest rates – are fluid and subject to change over time. Project costs also vary according to tax law, the economic climate, installation costs, utility tariffs, and the amount of profit that an investor expects from the arrangement. Therefore, each project needs to be carefully planned and evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

In a different P3 scenario, school districts issue bonds and then loan the proceeds of their efforts to private developers, who in turn build the school. Once completed, the facility is leased to the district on a long-term basis at a lesser cost than the construction itself. The developer makes up the cost difference by leasing out the school building after hours, with profits varying depending on the number of additional leases generated.

In cash-strapped states like California, local school districts are starting to pursue such new financing options. Brian Gaunce, principal of Prefast Buildings, explains, “P3s will likely become more important here in California in the K-12 market over the next two to four years. Local school districts are going to be looking for bridge and long-term financing options to meet ongoing demand with lower capital available from the state school facilities program. Essentially, capital for school facility funding in California is being cut in as much as half due to recent state budgetary changes.”

Collaborating with the public sector presents both challenges and opportunities for companies that are accustomed to working with the private sector. When it comes to P3s, public agencies are primarily looking for innovation, creative financing solutions and ways to bring value from the private-side team. A high level of trust and open communication among all project participants is another critical prerequisite for these long-term partnerships. From the outset, owners expect contractors and other stakeholders to be honest and transparent about their financial state of affairs in order to get a better grasp of the risks involved, especially if they are new to P3s.

While it is unlikely that P3s will become the dominant delivery model in the future, FMI expects such partnerships to thrive within specific pockets in certain states; it will certainly represent a sizable, robust niche market worth considering in the future. With the nation facing a $300 billion shortfall in K-12 facilities funding, public-private partnerships are well-positioned to become more widely accepted in the education sector. They also provide the perfect opportunity to help America rebuild its education system — the very cornerstone of our nation’s long-term economic development and prosperity.

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