On August 24, 2015, the Michigan Freeway Lighting P3 project achieved commercial and financial close.
The Michigan Freeway project is the first P3 in the US dedicated to freeway lighting.
The US$123 million P3 contract to design, construct, finance, operate and maintain freeway lights in Detroit’s tri-county area was procured by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and awarded to Freeway Lighting Partners, LLC (FLP).
The project will improve the Detroit Metro Region Freeway System and see that approximately 15,000 lights across bridges, tunnels and roadway within are replaced with newer, more energy efficient LED lights.
FLP is a consortium consisting of Star America Infrastructure (Star) and Aldridge Electric (Aldridge).
Aldridge will design and construct the project over the next two years with Cofely Services Inc. (Cofely) acting as the operations and maintenance provider for the project following its substantial completion.
Project finance is being provided through an equity investment by Star America and Aldridge and a private placement of notes with Allianz Life Insurance of North America (Allianz).
MDOT was represented by Nossaman LLP, with a team that included Elizabeth Cousins.
FLP and Star were represented by Hunton & Williams LLP.
Aldridge was represented in-house by Carrie Berger, and externally by Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP. The Norton Rose Fulbright team was composed of Mike Pikiel, Scarlet McNellie, Patrick Selinger and Dan Shapiro.
Cofely was represented in-house counsel by Jean-Marc Therrien, and externally by Dentons Canada LLP. The Dentons Canada team included Ilan Dunsky, Lampros Stougiannos and Maria Kourelis.
Todd Sable and Philip Desai of Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP acted as local Michigan counsel to Cofely.
Allianz was represented by Greenberg Traurig, LLP.