Brandon Davis Quoted on Easing of Approval for Transit-Oriented Developments

Brandon Davis was quoted in the Inframation article, “FTA Guidance Eases Approval For Transit-Oriented Developments.” The article provides an overview of the Federal Transit Authority's (FTA) revised guidance on joint development projects (often referred to as transit-oriented development (TOD) projects), which allows for greater flexibility on use of project revenues and less involvement by the FTA.

Joint development projects are defined as projects that integrate public transit facilities into commercial, residential or multi-purpose properties. To receive FTA assistance on such projects, a joint development project was required to use a minimum “fair share” of the revenue generated by the joint development project to pay for public transportation. “Fair share” was previously defined by the FTA as a minimum threshold that was “equivalent to the amount of the original federal investment contributed to the joint development project.” The recent FTA revision leaves the fair share requirement intact, but eliminates the definition of how to determine the “fair share,” thus providing greater flexibility. As revised, the project sponsor can now negotiate with its partners (and not the FTA) to determine the “fair share” for a particular project.

Commenting on the impact of this change, Brandon said, “The FTA’s elimination of this [fair share] threshold shows that the FTA recognizes each project is unique. This is a prudent change and well timed considering the uncertainties created by the pandemic.”