Bidding begins for Hartford parking assets

The team that advised Chicago’s Mayor Daley on his two historic parking transactions has scored another advisory mandate for parking assets, this time in Connecticut.

Chicago-based William Blair & Company has issued a request for information for potential investors to express their interest in a long-term concession and lease of public parking system in Hartford, the state’s capital.

Hartford: seeking gold

The Hartford Public Parking System is an integrated parking system consisting of 1,645 on-street metered parking spaces and 4,751 off-street spaces located in the city’s central business district, according to a cover letter for the request for information, issued yesterday by William Blair principal Thomas Lanctot.

Parties interested in bidding on the concession have until 5pm on 22 March to respond to the request for information, according to the letter.

Chicago is the only major city in the US to have completed a long-term lease of its parking system. In 2006, the city leased its underground parking to a consortium led by Morgan Stanley’s infrastructure fund for $563 million. Last year, the same consortium, 99 percent controlled by Morgan Stanley-affiliated funds, paid $1.16 billion for a 75-year lease of the city’s on-street parking system.

William Blair acted as financial advisor to Chicago on both transactions.