Infrastructure

Guided the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority through a complex deal to refinance a substantial portion of its approximately US$1.8 billion of outstanding debt obligations.

Advised stadium and real estate giant AEG on every aspect of its US$1.5 billion L.A. LIVE sports and entertainment complex, from negotiating master leases to counseling on finance, development, and operations.

Helped this client and the Tweed New Haven Airport Authority execute a 43-year Lease & Development Agreement for a major upgrade of the Connecticut airport. The transaction is structured as a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership (P3) between an airport and a private operator, making this an historic deal not only for Avports, but for the US aviation industry as a whole. We also represented Avports in negotiations with Avelo Airlines, a new mainline airline that will make Tweed its first East Coast base.

Helped the Authority negotiate system-wide master agreements with both major freight rail lines operating in the Western United States, a vital step in allowing California’s high-speed rail project to proceed. The agreements, the first of their kind in the US, will allow the Authority to share rights-of-way with the freight lines in several locations across the state.

The high-speed rail agreements were necessary for the US$68 billion project to move forward. The O’Melveny team helped develop innovative solutions for a number of unique issues that the parties had been unable to resolve. The set of agreements, the first of their kind in the United States, will serve as precedents for future negotiations between high-speed rail operators and freight railroads throughout the US.

Represented investors and other participants in the planned US$18 billion redevelopment of passenger terminals at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. In November 2022, we finalized development arrangements and initial financing for the last piece of the redevelopment plan, a US$4.2 billion deal to develop a new Terminal 6, with construction beginning in early 2023. 

The first phase of the new Terminal 6 facilities is scheduled to open to the public in early 2026. The completed terminal, which will total more than one million square feet and include capacity for 10 gates, will provide an anchor for passenger travel on JFK’s north side. Our client JFK Millennium Partners—which includes Vantage Airport Group, American Triple I, RXR Realty LLC, and JetBlue Airways—has partnered with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the governmental agency that oversees JFK, to execute the project.

Guided this client to successfully redevelop the Central Terminal at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, advising on development issues and corporate governance, leasing, financing, construction, and environmental matters.

We continue to represent LGP in ongoing operational and financing matters and deal documentation with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and various airlines, concessionaires, and contractors. Construction on the Central Terminal was substantially completed in July 2022. Construction is on-going with respect to the new “central hall” that will link the new terminal to other airport facilities and create a cohesive façade between terminals.

Advised the Port of Oakland, the third busiest port on the US West Coast, in developing, negotiating, and implementing a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership: a 50-year concession for a series of shipping berths in the Port’s Outer Harbor Terminal area. 

We also advised the Port in connection with a separate proposed concession to redevelop its portion of the former Oakland Army Base into an intermodal rail transportation center supporting the Port’s maritime terminals and facilitating the movement of container cargo into and out of the Port. Additionally, we represented the Port in its efforts, together with the San Francisco, California Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system, to develop an aerial “connector” guideway between Oakland International Airport and a nearby station on a public-private partnership basis.

Advised the Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnerships Authority (“P3A”) on a long-term concession granted by the Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority (“PRHTA”) to Spanish infrastructure operator Abertis Infraestructuras, S.A. (“Abertis”), pursuant to a US$2.85 billion concession agreement under which Abertis will have the responsibility for operating, maintaining, and improving four existing toll roads extending across the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for the next 40 years. The agreement was announced on October 17, 2023, and reached financial close on December 14, 2023.

Working with the State of Hawaii to redevelop Aloha Stadium, the state’s premier sports and entertainment facility. When complete, the project is anticipated to include a new stadium plus 2.5 million square feet of mixed-use development next door, including hotel, office, and commercial spaces.

Strategized with United Airlines on the development and financing of its “Global Gateway” hub at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport.