Arlington, Fairfax Select Streetcar Project Manager

Arlington and Fairfax counties announced Friday afternoon that Parsons Transportation Group has been jointly selected to manage the streetcar projects planned for Columbia Pike and Crystal City.

The contract with Parsons will be worth $7-8 million for an initial round of management work on the 7.4 mile streetcar system, according to Arlington County. That will come from a mix of state reimbursements and commercial real estate tax revenue that’s earmarked exclusively for transportation projects. The county will negotiate the cost of the contract for each subsequent year.

California-based Parsons has worked under contract for Arlington County before. The company helped to redesign the infamous million dollar bus stop, dropping the per-stop cost to around half a million dollars.

In a press release (below), Arlington officials called the selection of a program manager “a major step forward for the streetcar project.”

Arlington and Fairfax Counties announced today that they have selected Parsons Transportation Group to help manage Arlington’s streetcar program, which includes the Columbia Pike streetcar segment that the two counties are jointly building.

In the coming days, Arlington will sign a contract with Parsons to help manage both the Columbia Pike and Crystal City-Potomac Yard segments of Arlington’s planned 7.4-mile streetcar system. The program management team will provide critical, specialized expertise as the Counties enter the Preliminary Engineering phase of the project and moves toward selecting a design and engineering firm by the fall.

“This is a major step forward for the streetcar project,” said Arlington County Board Chair Jay Fisette. “Parsons has a wealth of experience in delivering transportation projects — including rail projects, around the world. In the coming months, one of their primary tasks for our program will be to provide an objective review of the project and assess options for cost reduction, including exploring potential public-private partnerships.”

Initial work includes $7 million to $8 million of services, and will be funded by state reimbursements and commercial real estate tax revenues that can only be spent for new transportation projects. There will be no homeowner-funded General Obligation bonds used to fund the contract. It is a deliverables-based contract subject to ongoing review. The contractor is paid only for actual time spent on approved work tasks. Fairfax and Arlington’s current cost-sharing agreement for the Columbia Pike portion of the program will be updated to reflect this new contract.

“Fairfax County supports the Columbia Pike Street Car project and appreciates this partnership with Arlington to enhance transit in the Baileys and Skyline area of Fairfax,” said Sharon Bulova, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. “This area was once meant to be served by the Metro system and the streetcar will deliver on this vision of transit-oriented development. The Columbia Pike Streetcar is an enormous revitalization and economic development opportunity for this area of the County.”

Parsons, selected through a competitive negotiation process, brings a broad range of program management, engineering and financial expertise to the streetcar program, the County’s most ambitious transportation project since Metro. Parsons and its sub-contractors have worked on streetcar and light rail projects in Houston, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina; St. Louis, Missouri; Atlanta, Georgia; Dallas, Texas and Norfolk, Virginia.

“This high-capacity modern streetcar program for the Columbia Pike and Crystal City corridors, is critical for sustaining growth and building communities in both Arlington and Fairfax Counties. Parsons is honored to be selected, and our experienced project management team stands ready,” said Todd Wager, President of Parsons Transportation Group, Inc.

Arlington began its selection process for the Program Management consultant at the end of September 2013, when it issued a request for proposals. Multiple proposals were evaluated on the proposed approach to the project, level of experience, qualifications and other factors identified in the RFP. Fairfax participated in the selection panel and in negotiating the first year work program. The range of $7 million to $8 million for the initial work effort reflects that the contract includes a specific work plan with several optional tasks that will be authorized as needed. The County will negotiate a work plan each year to reflect the work that is needed during the upcoming year.