case study:
COBO Center
Role: Chief Development Officer
Status: Successful Completion
challenges
- The facility leached over $16 million annually of Detroit’s general fund to pay for COBO’s annual budget shortfall just to maintain operations— excluding $300 million in required capital improvements and infrastructure updates
- Complacency and discord among key stakeholders regarding a path forward
- Michigan’s main convention center not perceived or embraced as a regional asset
- Physical and Operational Limitations: COBO’s obsolete design and archaic, dilapidated infrastructure was unable to accommodate conventions— including Detroit’s signature, Annual Auto Show.
solutions
- Offer a holistic framework of solutions under the five-point plan which required a project champion to identify the obstacles and develop a pragmatic plan. Early on, I lead that charge. Eventually, the team grew, and we collectively led to the passage of legislation, the creation of viable governance structures, and funding of extensive capital improvements to the center.
project summary
- Parse through 15-years’ worth of studies to determine obstacles and define a viable plan to address the physical and operational obstacles to run the convention center as a state-of-the-art facility
- Evaluate various P-3 structures and taxable vs. taxexempt models to access viable funding sources
- Created a five-point plan:
