New assistant city manager appointed to lead public-private partnerships

Alexandria is expanding its push into public-private partnerships with the appointment of a new Assistant City Manager to help manage and facilitate them.

The city has sought to implement public-private partnerships over the last few years to lower costs for projects and make better use of limited space in the city. One notable example has been a housing development and fire station in Potomac Yard.

Julian Gonsalves has been appointed by City Manager Mark Jinks to lead the city’s public private partnerships through project planning and financing.

According to a press release:

Julian Gonsalves will leverage City assets and resources to implement City infrastructure-, facility- and economic development-related public and private sector partnership projects, and facilitate development and implementation of alternative service delivery strategies to lessen reliance on City funding. He will manage and coordinate these initiatives across multiple City departments and community organizations.

Gonsalves comes to the city after eight years at WSP USA, an engineering and construction management firm, where he specialized in public-private partnerships in dealins with organizations like the Baltimore City Department of Transportation, the Maryland Department of Transportation, Amtrak and more.

“Alexandria is known for developing innovative solutions that unite the financial and knowledge-based strengths of the private sector with those of the public sector to undertake complex projects, such as affordable housing, cultural development, environmental management, transportation and more,” Jinks said in the press release. “Julian’s regional, national and international experience in P3 program design and implementation will help the City implement the goals of its $2.7 billion, 10-year Capital Improvement Program and expand its P3 efforts in a cost-effective, responsible manner.”