Not an everyday approach
PBA forges new path in project management

By Mardy Fones

The creation of the 13-person New Memphis Arena Public Building Authority to oversee construction of the $225 million FedExForum moved the project's management out of the hands of local government and into those for whom on-time/on-budget completion was a No. 1 priority.

The group's desire is to lead Memphis in a new direction when it comes to construction of public spaces, national visibility and community involvement, said PBA Chairman Arnold Perl, a labor management attorney and partner in the firm of Young & Perl.

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"Memphis needs this project built right and on time, on budget and with maximum minority business participation," he added. "We need (to have a successful project) to develop a mentality both internally and externally that the typical Memphis way of building major projects is to do it right."

In Tennessee, PBAs are sanctioned by state statute and in Memphis one was used in 1991 in the construction of the 32-story Pyramid.

Later, the city was reeling from the costly delays and political infighting during renovation of the Memphis Cook Convention Center. The convention center project was launched in March 1999 but not completed until January 2003. Its initial $76 million budget ran over by $16 million. The city is estimated to have lost $30 million-$40 million in convention and tourism business due to the center's delay.

The PBA was created to avoid such a scenario at the Forum.

"They (convention center officials) never publicly articulated a mission and action structure to get the job done," said Perl, whose reputation is built, in part, on his management of the Memphis Shelby County Airport Authority.

"For the Forum, we developed a plan - I'm not talking about an architectural plan. I'm talking about a plan of behavior to achieve the required result."

The PBA went right to work.

"We had a tight schedule - the Grizzlies take possession on July 31 - which was agreed to by the city, county and the Grizzlies in 2001," said David Bennett, PBA executive director. "But we had to build a project for a budget that (had been) put together before we knew what we were building or where, so the public expectation of cost was set before we knew we could do it."

Bennett, a civil engineer and Shelby County engineer for eight years, was also executive director of the Pyramid PBA.

The PBA anchored its approach in a simple concept - build it right - and created seven action principles for the Forum:

• Assemble the best team
  
• Be on time and within budget
  
• Maximize minority participation
  
• Design it right
  
• Gain the public trust
  
• Involve the community
  
• Exceed expectations

"Staking out a public position and committing to it is something that's not often done, but these (principals) have become our mantras," Perl said, admitting the process hasn't always been easy and he's often been called upon to use his mediation skills to keep the PBA on track.

At completion, the Grizzlies will be the facility's operating entity.

"They have a contract that they keep all the losses and the money," Bennett said. "(Memphis and Shelby County) won't provide subsidies."

To maximize the Grizzlies' potential for financial success, the PBA has employed value-engineering on the building while holding firm to its budget without short-changing the public.

"We ask 'is there another way to get this done with the same result for less money?" Bennett said. "For instance, we looked at substituting painted metal panels for brick."

But extras such as terrazzo floors on the general concourses were retained because of their visual appeal and the perception of quality.

"One thing we've all learned from this process is that you (can manage a project with a PBA), accommodate a large diversity of interests and still come away with a first class facility," said Bennett, who predicted on-time delivery for the Forum. "It's a gradual lesson, one we started learning (with) the Pyramid."

Perl said he's satisfied with the PBA's ability to deliver on its promises to Memphis and Shelby County and is looking forward to the public response to the completed FedEx Form.

"When people go in on Day 1, I predict their reaction will be 'wow,'" Perl added. "This facility will compare favorably with other major-league facilities in the United States - and that's something in which we can all take pride."

Useful Resource:

For more information about the Public Building Authority, go to:
http://nashville.bizjournals.com/memphis/stories/2001/09/17/story4.html