Ohio State University Moves Forward With Privatized Parking

Ohio State University's Board of Trustees is expected to solicit bids to privatize parking on the sprawling campus.  The board's finance committee recommends the change. Ohio State’s chief financial officer Geoff Chatas says the university is looking at ways to leverage OSU’s assets to support the university’s academic mission.  Leasing control of parking on campus could bring in as much as $375 million in an agreement that spans 50 years, according to Chatas.   “We would be looking at raising money by bringing in an outside operator to operate these assets on our behalf but we would continue to own these assets,â€? Chatas said. Chatas said private operation of university parking would be tightly controlled, even as to how much parking rates could be raised…   We would look at a cap in the first ten years of the concession agreement; a maximum of 7 ½ percent annual increases and this is based on the historical ten-year average increases we’ve had at the university.   Concerns have been raised about the positions of 70 employees who now work in the University’s parking services.  Chatas said those people could go to work for the private company or obtain some other positions within the university.