The Center is designed to serve as a trusted advisor to the government on
delivering infrastructure of all kinds through public-private partnerships.
We intend to coach and mentor public sector staff on how to get deals done.
Principal, Michael Cheroutes
Center Manager, Matt Cheroutes
About Michael Cheroutes
Michael Cheroutes, Principal of the Center for Infrastructure Development, founded the organization in 2015 to help state and local governments and public sector entities accelerate the delivery of infrastructure across all sectors through private partnerships.
Cheroutes created the enabling legislation and served as the first Director of the Colorado High Performance Transportation Enterprise (HPTE), a government-owned business enterprise within the state’s Department of Transportation. Under his leadership, the HPTE began work on potential public-private partnerships for projects totaling more than $5 billion, including the US 36 BRT/Managed Lane project – recognized nationally as a model for the P3 delivery of multi-modal transportation and transit improvements— and a billion dollar plus viaduct replacement and new capacity project along Interstate 70. The US36 concession closed in March, 2014. According to Cheroutes,
"The US 36 Express Lane Project is a nationally-recognized example of how leveraging a public-private partnership can deliver a critical multi-modal transportation systems that allow our economy to keep moving and growing."
More recently, Cheroutes has consulted on a number of public projects, including creating and developing the procurement for one of the first major US airport P3 projects with DEN airports nearly two billion dollar Great Hall procurement. In addition to DEN airport, Cheroutes helped advise Kansas City on the MCI airport redevelopment project, among others around the country. Mr. Cheroutes has presented and spoken at a number of industry conferences and forums, and continues to be actively involved in a number of educational and outreach initiatives.
Prior to his experience with the Center and the HPTE, Cheroutes was an attorney in private practice, with over forty years of government and project finance experience. His legal experience includes public private partnerships for infrastructure projects in this country and overseas and the ground breaking financings for the E-470 and NW Parkway toll roads and for the construction of Denver International Airport.
“My experience in this area has taught me that the informational elements, the public exchanges and communication elements, are every bit as important as the financial pieces — and I think that’s a unique perspective that I can bring to governments who are going to pursue these things, and a bit different from most in the consulting business who only know the private side.”
Cheroutes received NCPPP’s 2014 National Public-Private Partnership Leadership Award for helping Colorado to establish industry-leading practices and deliver new infrastructure for residents far faster and reliably than would have been possible with traditional financing.
“Michael Cheroutes has raised awareness of public-private partnerships locally, statewide and nationally as an innovative tool to deliver infrastructure solutions to address critical transportation challenges in Colorado.”
About Matthew Cheroutes
PRINCIPAL, MATT CHEROUTES LLC
Matt has spent the last two decades working in public affairs in one capacity or another. Cheroutes worked in the administrations of both Governors Bill Ritter and John Hickenlooper, serving as a top deputy and Director of Communications and External Affairs, handling policy and legislative duties and media relations for the state Office of Economic Development. He then went on to serve as a senior advisor and policy director for the Colorado Department of Revenue. Through his time in state government Mr. Cheroutes helped pass meaningful economic development policies and incentives including the now well-used Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit program, and established a new regulatory framework for emerging industries and helped focus and accelerate the growth of targeted sectors for Colorado’s economy.
Cheroutes has spent the better part of the last decade helping to establish the non-profit Center for Infrastructure Investment, and works statewide and nationally advising on alternative financing and public private partnership deal structures and procurements, including representing a number of clients in the energy, transportation and infrastructure space, such as the Association for the Improvement of American Infrastructure, Macquarie Capital, Jacobs, Verizon, Macerich, Heitman and Extraction Oil and Gas, among others.
Currently, Cheroutes represents a wide range of private sector clients in the area of land use, including real estate, energy, transportation, infrastructure, and economic development. Cheroutes has worked on and advised numerous campaigns ranging from US Senator Ken Salazar to Mayor of Denver Michael Hancock, as well as serving on transition and advisory committees for a variety of elected officials. Mr. Cheroutes was born and raised in Denver, has an MBA from the University of Colorado at Denver, and currently resides in town with his wife and two kids.
RECENT LAND USE, DEVELOPMENT, AND INFRASTRUCTURE EXPERIENCE:
(References available upon request)
—Downtown Denver, Larimer Square, Bell Park, Speer Blvd, 2019-ongoing
Represent Heitman, the owner of 1401 Lawrence St., in ongoing development discussion surrounding Larimer Square and adjacent properties.
—Broomfield, FlatIron Crossing Mall Reinvestment, 2020-ongoing
Represent the owners of FlatIrons Crossing Mall in negotiating a major reinvestment with City and County of Broomfield. Council ratified agreement October 12, 2021.
—City of Denver/National Western Center, Triangle P3, 2020-2021
Represent shortlisted applicant team in the $700+ million Public Private Partnership procurement.
—Fort Collins, Halligan Reservoir Expansion, 2019
Represent dam builder ASI in their bid as an applicant for the Halligan Reservoir Expansion project procurement.
—Boulder County/Denver Water, Gross Reservoir Expansion, 2019
Represent dam builder ASI in their bid as a shortlisted vendor to be selected as the GC/CM for the Gross Reservoir Expansion project, a $450 million procurement.
—City of Denver, DEN Airport, Great Hall P3, 2017-18
Represent the Center for Infrastructure Investment, a private consultant selected by DEN to help develop the Great Hall P3 Infrastructure procurement, a $1.8 Billion procurement.
—City and County of Broomfield, Oil and Gas Development 2017-18
Represented Extraction Oil and Gas Corp. for the last two years in successful local permitting and approval processes, helping to bring to development a project estimated to be valued at $200 million.
—Jefferson County, Real Estate Development, 2018
Represented private real estate developer Wood Partners in controversial Lakewood Green Mountain project, successfully securing right by use and development approvals, and helping the client to build a 10 building residential apartment project.