Creating Value by Transferring Value: Unlocking Mutual Gains Through a Joint Development Case Study in Austin, Texas
Name
anderson-clay838-mcp-dusp-2026-thesis.pdf
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3.45 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
bba8c0200402a6d0bb869893b9b5a2f3
Author(s)
Anderson, Clay
Advisor(s)
Schrock, Melissa
Ryan, Brent
Date Issued
May 2026
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
Austin, Texas is growing rapidly, but structural deficiencies in State transportation funding limit investment in new transit services. While public transit increases real estate value by improving accessibility and enabling higher densities, transit authorities struggle to capture the value their services create. This thesis presents a Joint Development case study of Capital Area Metropolitan Transit Authority (CapMetro)’s largest landholding to demonstrate how redevelopment can create a new revenue source for Austin’s public transit provider. Through a hypothetical redevelopment program, cashflows for CapMetro, the City of Austin, and other taxing entities are modeled based on various infrastructure financing and affordable housing scenarios. Holding the private developer’s returns constant through all scenarios, the analysis reveals how City-issued debt and the redistribution of affordable housing between City and CapMetro-owned parcels maximizes CapMetro’s ground rent revenue, leading to larger gains in Total Public Value. These results suggest that transferring value from the City of Austin to CapMetro leads to mutual benefits for all parties, helping CapMetro deliver better transit services which in turn help achieve City policy goals.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Center for Real Estate. Program in Real Estate Development.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning
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