Challenges & Opportunities

Joint Ventures

Some trust management agencies have begun experimenting with more sophisticated approaches to the planning and disposal of specific parcels identified for commercial, residential and industrial uses. For example, participatory mechanisms can facilitate larger-scale developments that will increase trust revenue over time. In a joint venture or a participation agreement, a landowner enters into a long-term arrangement with a project developer to provide land for development and then receives a share of the profits once the lands are titled, supplied with infrastructure, developed and sold. These arrangements limit up-front costs, carrying costs and risks to the developers. They also take advantage of the more extensive resources available to private sector developers for planning, entitlement and infrastructure development.

The State Trust Lands Project is conducting a comparative assessment of recent participation-style developments on state trust lands in the West with examples of joint venture arrangements from the private sector in order to delineate common themes and practices that are associated with successful (and unsuccessful) joint ventures and participation deals. This assessment will be used to identify a set of best management practices to guide state trust land managers that are considering participation in these types of complex deals.