The Wall Street Journal has published an article, entitled “Cities Want Young Families to Play and Stay,” that explores the range of open-space amenities and play-oriented programming that some cities are offering constituents in an effort to attract families to downtown areas.

HR&A Vice Chairman Candace Damon, quoted in the article alongside Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, describes the economic and political value of the family demographic, and the rising popularity of amenities that appeal to both parents and children. She says:

“People don’t get civically engaged until they are relatively settled in their personal lives. They care about schools, they worry about potholes and the ambulance going too fast.” If cities don’t retain that 30-and-up demographic, “then you don’t have people who are going to care and ensure they remain good places to live.”

HR&A is pleased that one of its major parks projects, Hance Park in Phoenix, Arizona, is referenced as a prime example of this type of forward-thinking programming outlined in the article. Hance Park, which will feature splash parks, playscapes, and restaurants to appeal to all ages upon completion, is featured as a key example of these playful offerings. HR&A worked with a design team led by !melk to advance a master plan for the park, providing advisory services related to operations and maintenance funding and governance to ensure the park is active, achieves community goals, and can be sustained financially.

HR&A is at the leading edge of a movement to design, operate, program and fund the development of new urban open space. In the past few years we have consulted on dozens of parks and public open spaces and have noticed a trend in the growing number of German style beer gardens that cities and communities are asking to be included in their parks. “It’s about creating a space where adults can gather with children, without having to be solely focused on taking care of the kids.”, Candace says. This is yet another example of how parks can serve as both public amenities and as catalysts of economic development. Our approach enables communities to use open space to create value through strategic connections with adjacent real estate and civic assets; to quantify that value through robust, data-driven economic models; and, where appropriate, to channel that value towards open space revitalization and maintenance.

Read more about our approach to open space planning on our website: http://www.hraadvisors.com/services/open-space-strategy.

Jamie Torres Springer, will serve as a moderator at the Council for Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) New York/New Jersey Financing Roundtable Conference on September 16th. The CDFA is a national association dedicated to the advancement of development finance concerns and interests. CDFA is comprised of the nation’s leading members of the development finance community representing public, private and non-profit development entities.

The conference will focus on “Reinvestment, Redevelopment and Revitalization in New York and New Jersey,”, and will feature panels comprised of economic development finance experts and leaders from both states as they discuss the tools and resources that foster proactive investment in the region’s assets and accelerate economic growth. Jamie Torres Springer will moderate a panel titled “Resiliency: Planning for the Unexpected,”, which will explore case studies and tactics for planning for the unexpected and for financing a disaster recovery project. Speakers will include: Tim Lizura, President & Chief Operating Officer, New Jersey Economic Development Authority; Lauren Tichenor Nichols, Director of Economic Development, New York State Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery; and Lauren Trialonas, Senior Associate, Squire Patton Boggs.

HR&A is a proud sponsor of the conference and encourages colleagues and clients to register and gain valuable economic development finance insights. We look forward to seeing you on September 16th.

HR&A is honored to be a part of the revitalization of the Los Angeles River. This summer, we kicked-off a project for the Los Angeles River Revitalization Corporation (LARRC) that will help to assess the implementation opportunities for what is clearly one of the most exciting open space projects in the country. The United States Army Corps of Engineers recently recommended the approval of a $1.08 billion revitalization plan along 11 miles of the 51-mile river, propelling the project into the spotlight and establishing it at the forefront of Mayor Garcetti’s agenda. To get a first-hand feel for the emerging possibilities, HR&A’s Los Angeles office spent an afternoon kayaking down a two-mile stretch of the LA River where significant revitalization and naturalization is planned. HR&A staff learned from LA River Kayaks and Maria Camacho at LARRC about the water channeled in the river, native plants and wildlife, as well as potential sites for further programming and development.

Beginning in July 2014, on behalf of the LA River Revitalization Corporation, HR&A will lead a series of one-on-one meeting and workshops convening key leaders and stakeholders in order to help assess the opportunities and challenges for implementation of the LA River’s planned transformation. Based on these workshops, HR&A will recommend strategic next steps for structuring an entity or entities to fund, implement, and operate this major open space investment.

This project will be led by HR&A’s Vice Chairman Candace Damon who brings over 30 years of open space experience to the project. HR&A’s experience with open-space investment planning related to urban waterways includes, among many other projects: Brooklyn Bridge Park in NYC, Waterfront Toronto in Canada, the Great River Passage in the Twin Cities, and plans for the Seattle Waterfront in Washington.

The Los Angeles office of HR&A is excited to continue supporting economic development and public policy goals in California and nationally. We are currently involved in several public interest projects throughout the Los Angeles region including the renovation of the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium as the anchor for a new mixed-use cultural campus, as well as the economics of a proposed freeway cap park in Glendale.

 

 

“Cary embodies HR&A’s values. He has a special ability to navigate complex urban development projects making him such a cherished asset for our clients and our entire community for over 10 years.”
– John Alschuler, Chairman, HR&A Advisors

 

HR&A is pleased to announce the promotion of Cary Hirschstein to Partner in our New York office. Since joining HR&A in 2004, Cary has specialized in the management of large-scale urban development, real estate advisory services for nonprofit institutions, and the structuring of effective policies and programs supporting environmental sustainability and resiliency.

Currently Cary represents David Beckham and his partners in their efforts to secure a stadium location for a new Major League Soccer franchise in Miami. In 2013, he directed Major League Soccer’s initial efforts to develop a new 25,000-seat stadium in New York City. In addition, Cary advises clients on economics and policies related to sustainability and resiliency. He served as an advisor to New York City’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability and the Urban Green Council, contributed to PlaNYC 2030, and managed the design and implementation of large-scale residential and commercial energy efficiency initiatives for the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority. Most recently, as part of the New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program, Cary led the development of a community-based plan for improving the resiliency of Lower Manhattan through the investment of $25 million in CDBG-DR funding, allocated in response to Superstorm Sandy.

Within our firm, Cary plays a leading role in the training of our analytic staff and in mounting business development strategies. With this strong addition to HR&A’s partnership in New York, we look forward to continuing to support the economic development and public-private partnership goals of our clients.

On behalf of the Downtown Alliance, HR&A is managing the programming and implementation of Game On!, a summer programming series that is transforming Water Street into Lower Manhattan’s playground. From Whitehall to Wall Street, public spaces on Water Street are being activated with pop-up installations including play-oriented programming, beer gardens, and even a beach! Game On! activates these public spaces to encourage local residents, workers, and visitors to utilize these areas in new, lively, and fun ways. On Wednesdays in August, participants can win prizes for their shuffleboard, cornhole, and foosball skills thanks to the participation of local businesses. We hope you will join us on Water Street this summer!

Since April, HR&A has led the programming and implementation of Game On! on behalf of the Alliance for Downtown New York. Beginning with existing conditions research and analysis, HR&A managed the development and execution of a programming concept with partners Auster Agency and 3×3 Design.

Other current HR&A program design and implementation projects include NYC BigApps 2014, the largest civic technology competition in the world with over $100,000 in prizes awarded to teams that develop apps, connected devices, and other digital products that improve civic life in New York. We also led the development of programming for The Lawn on D on behalf of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, as part of a team with Chris Wangro and Sasaki Associates, and are currently implementing and managing the program. The Lawn on D, which opened on August 16th, is a temporary interactive outdoor event space connecting the Innovation District to the South Boston neighborhood. The Lawn on D will offer exciting programming and events to test opportunities for integrating the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center into the urban fabric of the area. In addition to these current productions, we designed and produced Take the HELM, Staten Island Storefronts, and Talking Transition, three programs that have helped to support economic development and civic engagement throughout New York City.

We are thrilled to be a part of these innovative assignments and to continue to expand our breadth of services into the program design and implementation area. We look forward to supporting new and existing partners in projects that promote city-building nationally and around the world.

HR&A is producing NYC BigApps 2014, the largest civic technology competition in the world. BigApps, sponsored by the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and global tech firms, awards over $100,000 in prizes to teams that develop apps, connected devices, and other digital products that improve civic life in New York. For those of you in NYC, we invite you to be our guest on July 19th at the first-ever BigApps Block Party at Brooklyn’s Industry City – a day-long expo with food and entertainment, where over 100 contestants will demo theisr products and compete to advance to the BigApps finals. RSVP here!

Since January, HR&A has led all aspects of BigApps’ design and implementation, including developing the competition’s structure, timeline, and guidelines; designing an interactive web platform; raising private funds for prizes and events; recruiting and managing relationships with more than 100 partner organizations and individuals; marketing the competition to entrants and the public; managing the submission and judging process; and producing eight high-impact events.

As BigApps and other city-supported programs show, New York City’s tech sector is reshaping our economy, public policy, and neighborhoods. Our growing knowledge of the city’s tech sector has included evaluations of tech’s impact on the City’s economy, leveraging tech to improve public policy, and cultivating the tech ecosystem in targeted neighborhoods across the city. HR&A authored the April 2014 report “The New York City Tech Ecosystem: Generating Economic Opportunities for All New Yorkers,” commissioned by the Association for a Better New York, Google, Citigroup and New York Tech Meetup. The study also offers substantive public policy direction for nurturing the future success of the ecosystem, and by extension, New York City itself.

We have worked with public and private stakeholders to help New York City’s neighborhoods plan for the growth of the tech sector, leading the real estate and economic analysis portion of the strategic plan for the Brooklyn Tech Triangle, an area encompassing DUMBO, Downtown Brooklyn, and the Brooklyn Navy Yard; and designing and producing Take the HELM, a NYCEDC- and Lower Manhattan Development Corporation-sponsored competition designed to diversify the Lower Manhattan economy by attracting tech and creative firms downtown.

HR&A has been advising communities on the creation and rejuvenation of innovation and technology districts for over a decade. We are thrilled to be a part of these exciting assignments and to continue to expand our breadth of services in the tech sector. We look forward to participating in more projects that support the innovation economy and city-building nationally and around the world.

What is BigApps all about? Watch the video below for a 1-minute animated synopsis!

On May 22nd, 2014, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger and the Community and Economic Development Office (CEDO) unveiled HR&A’s study on the Downtown housing market in Burlington, Vermont. HR&A analyzed housing market conditions and growth patterns in Downtown Burlington, and then benchmarked recent market performance against that of comparable cities across the country. HR&A also provided recommendations on how the City can foster strategic housing development in targeted locations in and around the downtown.

Despite a vacancy rate of below 1% in downtown Burlington, indicating significant demand for housing, the city has only added 222 new housing units over the last 10+ years in its Downtown and Waterfront neighborhoods. Much of this new construction, which accounted for only 8% of the total number of units developed throughout the region, is either subsidized affordable housing or high end market rate apartments and condominiums. Downtown Burlington is therefore experiencing an affordability crisis: households who cannot afford high end units, yet have too much income to qualify for subsidized affordable units, struggle to find housing. The city is losing young professionals and families to surrounding jurisdictions as a result.

HR&A’s recommendations include targeting development in Downtown-adjacent neighborhoods, strategically locating new student housing developments to free up existing building stock, providing land and economic incentives to the development community, and linking housing investment to broader economic development goals.

Over the past year, HR&A has provided housing development strategies to public sector clients in several cities. Our experience includes, but is not limited to: supporting affordable housing policy development in Arlington, Virginia; developing an affordable housing strategy for the City of Atlanta; and supporting downtown housing development in Austin, Texas.

Learn more about our study in the City’s press release, Vermont Public Radio, My Champlain Valley, and in a comic published in Seven Days. Find a full copy of HR&A’s report on the City’s website here.

HR&A Advisors received Solar One’s Sustainability Achievement Award at Solar One’s annual Revelry by the River Gala Dinner on June 11, 2014. Chris Collins, Executive Director of Solar One, presented the award to Candace Damon, Vice Chairman of HR&A, noting her involvement with the organization since its inception. Mr. Collins spoke of HR&A’s central role in shaping Solar One’s business plan and sustainability focus, and praised the firm’s innovative green energy financing and sustainability work in the public and private sectors.

The Solar One Sustainability Achievement Award is awarded annually in recognition of those people and institutions that are making a significant impact on the environment. Past honorees include Sir Richard Branson’s Carbon War Room, HSBC USA, Ashok Gupta of the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Jeanine Behr Getz of Kids Think Big, Glen Dailey of Jefferies & Co., and actor Matthew Modine.

Originally founded in 2004 to manage Stuyvesant Cove Park and a small environmental education center, Solar One quickly grew into an award-winning organization with a thriving array of programs promoting urban sustainability and education reaching all five boroughs. Solar One’s innovative programming includes managing the Energy $mart Communities program for NYSERDA, creation and management of a Green Workforce training program for green jobs, and management and maintenance of Stuyvesant Cove Park, the city’s first sustainably-managed park, on the East River. HR&A is honored to receive this award, and we look forward to continuing our work in creating a sustainable and more resilient New York.

In May 2014, HR&A Advisors and Parsons Brinckerhoff were awarded the American Road and Transportation Builders (ARTBA) Transportation Development Foundation Globe Award for their work on the NY Rising Community Reconstruction (NYRCR) Program. Recognizing excellence in the protection and/or enhancement of the natural environment in transportation planning, design, and construction, the award was given in acknowledgement of the team’s development of several innovative transportation initiatives to enhance community resiliency across New York City. The award was presented at a special luncheon on June 12th in Washington, DC.

HR&A’s work on the NY Rising Community Reconstruction Program (NYRCR) has been part of its broader involvement in helping to plan for and implement a resilient future for the Sandy-impacted region and beyond since October 2012, which has included Jamie Torres Springer’s participation in the NYC Mayor’s Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency (SIRR), in the City’s subsequent analysis of the feasibility of a multipurpose levee to protect much of Southern Manhattan, in the federal government’s innovative Rebuild By Design competition, and in the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities initiative.

The NYRCR is an initiative of the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery to provide revitalization assistance to New York communities most severely damaged by Superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Irene, and Tropical Storm Lee. Funded by the State’s allocation of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding, the first phase of the NYRCR program provided resiliency project funding to 45 communities throughout the State. HR&A and Parsons Brinckerhoff worked with State-appointed Planning Committees in the New York City communities of Breezy Point, Broad Channel, Howard Beach, Lower Manhattan, Red Hook, Rockaway East, and Rockaway West to develop Community Reconstruction Plans. Submitted in March 2014, these Plans contained ideas from NYRCR Planning Committees and the public for 81 wide-ranging projects to be funded with a CDBG-DR allocation of $108 million to address physical, social, and economic resiliency.

Projects proposed by the NYRCR Planning Committees include community relief centers to provide emergency and year-round services, small business resiliency technical assistance programs, and financial assistance for stormwater mitigation measures. All of the communities also proposed far-ranging initiatives to enhance coastal protection.

Among the 81 proposed projects were eight recognized by ARTBA that specifically focused on increasing the resiliency of transportation systems and services. These included strategies to enhance the redundancy of the transportation system on the Rockaway Peninsula in the event of a storm, including expanded ferry service, a bus circulator service, and a comprehensive bike-share network. Other projects included a new ferry landing in Red Hook and the recommendation of a direct bus route from Red Hook to Lower Manhattan.

Now that these NYRCR plans have been submitted, the second round of the NYRCR planning process has begun. During this round, HR&A and Parsons Brinckherhoff will be supporting the Brooklyn communities of Canarsie, Bergen Beach, Georgetown, Marine Park, and Mill Basin, and several Bronx waterfront communities. These communities will spend the next seven months discussing resiliency challenges and developing strategies and project ideas to envision a more resilient future.

Read the first round NYRCR Plans on the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery website at the links below and watch a video about the program on YouTube.

Breezy Point Community Reconstruction Plan
Broad Channel Final Reconstruction Plan
Howard Beach Community Reconstruction Plan
Lower Manhattan Community Reconstruction Plan
Red Hook Community Reconstruction Plan
Rockaway East Final Reconstruction Plan
Rockaway West Final Reconstruction Plan