John Alschuler, HR&A Chairman, and Candace Damon, HR&A Vice Chairman, received the Women’s City Club (WCC) of New York Civic Spirit Award at the WCC’s annual Civic Spirit Awards Dinner in May 2012. Adrian Benepe, New York City Department of Parks & Recreation Commissioner, presented the award to John and Candace. Commissioner Benepe spoke of HR&A’s crucial role in the transformation of the High Line into a landmark park, and its ability to guide innovative investment strategies: “HR&A has been at the forefront of park revitalization efforts made possible by attracting private investment.”

The WCC honored John and Candace for their role in projects key to New York’s contemporary renaissance and in similar projects in other great cities. These projects include mixed-use, neighborhood, downtown, campus and regional development projects such as the High Line, Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Heart of Brooklyn cultural consortium, the legacy park that will result from the London Olympics, and the chain of new parks along the Toronto waterfront.

The WCC, a nonpartisan, nonprofit, activist organization of 600 volunteer members, recently completed its 95th year of advocating for causes vital to New Yorkers. The oldest multi-issue advocacy organization in NYC, the WCC recommends changes in legislation, regulations and practices to create a better City. The WCC educates the public to become changemakers, provides a forum for connecting with like-minded advocates and makes resources available for members to bring about policy improvements. Through the Civic Spirit Awards, the WCC publicly recognizes and honors individuals, institutions, organizations and corporations that have demonstrated a commitment to social responsibility in addressing the civic and social needs of the community.

Co-honorees include Laurie Beckelman, a leading expert in the development of cultural and not-for-profit organizations and in landmarks preservation, and Mary McCormick, President of the Fund for the City of New York, an innovator in nonprofit management, social entrepreneurship and adapting emerging technologies for the benefit of government, nonprofit agencies, communities and families.

San Antonio’s City Council today adopted a plan for implementing growth and development in the City’s Center City developed by HR&A, and unanimously passed one of its key recommendations, a clear and consistent incentive policy for downtown housing. HR&A worked with the City’s elected officials, staff, and a newly-formed public-private partnership of civic leaders to create a Strategic Framework Plan for the fast-growing City.

The plan focuses on achieving a target of 7,500 new housing units in the downtown by 2020 through financing, infrastructure investment, and other innovative tools, which will in turn support the City’s competitiveness, job creation, and quality of life. Investments will be prioritized in four key priority growth areas to extend the vibrancy of San Antonio’s great neighborhoods, tourist destinations and convention activities, and its unique RiverWalk.

The new incentive policy will provide a predictable package of tax incentives, fee waivers, loans and grants for quality new downtown housing, bringing transparency and leveling the playing field for developers. Council members and developers lauded the policy for its potential to normalize land values and provide greater certainty and speed of approvals to developers.

Candace Damon, who leads HR&A’s energy efficiency practice, spoke at the 2012 Northeast Energy Efficiency Summit on June 13th. The Summit is an initiative of the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership (NEEP), which facilitates regional partnerships to advance the efficient use of energy in buildings in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states. Candace joined real estate experts Matt Weko of Jones Lange LaSalle and Marla Thalheimer of Liberty Property Trust to discuss the effects of mandatory rating and disclosure policies on the real estate market and how utilities and governments can partner with the real estate community to design and implement such policies.

HR&A Partner Paul Silvern was recently appointed by Mayor Richard Bloom to the Santa Monica Redevelopment Successor Agency Oversight Board. At the Oversight Board’s first meeting on April 16, Paul was elected Chair for its inaugural year of operation. Other Oversight Board members include an additional Mayoral appointee, three appointees by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, and one appointee each by the Los Angeles County Board of Education and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges.

The Board is tasked with various responsibilities associated with winding down the affairs of the former Santa Monica Redevelopment Agency, as required by a California law enacted in June 2011, and sustained by a State Supreme Court decision issued in December 2011, that required the dissolution of all 400 redevelopment agencies in the state. Among its responsibilities, the Oversight Board is responsible for approving lists of “enforceable obligations,” or redevelopment project expenditures that may be eligible to continue receiving property tax increment funds until they are completed. In doing so, the Oversight Board has fiduciary responsibilities to holders of enforceable obligations as well as the taxing entities that benefit from distributions of property tax and other revenues generated from redevelopment activities. The Santa Monica Oversight Board will operate through June 2016, at which time the Oversight Boards for all the former redevelopment agencies in Los Angeles County will be consolidated into a single Oversight Board.

At a Gala Awards event on Tuesday June 12th, HR&A Partner and NYC Outward Bound Schools Chairman Carl Weisbrod was recognized for his long term guidance and support of the organization, alongside past board chairs. Carl has been involved with NYC Outward Bound Schools since its founding in 1987 and became Chairman in 2010. The program applies a dynamic approach to teaching and learning in an urban educational setting, and utilizes the “Expeditionary Learning” model to motivate students to learn actively. Today, NYC Outward Bound Schools operates a network of 10 public schools in all five boroughs in partnership with the New York City Department of Education, and will open a charter school this fall.

The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) released a new office-worker spending study, entitled Office Worker Retail Spending in a Digital Age. The study was conducted by the ICSC Research Department, with advice from a committee of industry professionals that included representatives from Macy’s, Target, Rite Aid, Macerich, General Growth Properties, and HR&A Partner Kate Coburn . The committee helped shape the methodology, direction, and scope of the study.

Office Worker Retail Spending in a Digital Age looks at spending patterns of office workers going to and from work as well as typical purchase around their office building. It was based on a survey of 4,000 people across the country. In addition to reporting findings on a national basis, the survey examined spending patterns in urban, suburban, and small towns. The results showed that office workers in areas that are considered well-served by local retail, spend more on average than workers in areas underserved by retail.

This confirms conclusions that HR&A’s retail practice has found in its work around the country and indicates an opportunity to capture office-worker spending by increasing retail diversity and options in these underserved areas.

The study is available for download on the ICSC website.

The final designs for the National Mall Design competition are on display online and at the Smithsonian. These twelve proposals represent the final selections from over 1,200 initial submissions for three sites identified in the 2010 National Mall Plan. The Trust for the National Mall, a not-for-profit partner of the National Park Service, is overseeing the competition.

HR&A was proud to serve as a project partner for three of the final submissions: the OLIN + Weiss/Manfredi proposals for Constitution Gardens and for the Sylvan Theater and the Workshop: Ken Smith Landscape Architect + Pei Cobb Freed & Partners proposal for Union Square. The winning design visions will be announced on May 3rd.

With 25 million annual visitors, the National Mall is not only one of the country’s most prominent landmarks but also a beloved public space for D.C. residents and workers, and millions of tourists each year. These proposals represent a unique opportunity to enliven the National Mall and to better serve its full range of users with new amenities and signature gathering spaces that link national destinations and local neighborhoods.

HR&A has a long track record of supporting improvements to the nation’s capital that enhance its appeal to residents, workers and visitors. We have:

• Created a redevelopment plan, and assisted in the development team solicitation for what is now CityCenterDC;
• Structured the transaction for the purchase of the Newseum site, and
• Guided the work of six planning firms to complete the award-winning Anacostia Waterfront Framework Plan.
• Served as development advisors for the reuse of the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

HR&A Partner Carl Weisbrod participated in a discussion of the Nature and Design of the Grid at the Museum of the City of New York. Presented in conjunction with the Museum’s exhibition The Greatest Grid: The Master Plan of Manhattan, 1811-2011, the panel discussed the environmental implications of the City’s street grid, as well as its possibilities for the future.

Carl has enjoyed a distinguished career as a leader in revitalizing New York City neighborhoods, including Times Square, Lower Manhattan, and now, Hudson Square. In addition to founding the New York City Economic Development Corporation and the Alliance for Downtown New York, he also served as the President of the Real Estate Division of Trinity Church. He continues to advise Trinity as it seeks a rezoning for a 19 block area in Hudson Square.

More information about this event is available at: The Greatest Grid.

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board unanimously voted to formally adopt RiverFIRST: A Park Design Proposal and Implementation Plan for the Minneapolis Upper Riverfront. The plan, which grew out of the yearlong Minneapolis Riverfront Development Initiative (MRDI) planning process, was completed by Tom Leader Studio (TLS) and Kennedy & Violich Architecture (KVA) in collaboration with HR&A Advisors. When complete, RiverFIRST will be the largest expansion of the renowned Minneapolis park system in over 100-years.

For the past year, HR&A has worked intensively in collaboration with the Park and Recreation Board and TLS/KVA design team to shape the proposed redevelopment of 5.5 miles of the Mississippi riverfront north of Minneapolis’ downtown core in a manner that would promote the economic development of the city while not creating undue fiscal burdens. The riverfront plan passes through some of the city’s most deprived communities and industrial lands, and includes new signature parks, environmental restoration projects, and real estate developments. It also completes critical links in the city’s famous Grand Rounds bicycle network.

HR&A served as strategic development advisor for the MRDI planning process. We helped identify priority sources of capital funding and strategies for the coordination of project implementation and stewardship. Approximately $20M has been dedicated for the implementation of RiverFIRST, including development of the central riverfront, where HR&A is also working on the WaterWorks conceptual development framework.