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.

The Times Square Alliance released HR&A’s comprehensive study of Times Square’s outsized value to the City of New York. Although it makes up less than 1% of the City’s land area, Times Square generates 11% of the City’s economic output, or $110 billion of economic activity within the City each year. This economic activity supports 385,000 jobs throughout New York City.

HR&A found that Times Square’s contribution to the City’s economy grew disproportionately during the recession. Between 2007 and 2011, Times Square’s economic output grew by 22%, while the City’s economy grew by 9%.

As a major commercial office hub, Times Square provides employment opportunities to all New Yorkers. More than 60% of New York City residents working in the Times Square area live outside Manhattan or north of 110th Street. HR&A’s findings support the Times Square Alliance’s ongoing efforts to improve and promote Times Square, which was recently featured in the New York Times and Crain’s New York.

HR&A delivered a market and development study to city leadership outlining ways to attract new business and to expand existing specialized business in Mount Vernon, NY. Mount Vernon, located in Southern Westchester County on the border of the Bronx, is one the most densely populated cities in the nation. The city has a strong mix of residential offerings but its commercial core has suffered in the past few years from weak national and local economic conditions.

The Mount Vernon Market and Development Study analyzed demographic, physical and social attributes city-wide, as well as retail spending potential and leaking. HR&A’s work provided a series of recommendations for the City to capitalize on its strengths including establishing a framework for supporting new development near its transportation assets; encouraging new retail businesses along key corridors; and establishing both a Downtown Business Improvement District and an Office of Economic Development.

HR&A prepared the Mount Vernon Market and Development Study for the New York State Department of State with funds provided under Title 3 of the Environmental Protection Fund. The public release of the study was covered in Westchester.com. The full work product is available here.

HR&A recently completed an Action Plan for the Delmar Loop area in St. Louis. Commissioned by Washington University and the East and West Loop Special Business Districts, the Action Plan includes a retail and development strategy for the retail, entertainment and cultural corridor which serves as the “campus main street” for the University.

In 2010, commitment of funding for a new trolley system that would connect the Delmar Loop with Saint Louis’ Forest Park provided the impetus to create a new trajectory for the area’s future. This will ensure its continued vibrancy as a unique amenity for Washington University students as well as residents and visitors. An additional goal of the study was to examine ways to enhance retail offerings and encourage private-sector investment in those areas of the Loop that lack shops and services. HR&A’s comprehensive strategy includes recommendations for retail tenanting, real estate development, public realm improvements, infrastructure investments, governance, and implementation.

The Action Plan for Delmar Loop can be found here.

HR&A is thrilled to welcome Stockton Williams as a Principal in our Washington, D.C. office. Stockton is a leading expert in the intersection of environmental policy and urban development and will support HR&A’s innovative practice in this area.

Until recently, Stockton served as a Senior Advisor in Urban Policy at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), where he developed strategies to expand clean energy and energy efficiency opportunities in metropolitan regions, represented DOE on urban policy issues at the White House, and collaborated on sustainability policy with multiple federal agencies. He has also held senior leadership positions at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Living Cities and Enterprise Community Partners.

Stockton has written and spoken widely on the subject of sustainable development and served on the boards of several real estate, housing, and energy organizations, including the Urban Land Institute Advisory Group on Climate Change, Land Use & Energy.

For over thirty years, HR&A has provided strategic advisory services for some of the most complex mixed-use, neighborhood, campus, and regional development projects across North America and abroad. With Stockton joining the firm, we have increased our capacity to provide our clients with advisory services for clean energy, sustainable communities, and affordable housing finance.

Image courtesy of Steven Winter Associates.

On January 11th, the Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation and Living Cities released a new study, “Recognizing the Benefits of Energy Efficiency in Multifamily Underwriting,” which lays the groundwork for a new means of financing energy efficiency retrofits. Authored by HR&A and Steven Winter Associates, the study examined a uniquely large and comprehensive multifamily dataset. Rigorous analysis produced a data-driven approach by which underwriters can benchmark auditors’ energy savings estimates and include such projections in their underwriting models in a way that greatly mitigates risk across a portfolio. The innovative approach would allow for larger loans to multifamily owners, increasing the availability of capital to unlock billions of dollars of energy savings potential in the nation’s multifamily building stock.

The study examined energy use before and after retrofits, as well as auditors’ savings projections, across an unprecedented dataset of 231 buildings, totaling more than 21,000 units of affordable housing in New York City. The report is available on the Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation website.

Living Cities provided a grant to the New York City Energy Efficiency Corporation (NYCEEC) to create a mortgage enhancement product that will allow multifamily lenders to underwrite loans inclusive of cash flows from projected energy efficiency savings. HR&A will serve as a key advisor to NYCEEC in the development of this new product.

This study is an example of HR&A’s core value-add for our energy efficiency clients: a deep knowledge of real estate development finance, rigorous analysis informed by partnership with a premier building science firm, and the ability to translate this multidisciplinary knowledge into transformative and practical policy recommendations.