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Investing In Revitalization Efforts: Case Studies from Knight Cities

November 2, 2023 / No Comments

This press release was originally issued by Knight Foundation.

To learn more about our approach, read this note by VP/Learning and Impact Ashley Zohn and VP/Communities and National Initiatives Kelly Jin.
To learn more about the key insights identified by HR&A Advisors, read this blog.

 

Executive Summary

Knight Foundation engaged HR&A Advisors, Inc. (HR&A) to evaluate the impact of its philanthropic grantmaking in supporting revitalization efforts in select downtowns and neighborhoods. This report is composed of three main sections: (1) an introduction to revitalization and markers of successful revitalization; (2) an overview of specific cities that have received revitalization-focused investments; and (3) a concluding summary of best practices and implications for future investment strategy. The city-specific overviews are particularly in-depth for five locations that have received greater levels of revitalization-focused philanthropic investments over time: Akron, OH; Charlotte, NC; Detroit, MI; Macon, GA; and Saint Paul, MN. Higher-level observations are noted for four additional cities where Knight makes investments through local community foundations: Gary, IN; Grand Forks, ND; Lexington, KY; and West Palm Beach, FL.

 

 

Implications for Future Investment 

Each community’s path to revitalization is distinct, the result of unique characteristics and dynamics on the ground. In addition, each community is at a different point on its revitalization trajectory. That said, three overarching themes emerged as key factors in these cities’ revitalization trajectories: (1) local context: factors relating to the local environment, including physical and political context; (2) accelerators of impact: factors relating to where and to whom social investors direct funds in order to drive impact; and (3) concentration of investment: factors related to how and where investment activity is focused. These themes are explored in the third section of the report and are summarized below.

 

 

Local Context

      • Think beyond the central business district: While downtowns may no longer serve as employment hubs due to permanent changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, they continue to hold clear value as mixed-use districts that anchor a region. Traditional downtowns that centered on employment, like Akron and Saint Paul, faced greater impacts from the pandemic when compared with downtowns that offer a mix of uses (e.g., Macon), as well as neighborhoods that are oriented to residents as opposed to employees (e.g., Charlotte’s West End, Detroit’s North End). This contrast highlights the success of “Main Street” downtowns over corporate downtowns. Moreover, sustainable downtowns are marked by their ability to be inclusive, welcoming and vibrant to all residents.
      • Build broad coalitions to ensure longevity: Broad and authentic coalitions that bring together a mix of dedicated stakeholders both inside and outside city hall help investments stay the course even during times of political administration turnover.
      • Proactively mitigate displacement risk: Organizations committed to advancing revitalization must contend with the pressing risk of displacement that arises with new investment. Responses must be proactive and community-specific—the displacement risk in a city with rising rental prices and an influx of new residents is much higher than in a city where there is overall population loss.

 

Accelerators of Impact

    • Cluster investments: Revitalization efforts are more likely to have a transformational impact when they are geographically concentrated and sustained over a longer period, so that successes can build upon one another and create broader momentum. Sustained investments in the creation of dedicated downtown organizations are particularly beneficial.
    • Support multiple organizations working toward shared goals: In communities with an array of fiscally healthy and high-capacity organizations, investors should consider distributing funds across multiple organizations that fill different niches and reflect the community’s diversity but whose activities are ultimately in service of shared goals. In these cases, a first step in coalition building should be the collaborative development of a guiding strategy. In communities without a density of high-capacity organizations, it is more effective to invest in capacity building by concentrating investments with a few select organizations.
    • Cultivate relationships with educational anchors: Fostering relationships and strengthening university connections can yield significant and sustained improvements in downtown vibrancy and growth.

Concentration of Investment 

    • Embrace flexibility and innovation: Flexible funding mechanisms such as seed funding, small grants, learning opportunities and pilot funding for new ideas are ways that social investors can support innovation and deliver wins for the community.
    • Achieve long-term impacts by investing in programming, arts, the public realm and infrastructure: The strategy of focusing on public realm improvements to existing urban assets such as parks, open spaces and arts institutions has proven to be an effective path to building vibrancy. Financial support for the planning and construction of major public realm and infrastructure improvements has been transformational.
    • Investing in multiple avenues to revitalization: Social investors should prioritize investments that align with a community’s priorities and respond directly to inclusivity and sustainability challenges. Support for economic innovation and inclusive entrepreneurial activity have been particularly successful.

City-specific Findings

The communities included in this study encompass an array of different densities, demographic mixes and economic trajectories, much of which are driven by citywide or even regional trends. These communities were chosen not because they are a representative sample of cities across the U.S. but because they are communities where Knight has invested. Though each community faces its own challenges and opportunities, shared learnings are particularly evident when the case studies are grouped into three typologies: downtown cores (Akron, Macon, Saint Paul); historically Black neighborhoods that do not encompass their city’s traditional central business district (Charlotte’s West End, Detroit’s North End); and cities in which Knight’s investments are made through a local community foundation (Gary, Grand Forks, Lexington, West Palm Beach). To gauge the extent of revitalization, the study relied on quantitative demographic and real estate data, qualitative grantee interviews and, in five instances, in-person site visits and a survey. Findings are summarized below:

 

 

Downtowns

    • Akron: Akron faces a steep path to revitalization. Both the city overall and downtown are losing population, a trend projected to continue, and the central business district is still recovering from the pandemic. While placemaking efforts are underway and show promising trends, downtown revitalization is still in its early stages and its future trajectory is uncertain.
    • Macon: Over the past two decades, Macon has taken tremendous steps to reimagine and transform its urban core. A clear guiding vision and strong partnerships have helped increase vibrancy and deliver many markers of successful revitalization. Looking to the future, diverse, representative leadership and participation from residents of all backgrounds will be essential.
    • Saint Paul: Downtown Saint Paul has begun to revitalize, with some limited signs of improvements to the public realm. But overall, downtown has been severely impacted by a slow return to office following the pandemic. Growth in downtown’s residential base is a positive trend in Saint Paul’s revitalization trajectory. However, a vision is needed for downtown to guide future growth, which will require support and a significant scale of investment from public, private and philanthropic sectors.

 

Neighborhoods

    • Charlotte: The West End is undergoing clear signs of revitalization, with population growth and market activity indicating forward momentum. The community’s focus on increasing Black and Brown business ownership has advanced with the opening of several new commercial ventures, including Rita’s Ice Cream, Jet’s Pizza and Archives CLT coffee shop, each of which has benefited from philanthropic support. That said, the ongoing loss of the neighborhood’s Black population highlights the importance of mitigating against displacement to preserve the West End’s historic and cultural role as a Black neighborhood.
    • Detroit: Philanthropic funding in the North End is in its nascent stages and, for many grants, it is too early to see impact. Demographic data shows that while Detroit is losing residents, the North End is contracting even more rapidly than the city overall. In particular, the North End is losing its Black population, and those who remain are increasingly low-income. Early efforts to revitalize the North End signal that there is much work to be done to transform the neighborhood. It will be important to monitor the outcomes of new developments in the area, and the subsequent impacts on demographics, most especially the economic conditions for Black residents and business owners.

 

Other Cities

    • Gary: Downtown is facing serious population decline, mirroring trends in the broader city of Gary. Ongoing issues of blight and lack of development have stalled attempts at revitalization, and downtown Gary has seen little new development (the single new downtown development in the past ten years is a mixed-income project that received state and local incentives and abatements) and has not been able to attract new residents. Community stakeholders stressed that funders could play a valuable role in building the capacity of nonprofits working in Gary across a variety of focus areas, including public art, downtown beautification, job training and food access.
    • Grand Forks: Despite signs of nascent revitalization in downtown Grand Forks, the area is still contending with a shrinking population, job losses, and a slow multifamily market. Over the past ten years, there has been little new development in this area. However, recent news reports and the number of development projects approved by the planning department indicate that the market is beginning to gain momentum and to overcome impacts of the devastating 1997 flooding and of the pandemic. Looking to the future, there should be a focus on strengthening ties between the University of North Dakota and downtown, including continued support for physical improvements to make the corridor more walkable.
    • Lexington: Downtown Lexington has experienced transformative change via public realm improvements and major placemaking investments. Its successful revitalization is highlighted by a population that has grown rapidly over the past decade. The central business district is becoming increasingly expensive, and the scarcity of affordable housing developments is leading to growing displacement risks, spotlighting the importance for future investments to center inclusivity and ensure downtown remains a place for all.
    • West Palm Beach: Downtown’s current growth trajectory is fueling revitalization. In response to population growth, the real estate market has been very active in the past decade. Leaders in West Palm Beach have made significant investments in the public realm to help attract residents, businesses and visitors. However, such rapid development has also led to rising prices and deepening affordability concerns, posing a significant risk of displacement for lower-income residents and people of color, who are already underrepresented in both business ownership and homeownership.

HR&A at ULI 2023 Fall Meeting

October 30, 2023 / No Comments

HR&A is excited to engage with fellow urbanists and change-makers at the 2023 ULI Fall Meeting in Los Angeles.

 

Hear from HR&A on Transforming Downtowns:

November 02, 2023, 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM | HR&A Partner Kate Collignon will be moderating a panel with representatives from Heitman, South Park BID, and Eden Housing on “Transforming Downtowns into Mixed-Use, Mixed-Income Neighborhoods.”

 

Connect with all of our HR&A attendees at the Fall meeting:

Amitabh Barthakur, AICP — Partner, Los Angeles, ULI Public/Private Partnership Council

Joseph Cahoon — Senior Advisor, Dallas

Connie Chung — Managing Principal, Los Angeles

Kate Collignon — Partner, San Francisco, ULI Public Development and Infrastructure Council

Candace Damon — Board Chair & Partner, New York, ULI Placemaking Council — Chair

Jazmin Harper — Senior Analyst, Los Angeles

Thomas Jansen — Principal, New York, ULI Urban Revitalization Council

Kate Owens — Principal, San Francisco

Ada Peng — Director, Los Angeles, Affordable/Workforce Housing Council

Eric Rothman — CEO, New York, ULI Public/Private Partnership Council

Judith Taylor — Partner, Los Angeles, ULI Public/Private Partnership Council

Paul J. Silvern  — Partner, Los Angeles

Stan Wall — Partner, Washington DC, ULI Transit Oriented Development Council

Rachel Webster — Analyst, New York

Carl Weisbrod — Senior Advisor, New York, ULI Public/Private Partnership Council

Martha Welborne — Senior Advisor, Los Angeles, ULI Placemaking Council

 

 

 

R2E2 to Support Winners of Transformational U.S. Building Energy Retrofit Prize

October 16, 2023 / No Comments

This press release was originally issued by ACEEE.

 

Washington, DC—Thirty-nine teams that were awarded federal prizes to bring energy upgrades to affordable and other equity-eligible buildings will receive critical guidance and coaching from the Residential Retrofits for Energy Equity (R2E2) initiative. R2E2—a partnership of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), Elevate, Emerald Cities Collaborative, and HR&A Advisors—will work with today’s winners of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Buildings Upgrade Prize (Buildings UP) to develop innovative building energy retrofit plans and access funding from the Inflation Reduction Act and other federal, state, and utility incentives to bring energy retrofits to underserved communities.

 

During the application phase (Phase 1) of Buildings UP, R2E2 provided trainings to hundreds of organizations, including state and local governments, as well as community-based organizations, providing a foundation to develop their visions for accelerating building upgrades in their communities. R2E2 provided additional application support to 50 first-time and under-resourced Buildings UP applicants.

 

Of the 45 total winners, 39 won $400,000 each for retrofit concept plans as part of Buildings UP’s Equity-Centered Innovation pathway. Each winning team includes a community-based organization and will conduct robust community engagement to ensure that underserved communities are part of the clean energy transition. Winning teams sought perspectives from historically marginalized communities, will minimize negative impacts to building occupants and communities, and have committed to centering community leadership in the development and scaling of their building upgrade initiatives. In addition to the 39 Equity-Centered Innovation pathway winners, six teams were also chosen as winners for their initiatives in the Open Innovation pathway.

 

R2E2’s outreach to potential applicants resulted in 2,150 people from nearly 500 communities across 49 states attending Buildings Upgrade Prize training sessions, with many submitting Phase 1 applications. The Phase 1 winners are working locally in 32 states and four tribal/native communities, including in 13 rural areas. In total, 35 teams in the Equity-Centered Innovation pathway and four teams in the Open Innovation pathway are focused on residential buildings upgrades, while the remaining six teams will focus their initiatives on commercial building upgrades.

 

With the announcement of the Buildings UP winners today, the Department of Energy, R2E2, regional energy efficiency organizations across the country, other nonprofits, energy consultants, and energy service companies (ESCOs) will provide deep technical assistance to prize winners.

 

“We were pleased to work with the R2E2 team and others to center equity in Phase 1 of the Buildings Upgrade Prize,” said Holly Carr of the U.S. Department of Energy. “We are excited to move forward with the winning teams and to work with R2E2 and others providing technical assistance to bring home energy upgrades to people across the country.”

 

Annika Brindel, ACEEE’s director for R2E2, said: “It is a privilege to work with diverse teams from across the country that are dedicated to improving the lives of people in their communities. With unprecedented federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, we’re excited to work with teams to maximize their use of the resources available for affordable housing energy upgrades, workforce development, and health and safety improvements.”

 

Anne Evens, CEO of Elevate, said: “Elevate is looking forward to getting to know the communities represented by the Buildings Upgrade Prize awardees and supporting the teams in planning successful initiatives that provide benefits through innovative, equitable approaches.”

 

Meishka Mitchell, president and CEO of Emerald Cities Collaborative, said: “Emerald Cities Collaborative is thrilled to be part of this critically important opportunity to create models to save our climate, reduce the energy burden in justice-impacted communities, and support the diversification of the clean energy workforce. We look forward to working with the winners of the Buildings Upgrade Prize. Congratulations.”

 

Jonathan Meyers, partner at HR&A Advisors, said: “We are thrilled to see the incredible number of teams from across the country driving innovation in building upgrades for affordable housing. HR&A is excited to leverage our firms’ knowledge of affordable housing financing and building retrofits to support teams to develop clear pathways for implementation, making these ambitious plans a reality.”

 

To scale up affordable housing energy upgrades far beyond the Buildings Upgrade Prize, R2E2 plans additionally to work with communities with well-designed plans who were either not funded or unable to apply. R2E2 will assist those teams to further develop their plans and seek other funding sources for building upgrades. Teams interested in bringing energy upgrades to affordable housing in their communities can sign up with R2E2 to receive information about upcoming opportunities with R2E2.

 

The additional work to provide affordable housing retrofit capacity and technical expertise that governments and community-based organizations often lack is funded by The Rockefeller Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo Foundation, and The JPB Foundation.

HR&A Advisors conducts novel report investigating Maine’s housing production needs

October 12, 2023 / No Comments

 

In partnership with MaineHousing, the Department of Economic and Community Development, the Governor’s Office for Policy Innovation and Future, and a wide group of technical stakeholders, HR&A Advisors conducted a study that investigates the relationship between Maine’s housing production, population change, and labor force needs to help the State and local communities understand the scale of housing production and reinvestment needs across the state. This Study is the first of its kind for the State of Maine and one of the first studies nationally to measure this need specifically in alignment with the State’s economic and housing goals: namely, to have enough homes overall to support broad affordability and availability and to have enough homes in the right places at the right price point to support the workforce necessary to sustain and grow Maine’s economy.

 

This study is considered a first step in addressing Maine’s Housing crisis by building a shared understanding of the number of homes required to establish a foundation for widespread affordability and accessibility. This understanding forms the groundwork for municipalities and communities to understand the housing that is needed and the factors influencing Maine’s housing market as they develop tailored policies and local strategies to address the crisis in their community.  

 

 

Report Executive Summary Preview 

 

In response to a national housing crisis accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, policy makers are increasingly asking, how many and what kind of homes are needed to meet the needs of our constituents and improve affordability? The scale and nature of housing challenges varies significantly across regions and places but is driven by a primary underlying cause: housing production dropped precipitously after the Great Recession, leading to a nationwide undersupply of homes, especially at low and moderate income price points. These trends were exacerbated by the pandemic through materials and labor shortages just as some places—Maine in particular—experienced a sudden influx of residents due to an increase in remote workers seeking a higher quality of life and an increase in international immigration. What was once primarily a problem for coastal cities has become a national one; almost every county in America now has significant rates of renter cost burden, among other housing challenges (Figure 1).  

 

 

 

While Maine has historically had a relatively affordable homeownership market, this changed in the years leading up to the pandemic and has worsened since 2020 as housing production has lagged population and job growth. Maine is also faced with an aging housing stock, leading more of the state’s existing homes to sit vacant in need of reinvestment. These trends have led to a range of housing challenges for Mainers, including reduced housing quality, limited options to age in place, increased homelessness, and rising housing costs. All these issues are important to study further. However, at the most basic level, aligning housing production with population and economic growth is the foundation of a healthy housing market that offers quality homes at a price affordable to residents. The first step is to understand how many homes are needed to support broad affordability and availability and to support the labor force needed to sustain and grow Maine’s economy, which lays the foundation to adopt policies to create those homes. 

 

Figure 2: Setting Housing Production & Reinvestment Targets

 

 

 

Click here to keep reading the full report. 

 

Related articles: 

Maine has made substantial investments in housing but still can’t keep up with demand (News From The States) 

Maine needs at least 84,000 new homes within seven years, study says (Maine Public Radio) 

Housing crisis worse than ever: New study calls for 80,000+ new homes in Maine (WGME) 

Report: Maine needs to nearly double housing production (Bangor Daily News)

Housing report says Maine needs to build more, fast (Portland Press) 

Gov. Mills celebrates success of mixed-income South Portland building amid housing shortage (Maine Morning Star)

 

 

We asked a few HR&Aers one question: What does digital inclusion mean to you?

October 12, 2023 / No Comments


Last week, HR&A Advisors joined more than 900 organizations to celebrate the National Digital Inclusion Alliance’s annual Digital Inclusion Week,  which highlights the importance of supporting communities in creating more inclusive access to the internet so every individual can fully participate in our digital society. 

 

We are passionate about closing the digital divide, and we’re working with visionary clients across the country to ensure that everyone has access to reliable high-speed internet. As we continue reflecting on Digital Inclusion Week, we asked a few HR&Aers one question: What does digital inclusion mean to you?

 

Exploring the viability of office-to-residential conversion in San Francisco

October 9, 2023 / No Comments

This report was originally released by Spur.

 

San Francisco faces a huge opportunity to reimagine its urban center. Downtown could become a 24-hour, mixed-use hub that is welcoming to all Bay Area residents and visitors. One tactic — converting empty, obsolete offices into apartments — could both reanimate the core of the city and provide housing for more people in an area rich in transit, jobs, culture, recreation, and entertainment. 

 

In a first-of-its-kind study, SPUR and ULI San Francisco, in partnership with Gensler and HR&A Advisors, explored not just the physical suitability of office buildings for redevelopment as housing but also tested the financial feasibility of conversion projects under different economic conditions and policy scenarios. 

 

We found that with today’s construction costs and rents, such projects are not financially feasible because they generate less value than maintaining office use. San Francisco has begun to address this challenge with recent planning code changes. To further incentivize redevelopment of underperforming office space, the city could ease building code requirements and, along with the state, reduce some fees and taxes. 

 

Downtown’s unfolding economic crisis must be met with bold strategies that fall outside of traditional policy thinking parameters. Our report lays out six policy imperatives for realizing office-to-housing conversions on a large scale. 

 

Click here to read HR&A’s feasibility study  

Click here to read Spur and ULI”S Research 

Click here to read Gensler’s building suitability analysis  

 

President Preckwinkle Announces First-Ever Digital Equity Action Plan to Bridge Digital Divide in Cook County

October 3, 2023 / No Comments

 

ACTION PLAN AND INTERACTIVE DIGITAL EQUITY MAP RELEASED IN CELEBRATION OF DIGITAL INCLUSION WEEK

 

In celebration of Digital Inclusion Week (DIW), Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle released today Cook County’s first-ever Digital Equity Action Plan. The plan offers a strategic framework to ensure that all Cook County residents have equitable access to the digital infrastructure, devices and tools to thrive in today’s economy and society. It also invites residents, businesses and community organizations to collaboratively build impactful solutions in the areas of digital accessibility, confidence, safety and security, and infrastructure. To kick off DIW, Cook County’s Bureau of Technology also released an interactive Digital Equity Map which allows residents to gain insights about digital access in their communities.

 

“The quality of digital equity in Cook County affects the economy, wellbeing and social connection of every resident, though some communities are more affected than others and in unique ways,” said Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. “Cook County is committed to building digital equity for all residents and this Action Plan charts our path forward.”

 

To build the plan, Cook County consulted extensively with communities across the County. The Guiding Team of digital equity leaders supported and led 12 Community Conversation events, interviews with over a dozen digital equity experts and a public survey that garnered over 3000 responses. Cook County plans to hold follow-up conversations in community to sustain and grow the region-wide effort to build digital equity.

 

“Digital equity is not just a goal; it’s a commitment to ensuring that every Cook County resident, regardless of their background or location, has the tools and opportunities they need to thrive in today’s digital world,” said Kyla Williams Tate, Director of Digital Equity. “Our Digital Equity Action Plan is a roadmap to bridge the digital divide, and together with our community, we will build a more inclusive and connected Cook County.”

 

In parallel to today’s Action Plan announcement, Cook County’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) division also unveiled an online Digital Equity Map as part of the County’s DIW program. The map provides insights into the relationship between socioeconomic conditions and access to broadband and other technologies. Partners may use the map to improve engagement and outreach strategies and provide residents access to a comprehensive understanding of the many factors influencing Digital Equity in Cook County.

 

Cook County GIS devised a Digital Equity Score for the map that leverages data available for census tracts, commissioner districts, municipalities, political townships and zip codes regarding socioeconomic conditions that may limit a community’s access to broadband. To access the map and to learn more about how the map was created, go to: maps.cookcountyil.gov/digital-equity-map

 

“The digital divide plays such a significant role in the inequities we see across Cook County, and yet to residents of more affluent communities, it may seem as if broadband and new technologies are ubiquitous,” said Cook County Chief Information Officer Tom Lynch. “Our GIS team put together this map both to support our efforts toward digital inclusion and to raise awareness of how deep a divide exists today.”

 

The Cook County Digital Equity Action Plan and Digital Equity Map were released on the first day of Digital Inclusion Week, which runs from October 2 to October 6. Organized by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), this year marks the seventh annual Digital Inclusion Week and includes a week of action to elevate digital equity throughout the country. With support from NDIA, organizations and individuals across the country host special events, run social media campaigns, and share their digital inclusion actions and progress. Cook County is hosting over 40 events in celebration of this year’s DIW.

 

To access the Digital Equity Action plan, the Digital Equity Map and for a full list of local DIW events and details, go to www.cookcountyil.gov/service/digital-equity.

 

 

 

HR&A Advisors celebrates Digital Inclusion Week!

October 2, 2023 / No Comments

 

 

According to the 2019 U.S. Census, 36 million households do not subscribe to a wireline broadband service —26 million of these households are in urban areas and 10 million are in rural areas. The lower a household’s income, the less likely they are to have access to affordable, reliable broadband service. With roughly 1 in 5 American households still offline, closing the digital divide is critically important to promoting equity, economic growth, and community well-being. In our increasingly digital world, access to reliable internet is necessary for all Americans to meaningfully engage and function in our society — you need it to pay bills, access healthcare and education, apply for jobs, and much more.

 

This week, HR&A Advisors will be joining more than 900 organizations for Digital Inclusion Week (DIW), an annual week of awareness, recognition, and celebration launched by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA). Please join us this week, October 2–6, 2023, to promote digital equity in our communities!

 

 

What is Digital Inclusion and how is it different from Digital Equity?

 

According to the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, there is a difference between Digital Equity and Digital Inclusion:

 

“Digital Equity is a condition in which all individuals and communities have the information technology capacity needed for full participation in our society, democracy and economy. Digital Equity is necessary for civic and cultural participation, employment, lifelong learning, and access to essential services.”

 

“Digital Inclusion refers to the activities necessary to ensure that all individuals and communities, including the most disadvantaged, have access to and use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).”This includes access to affordable and reliable broadband, devices that meet needs of the user, and digital literacy training.”

 

 

The National Broadband Resource Hub we helped launch was created to help communities achieve both, and we and our partners who created the Hub believe that, “addressing these issues involves thinking through barriers to internet adoption and effective, community-tailored solutions.”

 

The more certain segments of our society remain marginalized by the digital divide, the higher the societal costs become. Without access, the complete engagement of citizens in nearly every facet of society, encompassing economic prosperity, educational attainment, positive health outcomes, and civic participation, is compromised. Those with access continue to benefit, while those without face increasing disadvantages.

 

In this historic moment when unprecedented federal funding is available for governments, non-profit organizations, and mission-driven organizations to invest in digital equity and inclusion, HR&A has been focused on helping communities understand opportunities, strategically plan and set goals, and execute solutions. We are working with clients like the National League of Cities and the Local Infrastructure Hub on programs to help communities make the most of this moment, like this Digital Equity Act Competitive Grant Program Bootcamp, which offers attendees vital information about funding for digital equity programs made available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

 

The United Nations has recognized the internet as a fundamental human right that should be extended to every global citizen, with a particular emphasis on safeguarding “online freedom” as a fundamental right that all nation-states must nurture.

 

Learn more about our work expanding access to reliable broadband and complete this survey to let the NDIA know how you plan to take action this Digital Inclusion Week!

 

 

 

 

 

Partner Kate Collignon joins the Gensler podcast to discuss office-to-residential conversions

October 2, 2023 / No Comments

“Conceivably you could, if money were no object, make any building work for residential. It’s a question of whether property owners, developers, and lenders will see that as an attractive enough investment to take that plunge.” ~HR&A Advisors Partner Kate Collignon 

 

In this episode of the Gensler Design Exchange podcast, HR&A Advisors Partner Kate Collignon is joined by Steven Paynter and Duanne Render of Gensler and Egon Terplan from UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design to weigh the opportunities and challenges of office-to-residential conversions and other potential solutions to help bring vibrancy back to our downtowns.  

 

The aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and the hybrid work styles that followed have sparked a need for city leaders and real estate developers to reimagine downtown real estate. To revitalize our city centers, we must think of office-to-residential conversions as one tool in our toolkit rather than a “silver bullet.” While converting offices into much-needed housing is crucial, initiatives and strategies must go beyond these conversions alone. 

 

 

Take a listen and gain key insights from these industry leaders into making office-to-residential conversions a reality and learn about alternate pathways to revitalizing our downtowns. 

 

From TOD to ETOD: Advancing equity in Austin’s Transit-Oriented Development

October 2, 2023 / No Comments

 

This blog post was originally issued by Waypoint Blog.

 

The Equitable Transit-Oriented Development (ETOD) Study, released this week, is the culmination of a multi-year effort to establish a framework for the equitable development of Austin’s growing transit network.

 

As Project Connect is moving forward with Phase 1 Austin Light Rail development, CapMetro and the City of Austin (COA) have been working to ensure that the benefits of this incredible investment flow equitably across our local community. The ETOD Study provides an overview of the progress we have made and the lessons we have learned – it tells the story of how we got here and what we’re doing next.

 

 

Transit and housing

We know that housing and transit go hand in hand. A new, robust transit hub is an incredible amenity that attracts residents who want to live nearby. The increase in people’s desire to live there makes it a competitive rental market. In other words, it drives up rent prices and the area becomes increasingly expensive. Existing residents might not be able to afford the new housing prices, so they move further and further out. The turnover transforms the neighborhoods and while the new residents benefit, the previous residents are unable to reap the benefits of the new transit. This is how the story has gone across the country for years, including here in Austin.

 

We think the story could go differently.

 

 

 

What We’re Doing

Project Connect will create a new light rail system, more CapMetro Rapid lines, as well as an improved commuter rail service for the Red Line and a new Green Line. It’s a massive program of projects that voters approved in 2020.

 

We knew we needed a framework to guide future development around these high-capacity stations to ensure those who have the greatest need for the transit enhancements – including people with disabilities, people of color, the elderly and people from low-income households – can directly access the new, high-quality transportation options and surrounding development.

 

CapMetro has worked in close partnership with the City of Austin, the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP), the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) and a team of compensated community members known as Community Connectors to develop a framework for our transit investments, not only to avoid displacing residents but to ensure they have a say in what those investments actually look like.

 

Each group plays an essential role in advancing ETOD in Austin. Without any of these partners, neither planning nor implementation would be possible.

 

 

 

The recently released ETOD Study was funded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), which awarded CapMetro $3.15 million across four grants and two administrations through their TOD Pilot Program. Each grant focused on different segments of Project Connect and our development expansion.

 

The Study produced the ETOD Policy Plan, which is a citywide guide that helps focus planning, programming and investment to ensure that future development around the Project Connect transit system supports residents of all incomes and backgrounds. The Austin City Council accepted the ETOD Policy Plan by resolution at their meeting on March 9, 2023, formalizing it as a guideway for all ETOD work moving forward. Included in the Policy Plan are a Policy Toolkit, which is a set of 46 expandable policy tools tailored to station area needs, an Existing Conditions analysis, and the ETOD Priority Tool. These tools help CapMetro and its partners make sense of what investments are needed where, who should lead them, and how to prioritize them.

 

At every step, our approach is guided by our six overarching goals, which were co-developed with project partners and City Council and were heavily informed by robust community engagement:

 

      • Goal 1: Enable all residents to benefit from safe, sustainable and accessible transportation
      • Goal 2: Help to close racial health and wealth gaps
      • Goal 3: Preserve and increase housing opportunities that are affordable and attainable
      • Goal 4: Expand access to high-quality Jobs & Career Opportunities
      • Goal 5: Support healthy neighborhoods that meet daily needs
      • Goal 6: Expand Austin’s diverse cultural heritage and small, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color)-owned and legacy businesses

     

     

    Looking ahead

    With the release of the ETOD Study, CapMetro is focused on implementation. We will be working with residents through workshops, focus groups, surveys and more to prepare neighborhood plans for two CapMetro-owned properties. The two vision plans are due to be completed by 2024.

     

    CapMetro will also continue to coordinate with the Austin Transit Partnership in their efforts to develop light rail, and with the City of Austin as they move to implement systemwide regulatory changes required for equitable transit-oriented development.

     

     

     

    Ultimately, ETOD is about building equitable outcomes through proactive actions, while also holding space for honest conversations about trade-offs. It’s necessary to help a community grow, while also addressing how transit infrastructure intersects with systemic racism, housing affordability, small business interests, economic opportunity, education and health. The City of Austin is experiencing explosive growth and that’s no secret, but we must make sure that as our public transit system grows, we help our city build future development in a way that’s equitable and considerate of all walks of life.

     

     

    Words from our leaders

    “This is a significant milestone, not just for CapMetro, but for the entire City of Austin,” said Sharmila Mukherjee, CapMetro’s Executive Vice President, Chief Strategic Planning and Development Officer. “As we continue to grow and thrive as a community, we need to ensure that we are building an inclusive city that lifts and supports all Austinites; serves our customers with different needs; of diverse backgrounds and all income levels and bring them along in this journey. These policies and subsequent report will help us be more intentional about the development around our city and our stations, minimize displacement and help combat our affordability crisis.”

     

    Mukherjee added, “This report is the culmination of nearly two years’ worth of work done by CapMetro, ATP, the City of Austin and our consultants, who led the technical analysis. But it also could not have been done without the community who were a crucial part of this process. Getting feedback from our community was more than just ‘ticking a box’ for us, they helped us develop this policy framework right along with us to ensure we were building a better future for Central Texas.”

     

    “The City is excited about the release of CapMetro’s ETOD report. It highlights the great work and close partnership we have built to help deliver equitable transit-oriented development to Austinites,” said Planning Director Lauren Middleton-Pratt. “Project Connect is a once-in-a-generation chance for Austin to leverage the energy of our community to tackle the affordability and mobility crises facing the region. Bringing together the collective power of great transit and tightly connected, mixed-income neighborhoods can change Austin for the better while enhancing the lives of those whose roots were planted here long ago.”

     

    “The Austin Transit Partnership, the lead organization implementing Austin Light Rail and overseeing Project Connect implementation, has been coordinating with partners City of Austin and CapMetro on equitable transit-oriented development policy progress,” said Jennifer Pyne, ATP’s Executive Vice President of Planning, Community and Federal Programs. “We will continue to work together to ensure these critical ETOD policies successfully integrate into the overall plans for Austin Light Rail so that this generational investment serves the needs of all Austinites.”