Resilient Real Estate Strategy
Introduction: Putting the Values back in Property Development
Resilient growth strategy in real estate means asking the question: "What sort of city is this property building?" as in "Who does it benefit and disadvantage, and what are the currencies thereof?" Resilient growth strategy is grounded in the understanding that it is not only possible but desirable and more profitable to develop property that explicitly acknowledges the extent to which the needs of a place--commercial, residential, infrastructural, environmental--are in no way divorced from the needs of property owners. Unlike traditional development pro forma, the elements of this shared value proposition are evaluated through an in-depth analysis of Social, Environmental, and Financial resources and deficiencies brought by property owner and surrounding concentric circles of community and city. The resulting Propportunity Statement reaches past current 'balance sheets' to the history of a place and how its future is being shaped by infrastructure, economic/demographic, and other regulatory trends. Weighing these lists side-by-side brings sharply to the fore the extent to which a property's potential value is directly dependent on under or unpriced, pre-existing assets not contained in construction materials or imported amenities. As such, a Propportunity Statement may also blur the property lines that traditionally spur so much development conflict.
Case Study:
Sugar
*A thorough history of the contested development efforts surrounding Williamsburg, Brooklyn's Domino Sugar Factory may be found on the website of law firm Herrick, Feinstein LLC, which represented the site's owner, The Community Preservation Corporation between 2007 and June 2012, when the property was purchased by Brooklyn-based developer Two Trees Property Management. During the intervening period, CPC had secured landmark status for the site and won zoning and development approvals to build two 40-story towers, several mid-rise buildings, approximately 2,200 residential apartments—some 30% of which would be affordable—covering more than two million square feet. In addition, the development would include 220,000 square feet of retail, commercial and community space to serve those residences, all of it nestled into large expanses of open space, a public waterfront esplanade, and new connections to the East River waterfront, all of which are outlined on CRC's The New Domino site.
With their purchase from CRC, Two Trees will hold its place in an ongoing conversation about who gets the goods of waterfront redevelopment. Somewhat similar to dynamics in the nearby waterfront neighborhood of DUMBO, the community for which it is a primary land-holder, in Williamsburg, Two Trees will hear resonant concern about displacement of the community's diverse commercial and residential vitality. And within the roomy constraints of their waterfront access obligations, Two Trees will make choices about what sort of open space to provide, for whom to design it. Needless to say, Domino is an incredible Propportunity for both Two Trees and precedents set in New York City's waterfront growth planning.
Among them:
Resilient growth strategy in real estate means asking the question: "What sort of city is this property building?" as in "Who does it benefit and disadvantage, and what are the currencies thereof?" Resilient growth strategy is grounded in the understanding that it is not only possible but desirable and more profitable to develop property that explicitly acknowledges the extent to which the needs of a place--commercial, residential, infrastructural, environmental--are in no way divorced from the needs of property owners. Unlike traditional development pro forma, the elements of this shared value proposition are evaluated through an in-depth analysis of Social, Environmental, and Financial resources and deficiencies brought by property owner and surrounding concentric circles of community and city. The resulting Propportunity Statement reaches past current 'balance sheets' to the history of a place and how its future is being shaped by infrastructure, economic/demographic, and other regulatory trends. Weighing these lists side-by-side brings sharply to the fore the extent to which a property's potential value is directly dependent on under or unpriced, pre-existing assets not contained in construction materials or imported amenities. As such, a Propportunity Statement may also blur the property lines that traditionally spur so much development conflict.
Case Study:
Sugar
*A thorough history of the contested development efforts surrounding Williamsburg, Brooklyn's Domino Sugar Factory may be found on the website of law firm Herrick, Feinstein LLC, which represented the site's owner, The Community Preservation Corporation between 2007 and June 2012, when the property was purchased by Brooklyn-based developer Two Trees Property Management. During the intervening period, CPC had secured landmark status for the site and won zoning and development approvals to build two 40-story towers, several mid-rise buildings, approximately 2,200 residential apartments—some 30% of which would be affordable—covering more than two million square feet. In addition, the development would include 220,000 square feet of retail, commercial and community space to serve those residences, all of it nestled into large expanses of open space, a public waterfront esplanade, and new connections to the East River waterfront, all of which are outlined on CRC's The New Domino site.
With their purchase from CRC, Two Trees will hold its place in an ongoing conversation about who gets the goods of waterfront redevelopment. Somewhat similar to dynamics in the nearby waterfront neighborhood of DUMBO, the community for which it is a primary land-holder, in Williamsburg, Two Trees will hear resonant concern about displacement of the community's diverse commercial and residential vitality. And within the roomy constraints of their waterfront access obligations, Two Trees will make choices about what sort of open space to provide, for whom to design it. Needless to say, Domino is an incredible Propportunity for both Two Trees and precedents set in New York City's waterfront growth planning.
Among them:
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