HR&A Advisors

We’re always grateful for the opportunity to connect with and learn from urbanists across the globe.     This week, we were honored to host 26 experts from The University of Tokyo’s Smart City School at our New York office. This delegation, consisting of real estate practitioners, urban tech and media innovators, and mobility experts, joined us for a dynamic discussion about planning, equitable economic development, and urban tech in NYC.       A big thank you to everyone who made this event a success and to our guests for the engaging dialogue – we look forward to continuing this collaboration!      #SmartCities #UrbanInnovation #GlobalCollaboration #UrbanTech #UniversityofTokyo 

We were thrilled to co-host the NYC Nonprofit Real Estate Breakfast with Kasirer LLC, bringing together New York’s nonprofit and real estate leaders to discuss key opportunities for collaboration and impact. The event, "Real Estate Driving the Future of Nonprofit Impact," provided a valuable platform to explore how nonprofits can leverage real estate strategies to amplify their missions. After an introduction from Senior Advisor Carl Weisbrod,   Partner @Kate Wittels moderated one of the event panels featuring insights from prominent leaders, including: Lindsay Ornstein, Founder & CEO, Open Impact  Anita Laremont, Partner, Fried Frank  Susan Sack, Managing Director, Robin Hood  Dave Brown, GRB Consulting  Louise Mirrer, President & CEO, New-York Historical Society  Kristie Maduro, VP of Capital Finance & Real Estate, Brooklyn Public Library    Together, they addressed critical considerations for nonprofits engaging in real estate ventures, from maximizing existing or donated spaces to aligning real estate goals with organizational missions. Attendees also gained insights into navigating land use, securing investment, and accessing government funding opportunities to further their impact.    The panel was followed by an engaging Q&A where Partner Bret Collazzi helped field questions from non-profit leaders about the real estate challenges they’re facing in an evolving market.    Thank you to everyone who joined us for this meaningful conversation! We look forward to seeing how these connections and insights shape New York City’s future.    #NonprofitRealEstate #NYCNonprofits #RealEstateInnovation #NonprofitImpact   

Roughly 500 young adults exit foster care every year in New York City, on their own, not having been adopted or reunified with their birth families. Thrust into one of the most competitive housing markets in the world, studies have found that one fifth of the City's foster youth experience homelessness within six years of leaving care. We are so proud to support a bold, youth-led project to end the foster care to homelessness pipeline in NYC and help all youth exiting foster care in New York City have access to safe, high-quality, and integrated housing located in desirable communities. Thank you to our partners Youth Advisory Board, The Center for Fair Futures, The Children's Village, and Good River Partners, for inviting us into this work and Conrad N. Hilton Foundation for supporting it. We were honored to host foster youth leaders last week in our office, where they presented to Councilmember Rita Joseph, the Administration for Children’s Services Commission Jess Dannhauser, and philanthropic leaders. Next, we’re working with our partners on a report, due out in early 2025, about how to finance, at scale, the housing young people aging out of care want and need.     Check out the full press release here: https://lnkd.in/eQTF2avc    #FairFutures #youthleadership #youthleaders #HousingJustice #homelessness #NYCHousing

Tomorrow, Principal Preston Rhea and Director Shawn Daugherty will be speaking at the inaugural Broadband Communities Summit West. This conference, focused on delivering next-generation connectivity across communities in the Western U.S., brings together leaders from diverse sectors to tackle challenges in bridging the digital divide.    Preston will participate in a panel on Overcoming the Challenges of Urban Development, addressing crucial topics like poverty as a barrier to connectivity, digital redlining, infrastructure restrictions, and improving access in affordable rental housing. Shawn will moderate a panel on Connectivity Challenges and Opportunities in Affordable Housing, focusing on infrastructure upgrades, engaging key stakeholders such as ISPs and property managers, and exploring federal or state subsidies.     We are proud to contribute to this vital conversation, as we explore innovative solutions to ensure every community—from densely populated cities to rural areas—has access to essential communications infrastructure.     #BroadbandCommunitiesSummitWest #DigitalInclusion #Connectivity #UrbanDevelopment #AffordableHousing     https://lnkd.in/eU-aN9hH 

It’s uncommon for local governments to act quickly and decisively to meet community needs, but Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato is making significant progress since taking office earlier this year. In the first three months of her administration, she engaged 19,000 residents to understand their priorities. Just six months later, the administration has delivered on 91% of the community's action items, addressing issues such as housing affordability, expanding voting access, and enhancing health-focused crisis response. The Innamorato Administration is setting a national example of what it means to govern in partnership with community. HR&A is proud to have provided intensive daily project management and strategic guidance to her transition, supported the largest and most inclusive community engagement effort in Allegheny County's history, and helped create the All In Allegheny Action Plan. We look forward to the Innamorato Administration’s continued work delivering on these action items and congratulate them on this significant progress in their first year! Read more: https://lnkd.in/eFk3mh2C #AlleghenyCounty #InnamoratoAdministration #ActionPlan #CommunityEngagement #AllInAllegheny

A big thank you to everyone who joined us for HR&A’s TOD Managers Happy Hour during the Mpact Transit + Community Conference! It was a pleasure connecting with so many of you and discussing the ways transit, mobility, and development can shape vibrant communities.     We look forward to continuing the conversations and exploring more ways to collaborate!     #Mpact2024 #TransitCommunity #UrbanDevelopment #HappyHour #Networking #TOD 

HR&A had the honor to support the 2nd Annual North American Chinatown Solidarity Conference last week. Spearheaded by the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation and hosted by Welcome To Chinatown at their recently opened Small Business Hub, the conference brought together community leaders, advocates, and organizations from 21 Chinatowns across US and Canada to share strategies for preserving Chinatowns' cultural legacies, advancing public safety, and building economic resilience. Our team is grateful for the opportunity to help organize and facilitate this effort. We were truly inspired by the stories, lessons, and ideas shared during last week's sessions!    Find more photos from each event: Opening Reception (credit Kevin Yan, @Kaiwen.photo on Instagram): https://lnkd.in/eXwnZvJU   Meetings (credit Cindy Trinh, @cindytrinh.photo on Instagram): https://lnkd.in/egK-GqeP   Celebratory Dinner (credit Zack Chan, @byzackchan on Instagram): https://lnkd.in/e72K_qds

This month, we had the pleasure of hosting the Texas Christian University (TCU) Neeley Fellows during their annual visit to New York City! This group of talented undergraduate students from TCU’s three-year business honors program joined us for an engaging session focused on real estate development and urban planning.     They had the opportunity to hear from Director Hannah Glosser, who shared insights from her work on climate resiliency, and TCU alum and Senior Analyst Madison Morine, who discussed his contributions to Panther Island, a significant project HR&A is leading in Fort Worth. It was a fantastic opportunity for the students to learn firsthand from industry experts, gain valuable insights into the world of real estate development, ask questions about their favorite projects, and learn about alum Madison’s career journey from TCU to HR&A.  It is always inspiring to see the next generation of leaders eager to explore opportunities in the field of real estate and urban development.      #TCUNeeleyFellows #RealEstateDevelopment #UrbanDevelopment #CareerJourney #HornedFrogs

The Mills Administration has announced that six communities—Auburn, Bucksport, Lincoln, Millinocket, Wiscasset, and Yarmouth—will receive technical assistance through the Maine Community Energy Redevelopment Program (MECERP). This initiative aims to revitalize former industrial sites, drive local economic development, and create good-paying jobs while supporting climate and clean energy goals.       By leveraging existing infrastructure, these communities can tap into new opportunities that align with Maine’s growing clean energy economy. HR&A Advisors is proud to provide  guidance and expertise to help these communities develop robust economic development action plans, advance their priorities, and secure more implementation funding.     Together, we can turn legacy sites into vibrant hubs for innovation, sustainability, and economic growth. We look forward to collaborating with these communities to shape a bright future for Maine.    Learn more about the Maine Community Energy Redevelopment Program: https://lnkd.in/ezYVED_n #Maine #EconomicDevelopment #CleanEnergy #Sustainability #MECERP

HR&A Analyst Austin Amandolia recently spoke at the APA Maryland Conference, sharing insights on advancing Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) along the MARC Penn Line to boost affordable housing, job creation, and access to amenities. He emphasized the potential of TOD as a catalyst for future investment and discussed joint development as a public-private tool to leverage publicly owned land for housing and retail. The conversation also delved into the development opportunities at Odenton and Bowie State stations. Odenton is ready for near-term action with existing mixed-use zoning, while Bowie State offers a unique opportunity to support university growth adjacent to an HBCU that is expanding its research profile and on-campus population. Collaboration was a major theme, with multiple state, local, and institutional stakeholders working together to drive these projects forward. Thank you to fellow panelists Darron Cooper, Darrell Smith, Evan Todtz, AICP, Christopher Rzomp, AICP, LEED AP, Katie Parks, and APA Maryland for the rich discussion about the future of TOD in the region! #Conference #APA #TOD #JobCreation #PublicPrivatePartnership #MARC