Jennifer Grant Warner

𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗴𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘆 (𝗪𝗠), as a subconsultant to 𝗖𝗘𝗦 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗟𝗟𝗖 (𝗖𝗘𝗦), provided Responsible Charge Engineer oversight for the first phase of this federally-funded and locally-administered Community Revitalization Project in the City of Norfolk featuring the redevelopment of three previous 1950’s era public housing communities adjacent to downtown. Utilizing a multi-million-dollar federal grant, a new mixed-use/mixed-income community has been designed with pedestrian access, sustainability, and resiliency in mind. Phase 1 consisted of the demolition of existing structures, extensive utility relocation including water, sewer, electrical, and communications facilities, drainage installation, and general site preparation for the construction of roadways, infrastructure, and building pads in Phase 2. Future phases will include the construction of a resilient 26-acre park to manage flooding in the low-lying community designed to avoid placement of new construction within the bounds of former natural creek beds. When complete, the project will provide a mix of homes, town homes, and multi-family housing alongside new office and retail space. Historical and cultural exhibits featuring interpretive art and gathering spaces will be a key hallmark of the final project. The administration of federal BUILD grant projects to a direct recipient is fraught with challenges including the reality that the traditional VDOT locally administered processes do not specifically apply. Requirements for materials compliance, design approvals, authorization to award, change management, and federal reimbursement are largely at the consideration of an FHWA Area Engineer. Given the relatively young age of the BUILD grant program, requirements pertaining to these critical areas of project management and administration are vague and loosely defined. The WM Responsible Charge Engineer, in tandem with the Project Construction Manager from CES, developed project specific processes based on VDOT and federal experience that enabled the locality to receive authorization to proceed with award and ultimately complete Phase 1 of the project while design and advertisement of Phase 2 was underway.

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Transit-oriented development and the Lowcountry Rapid Transit have the opportunity to revolutionize our region, bringing communities closer to mass transit, parks, stores, libraries and much more. In this week's The Advocates, Craig Logan discusses what the first mass transit system in the state of South Carolina can do for residents of the tri-county area. https://bit.ly/4cSBkTy #chsattainablehousing #attainablehousing

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Mayor Bowser's call to action is becoming reality: This is the first conversion of federal office space to residential. However, this first project is market-rate, luxury housing, launched prior to the program that provides a 20-yr property tax abatement for making at least 10% of units affordable for families making less than 60% AMI. Historically this piece of land held a tenement, then Dept of Labor, then Peace Corps. I'm disappointed the federal government didn't make the sale contingent on #inclusion of affordable housing! Also, DC desperately needs to increase the supply of very low and low income housing, not just moderate income housing. #ConvertOfficeToResidential #OfficeToAnything #HousingInDowntown #CentralWashingtonActivationProgram #AffordableHousing #ModerateIncomeHousing #LowIncomeHousing #VeryLowIncomeHousing #IncreaseTheSupplyOfAffordableHousing https://lnkd.in/eHmiF32b

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🌟 We're thrilled to introduce you to our newest team member, Ian Newman, AICP 🌟 Ian joins Citian as a Safety & Accessibility Transportation Researcher, bringing a wealth of experience from his role as a Regional Transportation Planner at the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority and in prior positions. Let’s hear from Ian to get to know him a bit better: 🔹 Q: What motivated you to work for a company like Citian? A: "I was quite motivated to join Citian due to the fact that it is principally involved in both transportation safety and active transportation accessibility (two significant passions and interests of mine as a transportation planner) and is actively making considerable steps forward in the transportation industry via ADAPT and CRASH." 🔹 Q: We often hear government agencies have limited staff and limited data. Based on your public sector work experience, how did that impact your quality of work? A: "It impacted my work because of the fact that I had to utilize data that was oftentimes outdated and I didn’t have the highest level of confidence in the data quality. It also restricted my abilities to vet projects in short to mid-term funding programs, as well as long-range transportation planning, concerning the magnitude of crash frequency and crash severity at intersection- and roadway-focused project applications. I’m eager to build tools that improve the depth and quality of data available to agencies." 🔹 Q: What’s a fun fact that you’d like our LinkedIn community to know about you? A: "I’m a self-proclaimed, Professional Pedestrian! Catch me making urban hikes, and signing up for walking tours throughout Washington DC to explore new neighborhoods, parks, hole-in-the-wall restaurants, historic sites, and more! " Please join us in welcoming Ian to the Citian team! 🎉 #NewHire #VisionZero #CompanyCulture #EmployeeSpotlight

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Attention Homeless Services Data GEEKS! 🤓 My team (of geeks!) will be sharing our experience as the HMIS and CES lead agency for our 13-county CoC in northeastern South Carolina, specifically about what's happened since implementing our online CES Access Point in March 2020. Before our online tool, we struggled to onboard service providers as Access Points. The HMIS and CES training requirements were burdensome and for many unrealistic. Our CoC has limited service providers, and many of them are volunteer and/or faith-based supported. Our HMIS/IS Admin created an online tool using accessible software. We streamlined data entry using 1.5 dedicated Access Point staff physically located at the lead agency main office, effectively creating in-house CES Super Users, who were responsible for entering data from the online form into HMIS. This, along with the conditional formatting built into the web form, improved our CES data quality significantly! Our form is designed to be easy to use for the people needing services and/or the service providers supporting those people. The online tool has increased the number of people who are able to access CES themselves from their own device (computer/smart phone/tablet) and has also increased the number of service providers willing to serve as Access Points. The end result is more people ultimately gaining access to the Coordinated Entry System process than ever before = MAGIC!

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As part of a big survey of economic development practices in small- and medium-sized cities, we recently came upon an exceptional story: Multiple cities and counties in Georgia and South Carolina are cooperating in the Augusta, Ga.-Aiken, S.C. metro area. They have avoided the ruinous, wasteful “economic war among the states” that we’ve documented in numerous two- and three-state metro areas — where companies move short distances but across a state line and get showered with subsidies as “new job creators” when they have actually just changed employees’ commuting routes. In fact, this is the first functioning interstate cooperation system we have ever encountered. There is only one interstate precedent, sort of: the legally binding deal between the states of Missouri and Kansas, struck in 2019, to not use state dollars for such “interstate job fraud” in the Kansas City metro area. But that agreement doesn’t require cooperation and when Jackson County, Missouri voters recently said “NO!” to a sweetheart stadium deal for the Royals and Chiefs, the governor of Kansas said the deal wouldn’t apply to sports franchises. To be sure, there are some intrastate cooperation precedents. Our favorites are those, both more than 30 years old, in the Denver and Dayton, Ohio metro areas. In each region, local governments cooperate on growth instead of competing for deals. They even tell on companies that signal an interest in moving around: that is, they tell the company’s incumbent community, to encourage retention if it’s possible. So we’re delighted to bring you the story from Cal Wray, the president of the August Economic Development Authority, and Will Williams, president and CEO of the Western South Carolina Economic Development Partnership: https://lnkd.in/gn8bSFX3

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Announcement Alert:   The North Carolina Railroad Company is excited to announce the launch of two new economic development programs - the Micro-Grant and Brownfields Programs.   Our Micro-grant program will provide funding to eliminate barriers to entry for site development, while the Brownfields program will complement our existing Build Ready Sites program. These programs will increase the pipeline of sites made ready, promote economic growth, and boost job creation and freight rail usage.   These new programs are a testament to NCRR's commitment to fostering partnerships with state and local communities, providing innovative, best-in-class services, and facilitating opportunities that lead to #EconomicGrowth. By leveraging these initiatives, we aim to create a ripple effect of opportunity and #Growth across the state, which will benefit every community.   More information will be made available on our website, https://lnkd.in/gtHiqWMH   #ForeverInMotion #EconomicDevelopment #NCInvestments

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How ready are you to face the worst? Major infrastructure disasters are thankfully rare. But every infrastructure designer, builder, operator, owner and public authority should plan to face their own, and be ready to learn from others. #disasterresponse #emergencyresponse

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Baltimore tied for third in our #ARPA Equity Assessments of 170 U.S. cities and counties. Read about the City's efforts to use ARPA funds to advance equity locally, via this WBFF FOX 45 piece highlighting Baltimore's ranking in the study: https://lnkd.in/g-attUhy Read our full equity assessment of Baltimore, including a case study on the Buy Back the Block program: https://lnkd.in/gzzsmUVd Learn more at budgetequity.org #BudgetEquity

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The conversations here are all about how it’s just the beginning of tackling US infrastructure shortfalls, the huge opportunities for boosting the economy through better transportation, for creating construction skills and jobs, and for extending increased federal funding into the years ahead - which of course will be vital.

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Some helpful guiding principles here for those looking to avoid a gift-gone-wrong. https://lnkd.in/gqwg4y2P

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Valuable perspectives here to help empower local leaders in their financial decision-making in the economic aftermath of the pandemic. The article delves into the latest findings from the National League of Cities' research, highlighting significant shifts in municipal expenditures from 2021 to 2022. From the rise in public safety spending to the impact of inflation on general government expenses, these trends shed light on significant community budgetary adjustments. #LocalGovernment #BudgetPlanning #Municipalities

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