Portfolio Power: Over the past 40 years, Federal Realty Investment Trust has built a portfolio of
irreplaceable retail assets in desirable locales. Today, CEO Donald Wood (right) looks to discover hidden opportunities at its current properties and to develop a new breed of mixed-use projects.
Making the Grade: From Duke University to Texas Christian University, colleges across the country are encouraging development in their hometowns. Developer highlights eight schools that give new meaning to the concept of “smart” growth.
Design For All: While narrow hallways, inconvenient light switches, and bulky thresholds make space unusable and inaccessible to a large portion of the population, universal design creates places that are comfortable and safe for everyone.
[Departments]
Before the Board: Developers are using the Internet to encourage support for their projects, communicating with community groups and potential residents via Web sites, online bulletin boards, blogs, Web video, and even social networking sites.
Grids: As cities get more congested, streetcars are finding their way back into the nation’s infrastructure.
Cities have found that streetcars are efficient, environmentally sound, and also encourage smart growth.
Spade Work: Saving landmark buildings or redeveloping contaminated sites requires a good deal of patience and passion. Developers need to know what they’re getting into in order to achieve success.
Capital Strategies: Developers can incur hefty expenses before a construction loan ever kicks in. Land loans are one option that can help developers work through a lengthy entitlement process or project delays.
Placemaking: A forward-thinking mayor and an innovative developer eschew the traditional gated community to create a bustling mixed-use, sustainable town on a 4,000-acre island off the coast of Charleston, S.C.
Point of View: As director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, Nicolas Retsinas firmly believes in the American dream of homeownership. He shares his thoughts on changing demographics, the need for diverse, affordable housing, and how to stay the foreclosure tide.
