News
BIG APPLERS IN DC
October 18, 2010
| There were plenty of you from the metropolitan area at ULI’s Annual Fall Meeting in DC last week (catch up on our Wednesday andThursday coverage), so we walked around the Washington Convention Center’s expo hall to see familiar faces. |
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| CetraRuddy founding principal John Cetra and Emmanuelle Slossberg tell us that it was clear from ULI that companies are looking for creative ideas and solutions for future development. But even though clients are value-driven, John says, they have high standards for experience and quality. The historically residential architect, who has branched out to hotels and restaurants, tells us that one way design is changing is that clients want a comfortable and informal feel to their space, given people aren't impressed with slickness and overdesign anymore. |
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| Want to know where Rose Associates’ James Hedden and Acadia Realty Trust CEO Kenneth Bernstein are bullish? Just look southeast of Manhattan. In Brooklyn, Rose Associates is marketing units in residential buildings like Oro and The Brooklyner. Over the summer, Acadia, along with P/A Associates and Washington Square Partners, started construction on the first phase of City Point, a mixed-use project that will bring up to 1.5M SF of retail and residential space to Downtown Brooklyn. And Kenneth says to watch out for the opening of Canarsie Plaza, anchored by BJ’s Wholesale Club, this fall. |
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| Lehman Brothers’ David Rodriguez, with Aviva Investors’ Tom Calahan and Zachary Streit, says he’s mostly optimistic on multifamily product across the spectrum in the Northeast corridor. Zachary's seeing plenty of cross-border investment interest, especially from the Europeans and Asians—some in residential. And brave man Tom says he’s particularly bullish on the Phillies winning the World Series, despite a warning from Bisnow’s NY editor that that may not sit kindly with most of our readers. We do have a question for you though, Tom: Why is it called the World Series when it’s always played in the Bronx? |
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| Ledcor’s Patrick Patterson, Robert Martin Co. prez Bob Weinberg, Fuller Development prez Sam Fuller, and AvalonBay’s Fred Harris. Bob is happy to say that the word “greedy” is no longer attached to the word “developer.” (We notice there's no "I" in it, either.) And they’ve certainly got other things to be positive about. Sam reports that development’s now back, and his firm has projects underway in New Jersey and Connecticut. And AvalonBay is finally moving dirt on the construction of the 444-unit Avalon Green project in Elmsford, NY. It bought the land from Robert Martin Co., and has been caught in the approval process since 1993, Fred reports. |
