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November 23, 2006

Amsterdam

Is the U.S. too rich to invest in human- scaled places?

The Conflict. Take one look at GlobeSt, the portal for real estate news and see for yourself. A vast majority of real estate investment dollars are held in institutional funds (trillions, via banks, insurance funds, retirement funds) and not surprisingly, they don't invest in projects less than $10 million, preferraby much higher. What's worse is that in the past they've advocated against human-scale development in order to ensure there's enough large-scale developments (ie office parks, shopping malls, subdivisions) to satisfy their investors, in case you're wondering why we have so much of that. Meanwhile, people still want to live and work in human-scaled communities.

The Transition. The demand for large-scale, typically suburban developments is waning dramatically, and naturally, investment groups are trying to shoehorn large-scale developments into urban centers. Neighborhoods like the historic Columbia Heights in Washington DC is such a victim, with much of its historic retail core replaced by DC USA, 500,000 s.f. of big-box chains. Not good news either, but...

The Turning Point. As our economy, culture and intellectual capacity evolves, so will this real estate investment model. Rather than the equivalent of throwing all their money in one company's stock via a large-scale project like DC USA, investors will look to portfolio/mutual fund investments, acquiring/developing several human-scaled buildings/sites within a neighborhood as an integrated group. It requires a bit more sophistication, but it's about time the supply caught up with the demand in this regard.

The Implementation...and yes, we're working with an investment funds that are indeed this sophisticated, and seeking local beta community partners to tell them how to spend their money. Contact us via the email link on the right for more info.

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November 22, 2006

53 Standish Street, Cambridge MA

The first multi-unit LEED-certified residential building in the U.S.!

Hard to believe, but according to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and its evaluation arm, Conservation Services Group (CSG), 53 Standish Street in Cambridge, MA is the first multi-unit residential building to be LEED-certified, which is the criteria for green development.

Constructed by AEDI Development, 53 Standish scores high with the following green building features:

- Within walking distance of public transportation and shops.
- Designated as an Energy Star-labeled home by CSG with a 93.3 rating, on a 100-point scale.
- Low-e argon windows, high-efficiency lighting fixtures, compact fluorescent bulbs, recycled cellulose insulation, instantaneous water heaters, programmable thermostats, mechanical ventilation, and high-efficiency gas furnaces and air conditioners.
- Low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint, recycled fiber carpet, bamboo flooring and 90% Forest Stewardship Council-certified harvested wood content moldings.

So why did the developer invest all that time and knowledge in constructing such a green-worthy building? As Lisa Rinkus, a CSG spokesperson simply puts it, “We’re seeing a lot of consumers demanding it."

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November 20, 2006

Brain drain map

Brain drain - a visual map

The map above, from a Choices Magazine article, displays U.S. counties' competitive share for college-educated population as a percent of total population over age 25 from 1970 to 2000 - in other words, brain gain vs. brain drain.

The accompanying study concluded, not surprisingly, that major metropolitan areas enjoyed a relatively large brain gain in every region while the nonmetropolitan, nonadjacent counties suffered brain drain. New England is an exception, with rural areas gaining college-educated workers - attributed to being "amenity-rich - a quality research has shown is important for attracting highly skilled workers."

The largest migration by far is to the Mountain regions, where affordability/attainability combined with the quality of life/diversity/opportunity of its metropolitan areas prove to be a powerful magnet. What's extremely important about this particular graphic is that it's a 'macrocosm' of cities in general - your city has a better chance of scoring high in brain gain the more it focuses on providing housing attainability for college graduates at the concentration point for its amenities/diversity/jobs/social life - the urban center.

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