Got a cool project that needs capital? Need a project to invest in? CoolTown Investments is assisting a diverse network of real estate investors across the country ($150 million to date) to invest in medium and higher risk, medium-high return urban rehab/developments.  One such fund focuses on investments of $3-$10 million each, which translates to $10-$30 million developments. The underlying philosophy of the investment sources?  They understand the immense value of providing the kinds of

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I get the feeling that there’d be a lot more CoolTowns built if the capital were there for them, because there’s certainly enough demand for them, from either the tenant or city government’s point of view.

What would be an ideal source of capital?  It would have to come from visionary people, and managed by visionary people.  It’d need at least $20 million or so to start off with, then grow as more and more projects were successfully funded.  The fund would need to be flexible in terms of

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A few years ago I assisted in the founding of an investment group, The Town Builders Collaborative (TBC), that was looking to invest in university towns via new urban villages that focused on the post-graduate crowd - what they referred to as ‘new economy towns’.  They sought cities that were interested in such investment to build places like this image that’s used on their website.

The TBC ‘plate is now full’, as they are involved in four projects, one in Detroit, two in Illinois, and

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Can you believe they were thinking of razing this building?  It’s a good thing it’s in DC.  If it were in Detroit, it’d probably be gone.  That’s not a slam on Detroit, that’s an all-too-well-known fact.

Built in 1924 as a 2500-seat grand theater, the Tivoli was left for dead after the 1968 riots, which pretty much left most city downtowns in the same condition until recently.  This is why diversity is good not only for social well-being, but the economy as well.

Revitalized and re-opened in

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It’s become common knowledge in the real estate industry that people are buying condos like crazy.  Condo buyers make up 13% of the housing market, a 33% percent increase over the past ten years, and more noticeably, have appreciated in value at an unprecedented double-digit pace for the past four years, according to a recent real estate report.  I know - I bought a condo five years ago.

Why?  The report says that traditional homes are too expensive.  Too be more truthful, it should say that

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What would a city look like from an arts point of view?  That question was answered in detail by Jeff Speck, long-time associate and director of design at the National Endowment for the Arts, where he oversees the Mayors’ Institute on City Design, and presented by Planetizen.  Here’s our synopsis of his top ten principles:

1. Design Streets for People - That’s people, not cars.
2. Overrule the Specialists - Traffic engineers prioritize cars, not people.  Don’t put them in charge.
3. Mix the

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You should.

This historic Georgia town, made pop culture famous by its prominent roles in Midnight in the Garden of Evil and Forrest Gump, has what is arguably the most beautiful squares in the country; a green, albeit slightly more auto-oriented version of Europe’s piazzas.  You instantly know where in the world you are, and that’s not very easy to do in 99.9% of our built landscape.

Not only that, but they’re also implementing a wireless downtown using the cutting edge entertainment

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Continuing yesterday’s blog, here’s the rest of Fast Company magazine’s rulesfor establishing a creative community.

6. Teach them a new language - The creative community needs to learn the ‘language’ of placemaking and economic development in real estate and economic terms (ie new urbanism, economic gardening, so that they can apply their market insight into the built environment.

7. Allow time for blue-sky thinking - This is the importance of third places, where creatives share ideas and

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Hope you enjoyed your vacation.

Here’s a set of resolutions for building a creative community that sparks investment, vitality and positive growth around it when there is none to little to begin with, based on Fast Company’s magazine’s rules for establishing a creative community (at a smaller scale.)

1. Recruit for diversity, hire for philosophy - Start with a diverse group of risk-takers who relish the idea of initiating a new community of creativity and innovation.
2. Rehab the

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