HR&A Advisors, Inc.

    This press release was originally issued by Supervisor Dean Preston.   San Francisco, CA — As the city and the country grapple with the ongoing instability and collapse of the banking industry, the San Francisco Reinvestment Working Group advances a plan to create a municipality-owned bank. The Public Bank proposal offers a game-changing tool as the city navigates ongoing concerns with the post-pandemic economic recovery.   The plans focus on the next steps and investments that the city can take to create a public bank, including financing for affordable housing, small businesses, and green investments. The RWG’s approval includes a business and governance plan for creating a publicly owned municipal financial corporation (MFC) and for converting the MFC into a full San Francisco public bank.   “As we continue to chart a path to economic recovery and a sustainable economy, the Working Group’s business and governance plans provide the road map for ...

  The Los Angeles Business Council (LABC) acknowledged HR&A Advisors Partner Paul Silvern for his contributions and support of the LABC Institute’s newest  study “ Tackling the Housing Crisis: Streamlining to Increase Production in Los Angeles” which was   conducted by Dr. Stuart Gabriel of UCLA and Dr. Edward Kung of Cal State Northridge.     During a period of 13 years, market rate and affordable housing developers faced entitlement and permit approval timing challenges. The report examines how the construction of new housing could have been completed much faster and the number of new units could have been increased significantly if certain streamlining recommendations had been implemented.   During the report’s launching event LABC Council President Krekorian stated we have his “assurance that every one of the policy recommendations that are in this report will be advanced in this council, will be analyzed, will be moved forward in...

  HR&A Advisors Partner Jon Meyers , Principal Callahan Seltzer , and Director Hannah Glosser participated in a recent webinar hosted by the Residentia l Retrofits for Energy Equity (R2E2) discussing Energy Efficiency in Affordable Housing. Energy efficiency is vital in affordable housing due to its potential to lower utility bills and maintain affordability for residents. The webinar covered energy costs, drivers of energy efficiency upgrades, and offered suggestions for overcoming challenges — helping attendees make a compelling business case to affordable housing owners and developers.     This event was a part of a series of training webinars hosted by Residential Retrofits for Energy Equity (R2E2) for potential applicants to the Department of Energy’s Building Upgrades Prize (Buildings UP). The program is awarding over $22 million in cash prizes and technical assistance to teams with winning ideas to accelerate equitable energy efficiency and building ...

  HR&A is excited to engage with fellow urbanists and changemakers at the ULI Spring 2023 meeting to explore emerging infrastructure, technology, housing, public/private partnerships, and mixed-use development that’s shaping the industry. Below is a recap of where you can find us at this year’s event:     Speaking events    May 15, 9:15 – 10:00 am (GMT) | HR&A Advisors President Jeff Herbert will be the keynote speaker at the Resilience Summit alongside Elizabeth Yee, Executive Vice President of Program Strategy at the Rockefeller Foundation.     Event time: May 15, 9:15 – 10:00 am (GMT)     Register now to join us!           Connect with all of our HR&A attendees at the Spring Summit:  Jeff Hebert  — President, New York   Eric Rothman  — CEO, New York, Public/Private Partnership Council (Gold Flight)   Mason Ailstock  — Partner, Atlanta, University D...

  We sat down with Partner Judith Taylor and HR&A Los Angeles Managing Partner Andrea Batista Schlesinger to discuss their impactful work in L.A. and the opportunity they see in the region for new, innovative approaches to the complex, interconnected challenges facing our cities.        What does it mean to design and execute more equitable neighborhoods and cities? And can you give some examples of the work that you are doing in LA?      Judith: To me, designing and executing more equitable neighborhoods and cities means ensuring that folks who live in these places really have a voice in shaping how their neighborhoods and communities evolve. All too often, it feels like development happens to a community as opposed to a community developing their neighborhood and shaping what they want to see.      For example, early in my career, I worked on a project with Metro supporting the development of design guidelines f...

  Crain’s New York Business invited Partner Kate Wittels to discuss urban tech, including how technology innovation can provide economic opportunity to New York. She shares how investing in the Brooklyn tech ecosystem paid off, the hidden opportunity in the tech hiring slow down, and how we must “let tech breathe” to see how it’s adapted before we draw conclusions about it too quickly.       Kate’s work specializes in the intersection of technology and city building. Her past projects have included assessing the economic and social impacts of coworking for WeWork’s global membership, developing landmark methodologies for how to size the tech ecosystem and its impact on people and cities, and leading the Rice Management Company in the planning, design, construction, and implementation of a new innovation district in Midtown Houston, anchored by the 300,000 square-foot Ion Innovation hub.       You can read the full piece here. ...

  HR&A Advisors congratulates Principal Jane Carlson on her appointment to the Griffith Park Board! Jane will apply her deep understanding of municipal finance and economic development strategies to support the Board’s mission to enhance the quality of life in Los Angeles by providing attractive, safe, and well-maintained parks with diverse opportunities to serve and enrich every community.     She hopes her impact can further establish an accessible, dynamic , and sustainable park system for all Angelenos and visitors to play, learn, connect with the natural world, and build community.   To read more about the Griffith Park Board follow this link .   The post HR&A Advisors congratulates Principal Jane Carlson on her appointment to the Griffith Park Board! appeared first on HR&A . source https://www.hraadvisors.com/hra-advisors-congratulates-principal-jane-carlson-on-her-appointment-to-the-griffith-park-board/

  Newsday Media Group ’s nextLI engaged HR&A Advisors to create an in-depth analysis of the region’s long-term economic outlook through a scenario that envisions an emergent ocean-based economy. HR&A Partner Shuprotim Bhaumik and Director Jamison Dague launched their report “ Lon g Island’s Emergent Blue Economy ”, at a panel discussion. The report examined how a Blue Economy ecosystem can benefit many industries and enhance the prosperity of Long Island in the coming decades.      The report outlines how leveraging Long Island’s Blue Economy and investing in this economic sector and evolving existing policies could add more than 60,000 jobs by 2051 and approximately 35% of jobs in the sector paid between $90,300 and $105,700 per year, on average, in 2021.     “We see an opportunity for Long Island to create a lot of good-paying jobs, to address the existential threat of climate change by cleaning up our waterways and increasing econo...