Barry Howard’s Post

More of this! The fundamentals are here. Let’s all get more engaged and change the narrative.

I spent much of my career in downtown Brooklyn, working at Forest City starting in 1994 and serving as Chair of the Board of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership from 2013-2016. While I had the privilege of participating in downtown Brooklyn’s transformation from the mid-1990s onward, I am blown away by the retrospective the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership released on the 20th anniversary of the 2004 rezoning. In two decades, the neighborhood has witnessed the production of 32M SF of new residential, commercial, cultural, and academic spaces, producing over $34B in economic impact to the city. Kudos to the key government, private, and civic sector players for this epic outcome. Brooklyn's story of unprecedented growth and urban revitalization teaches us a lot about how public policy can be catalytic to economic development. However, it also teaches us what we don't know. One critical lesson that should not be lost when civic leaders and public servants are creating large scale masterplans is to prepare for the unexpected! Those of us who were there decades ago, when downtown Brooklyn struggled with crime and lack of economic opportunity, appreciate how the essential thinking behind the 2004 rezoning was so different from what came to be. The focus then was to incentivize companies to bring new business to Downtown Brooklyn and the plan centered on building commercial office space. The creation of high rise residential, along with cutting edge cultural and retail spaces was a remarkable, serendipitous by-product of the original plan, driven by the global “Brand Brooklyn,” great public transit, and government investment. Today, Brooklyn's bustling downtown of over 22,000 new residential units—including 4,500 affordable homes—nine new hotels, and 2.4M SF of retail spaces looks very different from what planners and civic leaders believed would happen. The creation of 2.8M SF of new office space is today a part of Downtown Brooklyn’s transformation and not the headline we thought it would be 20 years later. Given the transformative forces of the pandemic, this vibrant mixed-use district is a blessing. My big take-away is that rethinking our downtowns should always come with a nimble, creative, and flexible framework. This allows unexpected possibilities to unfold as market forces, urban dwellers, and social constructs evolve. Future proofing our communities with this type of thinking is vital to ensuring cities’ timeless engines of growth and opportunity. Check out the Story Map to see the transformation I have been lucky to witness https://lnkd.in/gQYfzQsj Regina Myer Tucker Reed Joe Chan James Whelan

"Getting things done" could very well be our motto, and we find true inspiration in the story from the city of Jasper in Southern Indiana. The proactive approach and comprehensive plan aimed at revitalising the city center are yielding impressive results! Strong Towns shares the story of the city which understands participation, pace and public places. This example shows how revitalising town centres by working together across different sectors can have an impact in events, gatherings, social connections and businesses too. "All too often, eager locals find their great ideas held up by months of bureaucracy until, in many cases, the idea fades and dies. Through conscious and deliberate collaboration, with a daily focus on a city-wide comprehensive plan, the city of Jasper is a place where “things get done.” Its most recent venture: creating a people-centered downtown." 

"The Gateway Mall can become the city’s family room, a place that welcomes everyone and positions culture, creativity, and joy as drivers of economic competitiveness.” Check out this great article from ULI St. Louis!

The City of Yes Plan proposes bringing NYC's antiquated zoning into 2023. It seeks to address zoning that just doesn't make sense, allow more ground floor businesses, and looks to innovation to create more opportunities for housing. Dan Garodnick and his entire team at the NYC Department of City Planning have done some great work to open opportunities for New Yorkers and the region. My only caution would be in our Industrial Business Zones. These areas are great drivers for opportunity and provide the careers for great economic mobility. They also stabilize our local and regional economies. We need to: Redefine Industrial Business Zones and support them with enhanced infrastructure and funding to support manufacturing. Open our waterfronts and demystify industrial corridors while making way for public space and tourism while investing in our regional supply chain Invest in makers, creatives, and small shop manufacturing Work with existing concepts like the Industrial Developer Fund to keep rents low and allow businesses to buy their warehouses and shops. At the heart of all of this is investing in our Industrial Business Zones to build hyper localized, custom action plans to better position our City's industrial, manufacturing, and maker sectors.

The opportunity for reinvestment in communties through good design solutions is limitless.

Witnessing the realization of your projects is always a gratifying experience.

there is money to be made with good design

The Future is Cleveland! 🏙️ Have you been following the incredible transformations happening in #TheLand? Cleveland is The Land Taking the World by Storm, captivating attention with its revitalization trends that promise an exhilarating future! Reimagining Downtown Cleveland: The city is evolving into an innovative 18-hour, 15-minute neighborhood, setting a model for urban development. 🗞 The Washington Post acknowledges Cleveland's Public Square as a beacon inspiring other cities to transform. https://lnkd.in/evHcKTPi 🗞 Spectrum News highlights how our city is basking in the national spotlight for downtown revitalization. https://lnkd.in/enDTG6AV Embracing the Waterfront: Connecting the lakefront to downtown Cleveland is a game-changer! 🗞 Bloomberg notes that people now see this post-industrial heart as not just a place to work, but to live. https://lnkd.in/eCg5GgtN 🗞 The Athletic emphasizes the potential impact of revitalizing the lakefront – it could go a long way in shaping our city's future. https://lnkd.in/eMgmRDiN 💭 Now, I'm curious – which trend resonates with you the most? How do you envision these transformative initiatives shaping the future of Cleveland? Share your thoughts below! #TheLandForLife #Cleveland #Revitalization

The #flighttoquality series returns! Take a look at Downtown Detroit's Capitol Park. This is now a beautiful public space with a great roster of retail and office tenants. Lo and behold, quality buildings attract quality tenants... Capitol Park up to about maybe eight years ago was a tough part of town, and that's being polite. I keep things pretty family friendly on these posts, so let's just say the atmosphere here was anything but family friendly. Think of NYC's Times Square in the 1970s. The sites, the sounds, and the smells got pretty rough in a big hurry. Today, we have upmarket apartments built by Broder Sachse Real Estate and a few others. Class A tenants like PEA Group, Rehmann, District by Design, and Gensler are in the neighborhood. Also, the food here is top notch: Dessert Oasis, Cannelle, Layla, La Lanterna, and Prime & Proper cover all the bases—from coffee to steaks. Walking through this area in 2012, it would be impossible to imagine what's been accomplished now. Capitol Park demonstrates in no uncertain terms that the flight to quality dynamic only works when there's quality places to go. Without the investments in the public infrastructure and some visionary developers taking some calculated risks on some of these great old buildings, none of these tenants would ever have even though to come here. #detroitteam & #brokerpals: Brendan Matt Steve Gabe Jared Wendy Beth Mark Eric Jeffrey Scott Bill Connor John Janet Randy Michael Lori Bill Renee Kurt Anthony Steven Mark Darryl Khalil Kelly Josh Nigel Jim Adam Nicole Christopher Mike Kim: not sure about you, but Capitol Park has become one of my favorite spots in Detroit. #savills #detroit #ccim #sior —