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Advocacy
Advocacy
Media Contact: Carolyn Mandelker
Harrison Edwards, Inc. 914-242-0010
A Midday Summit
Thursday, May 18, 11-2, Westchester Marriott Hotel, Tarrytown
“A must for developers, brokers, land use attorneys, municipal leaders, planners, businesses, financiers, and anyone who is interested in seeing Westchester prepare for and benefit from the New Economy and Smart Growth. It’s about good planning and using smart growth principles.”
White Plains, New York…. (May 8, 2017) Bill Mooney, President and CEO of the Westchester County Association announced today that the WCA, the county’s leading business advocacy and economic development organization, has organized the 2017 Real Estate Summit, focusing on innovative planning for housing and commercial development, and the streamlining of cumbersome regulation so that projects can move at a pace that’s beneficial for municipalities and developers alike.
Titled Transforming Westchester: From Innovative Planning to Regulatory Streamlining, the event will take place on Thursday, May 18, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Westchester Marriott Hotel, Tarrytown. The luncheon keynote speaker is Richard O’Toole, General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Related Companies. Related Companies currently is developing the innovative Hudson Yards project on the West Side of Manhattan. Named “One of Fast Company’s 50 Most Innovative Companies in the World,” Related Companies also has developed creative solutions for affordable/workforce housing, luxury housing, and commercial projects throughout New York City as well as in other regions of the country. O’Toole will speak in depth about Hudson Yards and how Related is bringing together lifestyle brands and public amenities as it creates a private development with broad public appeal.
“Hudson Yards is an innovative model for urban revival,” notes Mooney. “And getting Richard O’Toole to join us was a real coup.” Mr. Mooney noted that Transforming Westchester is “a must for developers, brokers, land use attorneys, municipal leaders, planners, businesses, financiers, and anyone who is interested in seeing Westchester prepare for and benefit from the New Economy and Smart Growth. It’s about good planning and using smart growth principles.”
Showcase and Informative Panels
Transforming Westchester will feature a Real Estate Showcase, and two panels: “The Changing Landscape of Westchester: Creating the Right Mix of Housing and Commercial Development” and “Smart Growth: Improving Financial Performance, Lowering Taxes, and Creating Efficiencies.”
The panel about the “Changing Landscape of Westchester” will feature representatives from active and potential mixed use, residential, medical and corporate projects in the county. The “Smart Growth” panel will include elected and appointed municipal officials working on Smart Growth initiatives. Developers and attorneys will round out the panel to discuss public/private partnerships to advance policy and regulatory streamlining.
Smart growth is a development philosophy that encourages a mix of commercial building types and uses, diverse housing, sustainability, advanced telecommunications, and transit-oriented development (TOD) options. It relies heavily on community engagement and attempts to curb urban sprawl and preserve the environment. The WCA’s Smart Growth Initiative takes a holistic view of the entire community so that economic development is comprehensive and inclusive. The Initiative promotes a “Live, Work, Play” lifestyle that includes a mix of housing types. “One of our goals is to convene stakeholders to drive the development of attainable, multi-family housing and mixed-use development here, especially because with employees working remotely and companies scaling back on commercial space, municipalities are increasingly dependent on residential tax revenue to stay in the black,” Mooney said.
There will be opportunity for networking and previewing various projects around the county.
THE EVENT
11 am Registration, Networking
11:45 am PANEL 1
“Changing Landscape of Westchester: Creating the Right Mix of Housing and Commercial Development”
Moderator: Ed Forbes, Senior Editor, USA TODAY, and co-chair of the WCA’s Housing Task Force
Panelists: Neil DeLuca, Fareri Associates (Westchester BioScience & Technology Center
John Sullivan, FAIA, President, Sullivan Architects (One Lyon Place)
Guy Leibler, President, Simone Development (Boyce Thompson Center)
– 12:45 Lunch and Keynote: Richard O’Toole, General Counsel and EVP, Related Companies –
1:20 pm PANEL 2:
“Smart Growth: Improving Financial Performance, Lowering Taxes, and Creating Greater Efficiencies”
Moderator: Seth Mandelbaum, Partner, McCullough, Goldberger & Staudt, LLP
Panelists:
David C. Wilkes, Esq. CRE FRICS, Huff WIlkes, LLP
Thomas Heaslip, Chairman, Town of Harrison Planning Board
Christopher Gomez, AICP, Planning Commissioner, City of White Plains
Fourth panelists TBD
Sponsored by:
Journal News Media Group, Normandy Real Estate Partners, Simone Development, Sterling National Bank, TD Bank, Tompkins Mahopac Bank
-and-
Supported by:
McCullough, Goldberger & Staudt, JMC Planning Engineering Landscape Architecture & Land Surveying PLLC and Verizon Journal News Media Group, Sterling National Bank, TD Bank, Tompkins Mahopac Bank, and Verizon (“Supporter”).
Closing remarks at 2 pm.
Tickets: $125 WCA members; $150 future members; $45 municipal representatives. For sponsorship and showcase opportunities, please contact Julia Emrick at jemrick@westchester.org or 914-948-6444. Tickets to the event may be purchased online at westchester.org.
About the Westchester County Association
The Westchester County Association (www.westchester.org) is the preeminent business leadership organization serving Westchester County and the region. The Association is committed to Smart Growth, business advocacy, economic vitality and to providing a strong and clear voice for the interests of business. Its key objectives are to promote positive economic development in the region; foster business development; and providing its members with access and interaction with key public and private sector individuals, agencies and organizations.