2024 Winter Issue of Urban Land - 42

lessor and the developer/operator as the
ground lessee. Aligning goals and keeping
them aligned is always the critical piece.
On the developer side, if they're taking on
the risk, the decision-making needs to make
economic sense [for them]. The university
might have more mission-related objectives,
each of which has great importance. When
the institution's [goals] and the developer's
goals diverge, public/private partnership
projects may not advance all the way to
completion, especially in a capital-constrained
market.
KIRBY: Over the last 20 years, universities
have generally had access to low-cost capital.
They believe they can execute just as well as
a developer. So why do they need somebody
else to do that? Going forward, however, the
environment is very different. Universities'
balance sheets are full these days. The
cost of capital has gone up dramatically.
In addition, students and faculty want to
participate in the innovation economy. To
have the right programming and spaces to
accommodate that [desire] is difficult. You
need specialized expertise. So, over the next
10 years, universities will be motivated to
enter into more public/private partnerships to
create the kinds of innovation environments
they need.
BULLS: The important thing for university
officials to understand is that everybody
needs to benefit from the deal. It's a
balancing act between making sure that the
developer is appropriately motivated and
making sure that the university is getting a
good deal.
Designed by
Ayers Saint Gross,
the project will
be delivered in
two phases, the
first slated for
completion in 2024.
Emory retains
ownership of the
building.
How should academic institutions be
engaging with communities?
LU: It's important to establish a regular
cadence to engage with your local
community, and not just engage when there
is an ask. At Emory, we have representatives
who communicate with our local jurisdictions,
regularly briefing neighborhood associations
and our immediate constituents, whether we
do or don't have projects. It's important to
establish trust so you can have advocates in
your community when you do have larger
projects, and community inputs are very
valuable.
BULLS: Town-gown relations are critically
important. Some universities, particularly
older ones, are in lower-income or minority
communities that have been in the process of
gentrification. It's important for developers as
well as institutions to make sure that, when
they engage with the community, they have
a diverse team with people [who] look like
residents in the community. Without careful
planning, it can become an us-versus-them
situation with the neighborhood.
CONDRIN: I can't stress enough how
critical it is to have a relationship with the
communities around your campus before,
during, and after development projects. At
Washington University in St. Louis, we try
to immerse ourselves in the neighborhoods,
both to understand their concerns and [to]
try to mitigate [those concerns], and also to
get a sense of what the community wants
and where that overlaps with the university's
development objectives. During the lead-up
to a development project, I am a firm
believer that the project only gets better the
more community input you can solicit.
FLAHERTY: Engaging with communities
during the planning stages, especially for
campus edge developments, is essential for
building positive relationships, addressing
concerns, and creating projects that
benefit both the academic institution and
the local residents. We have worked on
successful strategies that range from projectspecific
engagement, such as community
workshops, to advisory boards that seek
input on key project decisions [or] to fully
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URBAN LAND WINTER 202 4
A YERS S AINT GRO S S
2024 Winter Issue of Urban Land

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2024 Winter Issue of Urban Land
