LOCUS events

2015 LOCUS Leadership Summit provides private sector solutions to the affordability and social equity crisis

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Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx addresses the audience at the 2015 LOCUS Leadership Summit.

The fourth annual LOCUS Leadership Summit convened earlier this week at the Carnegie Library in Washington, DC, bringing together 130 real estate developers and local elected officials from around the country. Attendees discussed and debated with the brightest minds in real estate, discovering private sector tools and strategies to combat the affordability and social equity crisis.

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Federal Realty Trust and Lucas Thornton recognized with 2015 LOCUS Leadership Awards

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Since 2012, LOCUS has presented the national LOCUS Leadership Awards to developers and investors who have demonstrated exemplary commitment to public leadership, smart growth development, and furthering LOCUS’ mission.

This year, we received a record-breaking number of nominations from all over the country, and our decision was more difficult than ever before. That said, we are pleased to announce the following winners of the 2015 LOCUS Leadership Awards.

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Join the 2015 LOCUS Leadership Summit for walking tours that highlight infrastructure in action

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It’s Infrastructure Week here in Washington, and everyone inside the Beltway is talking about the benefits of investments in roads, bridges, and transit. In two weeks, as part of the 2015 LOCUS Leadership Summit, we’ll hold three walking tours that showcase neighborhoods transformed by investments in infrastructure—and you’re invited to join us.

hstreet2 H Street NE
One of the Washington, DC’s most historic neighborhoods, H Street has been home to legendary performance venues such as the Atlas Theatre and the H Street Playhouse. Now the center of a redevelopment renaissance—including construction of a new streetcar line—H Street NE is fighting to maintain affordability for residents both old and new.
brooklnad Brookland
This once-small neighborhood has grown steadily over the last few decades, and more recently boomed with the construction of large mixed-use development project, Monroe Street Market, one of the most prominent examples of transit-oriented development in the DC metro area.
tysons Tysons, VA
Once an “edge city” of primarily office and retail space, Tysons has taken a leap into new residential and commercial markets. The Silver Line, Metro’s most recent addition to its system, has garnered interest in mixed-use development and walkability in Tysons. Explore the newest investments toward this goal, including the Greensboro Park Place.
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Secretary Anthony Foxx to deliver keynote address at 2015 LOCUS Leadership Summit

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Great, walkable neighborhoods are stronger when people of all income levels can afford to live there. Next month, real estate developers from across the country will gather to talk about how they can help make that happen as part of the 2015 LOCUS Leadership Summit.

Transportation is a crucial part of this discussion and no one is more important in this arena than the U.S. Department of Transportation. The good news is that USDOT will join the Summit to speak frankly about how developers and transportation advocates can work together to build walkable, equitable communities.

We are excited to announce that U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx will deliver the keynote address at the 2015 LOCUS Leadership Summit. Under Secretary Foxx’s leadership, USDOT is working to make sure transportation investments support working families and America’s broader economy. Foxx’s keynote will provide insights into USDOT’s current programs, its plans for the future, and how real estate developers can be part of the national effort for more equitable, walkable communities. Register today to join the event:

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Join us for a live Twitter chat on the future of equitable, walkable development

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Can real estate developers prevent displacement and gentrification? Are there ways to pay for critical infrastructure without burdening taxpayers? How can the public and private sectors better work together to create equitable, walkable development?

We’re currently putting together the agenda for the 2015 LOCUS National Leadership Summit, and we want to hear from you about the topics you are most interested in.

Join us for a live Twitter chat on Thursday, April 16 from 1–2 PM EDT to discuss what should be on the agenda of the 2015 LOCUS Leadership Summit. Tweet your questions at @LOCUSdevelopers, or join the conversation at hashtag #LOCUSsummit.

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First regional LOCUS Leadership Summit brings deals and groundbreaking research to New England

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On March 11, more than 175 real estate professionals from the greater Boston area came together for the 2015 LOCUS New England Leadership Summit: Closing the Next [Smart Growth] Deal.

Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development Secretary Jay Ash kicked off the day’s events with an opening plenary on the future of housing in Massachusetts. Secretary Ash discussed the state’s successes and challenges when it comes to creating walkable communities. “We ought to make sure to prepare communities for success,” Ash said. “There are opportunities across the Commonwealth, and my challenge to developers is to think big.”

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Registration now open for 2015 LOCUS Michigan Leadership Summit

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Real estate developers and investors in Michigan are invited to join LOCUS and the Michigan Municipal League for the inaugural Michigan Leadership Summit on June 23, 2015 in Detroit, MI. This day-long event will bring together local elected officials and real estate developers to network, make deals, and discuss policy strategies to build great, walkable places across Michigan.

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Inside "The WalkUP Wake-Up Call: Boston"

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walkup-boston-coverMetropolitan Boston is poised to be one of the most walkable metro areas in the country. This is one of the exciting findings of The WalkUP Wake-Up Call: Boston, a new report unveiled in Boston today at LOCUS’s first-ever New England Leadership Summit.

The new research defines—for the first time—the form and function of all land use in metropolitan Boston’s 3,100 square miles, identifying 57 regionally significant walkable urban places (or “WalkUPs”) in metro Boston and ranking them based on economic performance, measured by the real estate valuations for each product type and the fiscal revenues generated for local governments, and by social equity performance, measured by accessibility, opportunity, and affordability for residents. Looking ahead to future opportunities, the report also identifies emerging and potential WalkUPs where new development could go.

As shown by substantial and increasing real estate valuation premiums in all real estate product types (office, hotel, rental apartment, retail, and for-sale residential), the report found strong and growing signs of pent-up demand for walkable urban neighborhoods in the Boston area—marking a reversal in real estate development that has long followed the drivable suburban model. Even more remarkable is the fact that these WalkUPs, account for just 6% of the total land area in the Boston metro region.

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