A panel of industry-renowned land use and urban development experts convened by ULI will visit the city of Georgetown and Georgetown County to advise representatives from the city, the county, the South Carolina State Ports Authority, and other stakeholders on how best to transform the 150-acre (61 ha) site that contains the former ArcelorMittal steel mill and the Port of Georgetown into a thriving destination for residents and tourists and a catalyst for economic development.
The panel, assembled through the Institute’s Advisory Services program, will be visiting Georgetown September 18–23 to provide recommendations for a comprehensive revitalization of the site. Participants will be focusing on issues related to:
- Market conditions, economic development, and economic sustainability and diversity, with a goal of conceptualizing the redevelopment as a multifaceted place that leverages Georgetown’s unique assets and enhances the greater community’s economic development efforts, including the recruitment of skilled manufacturing;
- Placemaking, neighborhood cohesion, and community engagement, with a goal of recommending strategies for developing creative, vibrant places that benefit the surrounding neighborhoods; attract new residents, businesses; and visitors to Georgetown; and boost the community’s quality of life; and
- Infrastructure, incentives, and next steps to redevelopment, with a goal of recommending short- and long-term steps that local officials need to take to engage qualified development firms, as well as strategies to direct the redevelopment process in the best interest of the community.
The city of Georgetown and Georgetown County are the primary sponsors of the panel, which includes experts representing all aspects of land use, urban design, and urban development. During the visit, panelists will tour the site and surrounding area, and meet with stakeholders and other community members. After carefully analyzing the area and completing the interviews, the panelists will spend two days framing their recommendations and drafting a presentation that will be made to the public at the end of the week.
The advisory panel is being chaired by ULI leader Alex J. Rose, senior vice president of development at the Continental Development Corporation in El Segundo, California. “We’re excited to bring ULI’s expertise to Georgetown,” Rose says. “We are aiming to demonstrate how the revitalization of this key waterfront site can contribute to the area’s overall economic prosperity, livability, investment appeal, and competitiveness.”
Rose will be joined by panelists John Banka, partner and director, Development Advisory Services, Colliers International, Warsaw; Don Edwards, chief executive officer and principal, Justice and Sustainability Associates, Washington, D.C.; Antonio Fiol-Silva, founding principal, SITIO architecture + urbanism, Philadelphia; Juanita Hardy, ULI’s senior visiting fellow for creative placemaking, Washington, D.C.; Kenneth J. Kay, founder and president, Ken Kay Associates, San Francisco; Geoff Koski, senior consultant, Bleakly Advisory Group, Atlanta; Kathleen Rose, president and CEO, Rose and Associates, Southeast Inc., Davidson, North Carolina; Sarah Sieloff, executive director, Center for Creative Land Recyling, Oakland, California; and Ross Tilghman, president, Tilghman Group, Seattle.
Now in its 69th year, the ULI Advisory Services program assembles experts in the fields of real estate and land use planning to participate on panels worldwide, offering recommendations for complex planning and development projects, programs, and policies. Panels have developed more than 600 studies for a broad range of land uses, ranging from waterfront properties to inner-city retail.
According to Thomas Eitler, senior vice president of ULI’s Advisory Services program, the strength of the program lies in the Institute’s unique ability to draw on the substantial knowledge of its 38,000-plus members, including land developers, engineers, public officials, academics, lenders, architects, planners, and urban designers. “The independent views of the panelists bring a fresh perspective to the land use challenge,” Eitler says. “The Advisory Services program is about offering creative, innovative approaches to community building.”
Past sponsors of ULI Advisory Services panels include the following: federal, state, and local government agencies; regional councils of government; chambers of commerce; redevelopment authorities; private developers and property owners; community development corporations; lenders; historic preservation groups; nonprofit community groups; environmental organizations; and economic development agencies.
