Sam Newberg

Sam Newberg is an urbanist, real estate consultant, writer, and founder and president of Joe Urban, Inc., based in Minneapolis.

Leveraging city, county, community college, and private investment and using a form-based code, the Airport Boulevard project in Austin, Texas, is a model for corridor redevelopment worth emulating.
Cost is secondary to value right now, declared one panelist at a session titled “Rethinking the Office Market” at the ULI 2011 Fall Meeting and Urban Land Expo in Los Angeles.
Collaboration, creativity, and infrastructure were the themes of a recent ULI Minnesota event titled “Compact Development in the Suburbs: Solving Infrastructure and Financing Challenges,” which focused mostly on creating more density in the suburbs. Read more to learn about projects in suburban areas of Minneapolis, Denver, Seattle, and Houston that show compact development can work in suburbia.
Much has been speculated about the death of the mall and what to do about it, and solutions vary. One innovative reuse of an aging, enclosed mall can be found in Austin, Texas, where a local community college is taking over the space, and a developer partner is proposing to develop a mix of housing, office, and retail uses on surrounding surface parking lots. Learn more to learn the specifics.
More and more, major grocers are finding ways to open stores in urban neighborhoods, but it isn’t easy. As noted during the “Developing Walkable Urban Groceries in Mixed-Use Environments” session at ULI’s 2011 Fall Meeting in Los Angeles last month, getting the design of a grocery store right while simultaneously accommodating residential units on the site is particularly daunting.
“We don’t need any more office space.” This is the takeaway quote from a session titled “Rethinking the Office Market” at ULI’s 2011 Fall Meeting in Los Angeles. Though this pronouncement may seem extreme, the five panelists in attendance gave their insights into what has changed in the office market over the course of the Great Recession—and what can be expected in coming years.
Local food is a hot topic. From community gardens that provide healthy food and a place for neighbors to meet, to resorts and tourist attractions that feature regular farmers markets and restaurants with farm-to-table dinners, the popularity of food and its source is driving real estate development in not-so-subtle ways. Read more to learn what some developers are doing to capitalize on this trend.
A number of long-range forecasts show that demographic changes and a shift in customer preferences will lead to increased demand for urban living. For example, Robert Charles Lesser & Co. indicates that 77 percent of generation Y plans to live in an urban core. Learn the specifics of what all this research says about the major boost for the apartment market that is expected in the coming years.
With streamlining, downsizing, outsourcing, improved technology, cloud computing, and more working from home, future demand for office space is a question on the minds of many people in the commercial real estate sector. In light of these trends, an improved economy will not necessarily result in more demand for office space. Read what challenges experts say lie ahead for office landlords.
A change is in the wind for food retailing in the United States, much of it focused on cities. Grocery stores are following the housing units developed in recent years in downtowns and close-in neighborhoods. As a result, independent grocers and national chains alike are licking their chops, seeking a place in the multiple-niche urban environment. Read about the challenges these infill locations present.
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