HR&A is proud to announce the opening of a Dallas office in the historic West End of downtown. The new office will strengthen our services to HR&A’s diverse clientele in Dallas, across Texas and the Southwest. To anchor that office, we are pleased to welcome Joseph Cahoon as Senior Advisor and appoint Elissa Hoagland Izmailyan as Managing Principal. Strong support for the office will be provided by HR&A’s Vice Chairman Candace Damon and Chairman John Alschuler who will draw on their over 30 years of experience in the management of complex, public-private real estate and economic development projects.
“Texas’s cities are experiencing a renaissance through a historic wave of urban investment, and HR&A is delighted to expand our regional presence to support the building of vibrant and resilient communities through creative development strategies and models of public-private collaboration.” Candace Damon, Vice Chairman

 

“Dallas and its surrounding metro area are attracting new waves of urban investment, supported by strong underlying economic trends and a shared spirit of possibility sustained by elected officials, civic activists, and visionary philanthropists. We are excited to bring our expertise to support these extraordinary trends.”Elissa Hoagland Izmailyan, Managing Principal, HR&A Dallas

 

Joseph Cahoon brings a mix of real estate and institutional knowledge to HR&A’s Dallas office. He has over 15 years of commercial and residential real estate experience. In addition to taking on the role of Senior Advisor, Joseph is the Director of the Folsom Institute for Real Estate at the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. Joseph brings new expertise and capacity to HR&A for innovative real estate development and partnership advisory services.

 

Elissa Hoagland Izmailyan has relocated to Dallas from HR&A’s New York office, and as Managing Principal will direct many of the firm’s ongoing projects and oversee the operations of the Dallas office. Elissa joined HR&A in 2011 and has contributed her expertise to major real estate and urban investment initiatives in Texas and the Southwest. Elissa, John and Candace have a track record of accomplishment that we trust will provide the basis for continued service to our clients, including:

 

• In Dallas, HR&A is co-leading a multidisciplinary team to develop a great park along the Trinity River that will provide compelling public spaces while driving economic investment.
• In San Antonio, HR&A created the Strategic Framework Plan to revitalize Center City with a “housing first” strategy to spark residential vitality in the urban core. This plan has contributed to over 2,000 new Center City housing units built to date, with another 3,000 in the pipeline.
• In Houston, HR&A advised the Menil Collection on a Neighborhood Preservation and Development Strategy that will deliver new quality museum facilities, mixed-use buildings, and public realm improvements that embody the museum’s mission to steward a “neighborhood of art.”
• In Denver, HR&A is advising the owners of the 40-acre transit-oriented Broadway Station redevelopment site near downtown as they develop a master plan, pursue public infrastructure financing, and obtain entitlements. The project is positioned to become the next center of high-density development in Denver.

 

HR&A is thrilled to open our Dallas office, which builds on our existing offices in New York, Los Angeles and Washington, DC. You can find us in Dallas’s historic West End District at the Grove. Please reach out, or stop by, any time!

 

501 Elm St. Suite 450,
Dallas, TX 75202

Elissa Hoagland Izmailyan: elissa@hraadvisors.com
Joseph Cahoon: jcahoon@hraadvisors.com
Candace Damon: cdamon@hraadvisors.com

HR&A Advisors invites pedestrians to join us in celebrating vibrant urban public spaces on Friday, September 18th, when we transform three parking spaces in New York and Los Angeles into temporary parks as part of PARK(ing) Day 2015. First conceived in 2005 in San Francisco, PARK(ing) Day challenges people to rethink the way streets are used and reinforces the need for broad-based changes to urban infrastructure. Since 2005, the project has blossomed into a worldwide grassroots movement: Past PARK(ing) Days have included nearly 1,000 “park” installations in more than 160 cities in 35 countries on six continents.

HR&A Los Angeles will be partnering with the office of Mayor Eric Garcetti to “Roll out the Green Carpet” on Hollywood Boulevard, one of the City’s first “Great Streets.” Join HR&A LA at Hollywood and Vine outside the Hollywood Pantages Theatre from 12 to 6pm and take a break in one of our three programmed spaces. We will have a “Think Tank”, where you can brainstorm urban solutions with the Mayor’s team and HR&A in a “pop-up office” with free WiFi and cold brew coffee from Outpost Cold Brew. Or get your puppy-fix in the “Barklet” and play with dogs who are up for adoption from the Los Angeles Animal Services Department. If you need something a little more mellow, immerse yourself in the LA Philharmonic’s virtual reality orchestra experience, VAN Beethoven, with a 360 degree, 3D performance of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.

On the other side of the country in New York City, HR&A’s temporary pocket park will be located on the corner at Greenwich Street and Franklin in Tribeca, from 9am to 5pm. Our “parklet” theme will focus on the NYC waterfront and will encourage pedestrians to think about how they use the waterfront now, and what lies in store for its future. In partnering with the The Waterfront Alliance and the New York Public Library, we will bring aspects of the waterfront to our parklet with recreational activities, water, and education. We hope you can join us at our parklet, which will include: paper boat making and a pool, a ping-pong table, a hammock, wifi and desks, story time with the NYPL, educational programs from The Waterfront Alliance, live plants, fake grass, and a voting system to understand how Tribecans think about the future of our waterfront.

HR&A’s participation in Park(ing) Day reflects our commitment to creating dynamic urban public spaces that strengthen communities and address city-wide challenges such as resiliency and economic development. Drawing on insights from our open space practice, our parklets are designed for maximum versatility, to accommodate a diverse set of users and events throughout the day.

Read about our Park(ing) Day installations on our website (2013 and 2014), and at WNYC, Untapped Cities, Tribeca Citizen, and on NTD Television.

On September 17th, HR&A President Eric Rothman will moderate a panel discussion on the tools and methods to finance infrastructure projects and spur development throughout New York and New Jersey at the Council for Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) New York/New Jersey Financing Roundtable Conference. Joined by a panel of professionals who have facilitated significant developments through PILOT bonds, brownfield remediation, tax increment financing, and special assessment districts, the discussion will explore different approaches, rationales, and best practices when preparing for significant investments in infrastructure.

Eric has demonstrated a resolute interest to improve opportunities for infrastructure development in New York and New Jersey, and specializes in creating strategies for infrastructure and transit-oriented development throughout the United States. He has created public-private development strategies for Campus Town at the College of New Jersey and Saint Paul, MN’s Union Depot transit hub. Additional transportation clients include New Jersey Transit, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Transport for London, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority.

The CDFA is a national association dedicated to the advancement of development finance concerns and interests. CDFA is comprised of the nation’s leading members of the development finance community representing public, private and non-profit development entities.

HR&A is a proud sponsor of the conference and encourages colleagues and clients to register and gain valuable economic development finance insights. We look forward to seeing you on September 17th.