NJ TRANSIT, led by its CEO Kris Kolluri, agency leadership, and state and local officials, unveiled The LAND Plan: Leveraging Assets for Non-Farebox Dollars—a first-of-its-kind strategy to generate long-term, sustainable revenue from NJ TRANSIT’s extensive real estate portfolio. 

HR&A Advisors, in collaboration with Arup, is honored to have supported NJ TRANSIT in developing this comprehensive plan, which identifies opportunities to unlock as much as $1.9 billion in new non-farebox revenue over the next 30 years while catalyzing economic growth, housing production, and job creation across the state. 

More than a plan for NJ TRANSIT, The LAND Plan offers a replicable model for how transit agencies across the country can leverage their assets—from transit-oriented development and renewable energy to retail, advertising, and industrial uses—to build financial resilience and deliver greater value to their communities. 

Join us in celebrating this important milestone for the future of public transit funding and sustainable development in the state. 

Learn more about The LAND Plan here.

Related Articles:

NJ TRANSIT LAUNCHES REAL ESTATE OPPORTUNITIES ROADMAP FOR UP TO $1.9 BILLION IN POTENTIAL NON-FAREBOX REVENUE — NJ Transit

NJ TRANSIT Launches Real Estate Opportunities Roadmap — New Jersey Business

NJ Transit unveils $1.9B LAND plan to boost non-fare revenue — NJBiz

We’re proud to celebrate Senior Analyst Laura Kim for being selected as part of the BWAF Emerging Leaders cohort!

Launched in 2017, the program supports early- and mid-career women in architecture, design, real estate, and related fields, providing mentorship, peer connections, and professional development opportunities.

At HR&A, Laura focuses on economic development, downtown revitalization, and parks and open space strategies, advising cities across the country on creating vibrant and sustainable places.. With her expertise in urban planning and brand strategy, she brings a unique perspective on community-focused, strategic solutions that she will share with and learn from fellow cohort members.

Congratulations, Laura, on this well-deserved recognition!

What makes a stadium district successful beyond game day? In a recent Denver Post article examining the Denver Broncos’ vision for Burnham Yard, HR&A Partner Cary Hirschstein offered insights drawn from his experience advising cities and teams on stadium-anchored mixed-use developments across the country. 

Cary emphasized the importance of thoughtful sequencing—starting with uses that create everyday activity and lasting value, such as multifamily housing, alongside a district’s major entertainment anchors. When coupled with meaningful initial phase investments in district infrastructure, public realm, and open space, the stage can be set for the success of future phase retail, entertainment, hospitality, corporate tenants, and housing.  

While there is no single blueprint to the successful buildout of a mixed-use district, the creation of a year-round presence at the site is essential to defining a place as a true district. His perspective highlights a broader trend in urban development: stadium-anchored districts are most successful when they serve as vibrant, connected neighborhoods year-round, not just destinations for sports and events. 

Read the full article in The Denver Post 

This opinion piece by Erin Lonoff was originally published in Governing.

Millennials — Americans born between the early 1980s and late ’90s — are about to become the nation’s wealthiest generation. Estimates of assets that will move from baby boomers to millennials over the next two decades range from $84 trillion to $124 trillion, a transformation that will have a profound impact on how cities look and function.

Local governments will need to begin preparing for this transformation. That’s because family real estate is a crucial part of the coming wealth transfer: While boomers make up 20 percent of the country’s population, they own 41 percent of the real estate. And after years of trailing millennials in home purchases, boomers are now the largest consumers of homes, outpacing that younger generation 42 percent to 29 percent in 2024. Beyond single-family homes, inheritances will also include assets like commercial and industrial properties and greenfield sites ready for development.
 
Some boomers are already passing down assets in the form of cash or real estate to family or selling it to younger generations. The great wealth transfer has even made its way into the cultural Zeitgeist with shows like Succession. How will a new generation of real estate owners, one whose values differ from those of their parents in many ways, use these new assets?

Millennial preferences, like those of generations before, have been shaped by the economic conditions from when they first entered the workforce, when many were saddled with student loans and high unemployment and underemployment. Other hallmarks of the American dream — buying a home, owning a car, getting married and having children — weren’t financially feasible on the same timeline as their parents. These experiences informed this generation’s perspectives and values — and the types of neighborhoods where they want to live and work.
 

This offers some clues about what factors will be shaping millennials’ relationship to their newly acquired real estate. Millennials consistently place an emphasis on finding meaning and purpose in their work, indicating a propensity for values-driven decision-making. Aside from financial returns, millennials will likely be looking for alignment with personal values and community impact when leading real estate developments. It’s a generation of new property owners who are more likely to reject the notion that large-lot, single-family subdivisions are always the best use of land.
 

A renaissance of mission-driven real estate development is underway. Manresa Island in Norwalk, Conn., is one example: Two millennial philanthropists have committed to transforming a brownfield site into a public park for the city. Opening up waterfront access for the first time in nearly 75 years, this publicly accessible space will serve as a community amenity designed with sustainability and resilience in mind. These considerations position the park as a model for adaptive reuse for post-industrial infrastructure, aligning generational values with thoughtful development.

Millennials are also a generation that values experiences: Eighty-five percent say they are willing to pay more to live in walkable neighborhoods, compared to 69 percent of baby boomers. It’s a generation that wanted to move to cities and seek out more mixed-use communities with experiential retail.
 

Interest in mixed-use developments that contribute to a better work-life balance also inform millennial investment strategies, demonstrating the impact of hybrid work on their lifestyles and shifting preferences. This might translate to the development of more walkable, less car-dependent neighborhoods with locally owned shops and restaurants. It may also translate to a deeper focus on new affordable and attainable housing, as millennials continue to bear the brunt of America’s housing crunch. And, if planned correctly, those values can align with financial return.
 

To prepare for this generational real estate transfer, cities should begin updating zoning codes and creating policy toolkits to incentivize the kind of development they want to see when private landowners and the market are ready to change. Municipal governments may also consider actively engaging with large landowners to understand potential future transfers and find ways to partner to deliver on public policy goals through development.
 

Current and future millennial landowners can also prepare by considering how their soon-to-be-acquired land assets might best reflect and amplify their values. They have the potential to use their real estate inheritance to create places where they want to spend time and improve outcomes for more of the community. From land preservation and parks to new job creation hubs to attainable housing and architecture that prioritizes sustainability — the way people live will be shaped by a new generation’s values.
 

Erin Lonoff is a principal with HR&A Advisors who works in urban planning, economic analysis and real estate.

At last week’s International Downtown Association Annual Conference, HR&A Principal Sulin Carling joined Laura Crescimano and Kurt Cavanaugh to discuss how civic places can become powerful economic drivers. Drawing on examples from New York’s Broadway, San Francisco’s Market Street, and Seattle’s Pike Place Market, the speakers emphasized the critical role of foot traffic, the challenges and rewards of placemaking in highly engaged communities, and the value of authentic retail curation in strengthening both the public realm and local economies.

We’re proud to see Sulin add HR&A’s perspective to a rich set of conversations that also included insights from colleagues on office-to-residential conversions, retail policy, and Business Improvement District (BID)/museum partnerships.

Congratulations to our client Audible on the upcoming launch of The Pillars in Newark’s Arts and Education District — a new model for community-centered retail and investment. The Pillars will feature diverse, independent tenants that reflect Newark’s cultural and entrepreneurial strength while creating opportunities for local businesses and founders who have historically faced barriers to access.

The space is designed to be inclusive, with a program that goes beyond traditional neighborhood service retail to activate the surrounding area and build an authentic sense of place. HR&A supported Audible’s Global Center for Urban Innovation in shaping the vision, tenanting strategy, and market analysis for this exciting project near Harriet Tubman Square.

We’re looking forward to seeing The Pillars open this fall as a hub for culture, creativity, and community in downtown Newark!

Read the full announcement here.

HR&A Advisors was honored to receive the Public Space Leadership Award at the Design Trust for Public Space’s 30th Anniversary Benefit this summer. We’re proud to be recognized alongside other leaders advancing the future of New York City’s public realm.

This award reflects HR&A’s support for more than 150 open spaces, parks, and park systems, and our deep commitment to creating vibrant, equitable public spaces. It also highlights the leadership of our Principal, Thomas Jansen, who serves as Vice Chair of the Design Trust’s Board and actively advances its mission.

As the Design Trust enters its third decade, it has launched a new RFP, Water: Designing an Equitable Water Future for NYC, calling on New Yorkers to propose bold ideas that will shape the city’s public spaces for the future. We look forward to seeing how this process sparks new approaches to city-making and water. Learn more and apply here.

Written by Ejiro Ojeni. 

As New York City anticipates a mayoral election this fall, the city is grappling with both a climate emergency that threatens energy access and livability and a housing affordability emergency that is straining millions of households.

Rising temperatures, aging infrastructure, growing demand, and increasingly constrained sources of power are driving up energy costs and exposing low- and moderate-income households to disproportionate financial strain. In the last five years, 3.5 million New Yorkers (42%) have fallen behind on utility payments, and 1.9 million (23%) have experienced utility shutoffs because they could not pay their bills. Meanwhile, the cost of living continues to rise: nearly half of all NYC households spend more than 30% of their income on rent while nearly a third spend over 50%. The next mayor will need to mobilize a climate action agenda that responds to these pressures.

Reimagine Ravenswood provides a roadmap for public, private, and nonprofit partners to collaborate on addressing the nexus of climate and affordability at the neighborhood scale. The Ravenswood Generating Station is the largest fossil fuel plant in New York City, providing over 20% of the city’s local power capacity. The station sits across from NYCHA Ravenswood and Queensbridge, New York City’s largest protected affordable housing campuses, which have long faced local environmental justice challenges. Rise Light & Power (RISE) has developed plans to transform the station site into a renewable energy hub.

The Office of the Queens Borough President (QBPO) believed it was critical to ensure that the economic benefits of this transition extended to the local community, while also exploring how the redevelopment could catalyze broader quality-of-life improvements. To that end, the QBPO engaged HR&A to lead Reimagine Ravenswood, a community-driven planning process focused on site reuse, neighborhood improvement, and workforce development.

We led stakeholder engagement, including a steering committee, public workshops, focus groups, and a public survey. In partnership with Fu Wilmer Design, the team also conducted a physical site evaluation and an economic analysis to assess neighborhood socio-economic conditions and identify opportunities for workforce and business development in sectors such as green industry, small manufacturing, technology, life sciences, and the arts.

Guided by community insight, the client-consultant team developed strategies to ensure that Ravenswood’s transition to clean energy advances not only climate goals but also affordability and quality of life in the surrounding community. These strategies could be advanced by our next Mayor in neighborhoods across the city.

Ravenswood Generating Station (Image: Courtesy of Reimagine Ravenswood)

Deploying affordable, effective heating and cooling technology will reduce the energy burden for low-income residents.  Extreme heat events are becoming more frequent, more intense, and longer in New York City, and our findings show that the area immediately around the Ravenswood Generating Station, including Queensbridge Houses North and South, is already characterized by intense heat and high heat vulnerability due to a lack of green space, low rates of access to home air conditioning, and high surface temperature. Building off the momentum created by the successful heat pump pilot at Woodside Houses in 2023, the City could prioritize and accelerate the installation of window heat pumps in units at NYCHA Astoria, Queensbridge North and South, Ravenswood, Woodside Houses, and other vulnerable areas.

Alongside infrastructure improvements, the City should expand successful initiatives in underinvested schools and partner with local employers to create pathways to well-paying, high-quality jobs for residents. Partnerships between local nonprofits, schools, colleges, and City agencies are crucial for connecting residents to careers in growing industries, including the green economy. By scaling youth-focused initiatives across public schools in the area, such as FutureReadyNYC and Leading the Charge, the City can equip young people with real-world skills, paid work experience, early college credit, industry credentials, and personalized career guidance. Additionally, partnerships with renewable energy companies like Rise, cleantech firms, and business organizations can create clear career pathways, exposing students and residents to opportunities offered by the clean energy transition. Together, these efforts help residents afford to stay and thrive in their communities.

In addition to the strategies we’ve explored at Reimagine Ravenswood, there are other emerging opportunities — such as The City of Yes — that the next Mayor could leverage to create a new balance of affordable housing and jumpstart local economic activity.

One critical opportunity lies in making low-income communities healthier and more dignified places to live by addressing food access. During the engagement sessions, many community members, particularly NYCHA residents, voiced a strong desire for affordable grocery and food retail options. The City of Yes for Economic Opportunity already provides a mechanism to create new, larger-scale commercial spaces within NYCHA campuses, subject to public review and approval. This could enable existing grocery stores (such as Fine Far Supermarket) to expand and create space for new grocery providers. To move forward, the City, in collaboration with NYCHA residents and the local Community Board, should evaluate whether residents want additional commercial development on campus. If so, the new administration should consider enabling the expansion of existing grocery stores or the establishment of new food retail spaces.

The City could continue rethinking how traditional industrial areas are rezoned to allow more mixed-use affordable housing development. Under the City of Yes for Economic Opportunity, new “transition zones” make it more feasible to develop properties with light industrial and commercial uses on ground floors with residential above. In the future, industrially zoned areas in the neighborhood could apply for this rezoning to create both affordable housing and spaces for local job growth.

* * * * *

A neighborhood-centric approach to tackling climate and affordability challenges in tandem can lead to reduced energy costs, healthier living environments in affordable communities, economic opportunity, and community resilience. Reimagine Ravenswood charts a path for coordinated public, private, and nonprofit action — a roadmap the next Mayor can draw from in pursuing a future where affordable housing and a clean, livable environment are inseparable goals.

Community Engagement Event

Top Image: Courtesy of the Queens Borough President’s Office

Learn more about Reimagine Ravenswood here.