Sofía Araujo is a Senior Analyst at HR&A Advisors, where she supports projects related to economic development, transit-oriented development (TOD), innovation districts, and real estate strategy.

 

Originally from Venezuela and fluent in Spanish, she provides research and analytical support to public agencies, universities, sports teams, and mission-driven organizations as they evaluate development opportunities and advance implementation strategies. Domestically, her TOD work includes supporting the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) in developing a TOD Investment Strategy for the Baltimore region and identifying near-term, parcel-level TOD opportunities across all stations in the region. She has also contributed to a station-area study to advance joint development at Rogers Avenue Station, and supported analysis of development potential and transit-supportive land use policies along Montgomery County’s MD‑355 Bus Rapid Transit corridor. Internationally, Sofía has contributed to land value capture studies for planned transit investments in Ankara and İzmir, Türkiye, helping assess revenue opportunities associated with future rail expansion.

Sofía has also supported literature aiming to advance real estate development in Latin America, including peer-reviewing an Inter-American Development Bank publication focused on identifying market failures across real estate markets in the region. She also helped develop a Real Estate Playbook and accompanying tool designed to support local governments and development agencies in delivering public real estate projects.

Her economic and fiscal impact experience includes studies for sports and entertainment districts, arenas, parks, federal agencies, cultural districts, innovation districts, and joint development projects around transit. Her impact study portfolio has included developing a national economic impact template for the U.S. General Services Administration, conducting economic and fiscal analyses for a major sports and entertainment complex in the Washington region, and contributing to market and impact studies for the Bon Secours Arena in Greenville, SC and Origin Park.

In the innovation district space, she has supported planning and implementation for several institutions and jurisdictions, including the Birmingham Biotech Innovation District, Gateway Research Park, Cal Poly Pomona, Clark County (NV), and the Winston-Salem Innovation Quarter. Her work has included market analysis, governance strategy development, stakeholder engagement, and real estate advisory support.

Before joining HR&A, Sofía earned a Master’s in City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Bachelor of Science in International Food and Resource Economics from the University of Florida.

Member, North Carolina Economic Development Association

Member, American Planning Association

Member, North Carolina Planning Association

Member, International Mentoring Association