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South China Morning Post
10 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
No better time than a property slump to ‘future-proof' urban Hong Kong
How do we 'future-proof' Hong Kong's built environment? For the design and construction industry in particular, this could be the most relevant question amid today's grave challenges. In the global environment, military and tariff wars interrupt supply chains and the uncertain economic outlook hinders project investment and financing. These issues are complicated locally by a suspension of commercial land sales, a property market slump and escalating construction costs Advertisement If the worst of times can also be the best of times – to borrow from Charles Dickens – and hope and progress can rise above despair and stagnation, what can we do to future-proof Hong Kong? But first, what does future-proofing mean? According to the non-profit organisation Urban Land Institute (ULI) and the consultancy Arup, which recently released a report on the future-proofing workshop they co-hosted, it means preserving and protecting Hong Kong's infrastructure, systems, products and services while addressing how to leverage our advantages to achieve our development goals. The United Nations might shed some light on what goals to aspire to. In September 2015, all 193 UN member states unanimously adopted the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Several of the 17 goals apply to the living environment, focusing on creating sustainable cities and communities and preserving nature and ecologies. With only five years to 2030, there is a lot to be done for cities, and Hong Kong is no exception. Moreover, Hong Kong is not just any city. We are a financial powerhouse with world-class infrastructure, top-tier universities, a robust and hardworking workforce and forward-thinking leaders, investors and developers. If any city can achieve the SDGs, we should be one of the first to do so. 03:28 Beauty in plain sight: why Hong Kong's public housing estates are worth a closer look Beauty in plain sight: why Hong Kong's public housing estates are worth a closer look Thus we must move from the monovision typical in a capitalist economy towards collaboration.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
UDR brings on new CFO
This story was originally published on Multifamily Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Multifamily Dive newsletter. UDR, the country's 15th-largest apartment owner, has hired Dave Bragg as its new CFO. Bragg succeeds Joe Fisher, who was appointed chief investment officer in January in addition to his responsibilities as the REIT's president, according to a news release. Since 2022, Bragg has been at Roots Management Group, an Addison, Texas-based owner and operator of manufactured housing and recreational vehicle resort communities. He served as the firm's chief strategy officer and head of investment management before moving to CFO at Roots. Bragg worked at the Newport Beach, California-based research firm Green Street before joining Roots. He has also held senior leadership positions at Zelman & Associates, ISI Group and Merrill Lynch. Bragg has served as a global governing trustee of the Urban Land Institute since 2022 and is a member of the Pension Real Estate Association. 'Dave is a seasoned executive with an exceptional blend of strategic insight, analytical rigor and capital markets expertise,' said Tom Toomey, UDR chairman and CEO, in the release. 'His deep experience across the residential real estate spectrum and proven leadership will further strengthen our entire organization.' Haendel St. Juste, managing director of REITs for investment bank Mizuho Securities, said in an email to Multifamily Dive that Bragg was a 'very solid hire.' 'He's a well-known commodity,' said St. Juste, who worked at Green Street prior to Bragg's arrival. On UDR's first-quarter 2025 earnings call last month, where the REIT posted a 97.2% occupancy rate, 0.2% higher than its 2024 Q1 average, Toomey said the firm wasn't focused on a timeline for filling the position. 'For us, it's finding the right fit for the team and the future and our strategy,' Toomey said. The CEO added that UDR received a 'robust response' of applicants for the CFO position. 'We have a very, very deep pool of candidates and we're now starting the face-to-face interviews,' Toomey said on the call. 'So I feel very optimistic about the position.' Click here to sign up to receive multifamily and apartment news like this article in your inbox every weekday. Recommended Reading How one owner scored a large profit on a Florida property Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A little bit of farm, a little bit of suburbia: That's the recipe for Agritopia
GILBERT, Ariz. (AP) — Just steps from the porticos, patios, clay-tiled roofs and manicured lawns of suburbia, Kelly Saxer has gotten used to questions. As she weaves through tomato vines, snaps asparagus and generally gets her hands dirty, visitors and even some nearby residents want to know what she's doing — and how the farm where she works wound up here. 'Sometimes it feels like we're animals in a zoo a little bit because people will walk by and they'll just stare, you know, like gawk at us,' Saxer said. This is Agritopia, an 11-acre (4.5-hectare) organic farm that's all that remains after miles of alfalfa, corn, cotton, durum wheat and sugar beets were swallowed up by Phoenix's roaring development. In this 'agrihood' — a residential community that includes a working farm — kids play outside at a school that borders vegetable fields or in communal green spaces nestled between homes. Well-dressed couples and boisterous teenagers flock for selfies and picturesque photos. Lines form at the diner featured on Guy Fieri's Food Network show. On the farm itself, people can walk the dirt roads, rent out plots to grow their own foods or buy its produce. Some developers have turned to the agrihood concept in the past couple of decades to lure buyers with a different kind of amenity. At least 27 U.S. states and Canadian provinces had agrihoods as of a 2018 report from the Urban Land Institute, and more have cropped up since then. Experts say agrihoods cater to buyers interested in sustainability, access to healthy food and a mix of urban and rural life. The core aim of many projects is to 'create a feeling for people,' said Matt Norris, one of the lead authors of that report. Agritopia's founders saw change coming, and made a plan It was the late 1990s when the family behind Agritopia saw 'the writing on the wall,' said Joe Johnston. The family farm was some 5 miles (8 kilometers) from Gilbert then but it was clear the Phoenix area's rapid growth was going to bring development to their doorstep. With his parents mostly retired and a pair of brothers interested in doing other things, Johnston got their blessing to develop the land himself rather than simply selling it. Johnston, with a background in design engineering, was intent on 'creating place," as he puts it. The neighborhood features narrow streets and homes within walking distance of restaurants, bars, shops, small parks and fitness businesses. The farm is at the center of it. Melissa Checker, a professor of anthropology at City University of New York and author of a book on environmental gentrification, said agrihoods can appeal to people in different ways — their desire to feel environmentally conscious, nostalgia for an imagined idea of the past, increased interest in food 'self-sufficiency' and even a heightened desire to be safe and connected to neighbors after the COVID-19 pandemic. 'You have a kind of convergence of some commercial interests, you know, something that you can sell to people, and then also this real desire to change the way we do things,' she said. Agritopia, but not utopia In an ideal world, using green community space to grow food could especially benefit people who are food-insecure, Checker said. But because agrihoods are often tied to real estate prices and developers want a return on their investment, 'it's much more likely that these kinds of projects go into gentrifying neighborhoods or more affluent neighborhoods,' she said. It's not clear just how big a role the farm plays in attracting buyers. At Agritopia, for example, few of the 500 homes participate in the farm box program that offers them first pick of seasonal fruits and vegetables. (The farm also sells at a market in downtown Gilbert and donates to a local food pantry.) Johnston said he knew 'not everyone's going to be passionate about agriculture." That's why he was intent on creating a village where people have spaces to come together; it's up to them how much, if at all, they want to be involved in farming. Still, farms are a selling point for developers especially across the Sun Belt who compete to offer pools, gyms, parks and other perks to would-be residents who have a wide range of planned communities to choose from, said Scott Snodgrass. He's founding partner of a developer that created Indigo, an agrihood outside Houston, and also of a company called Agmenity that runs farms for agrihood developers. How the farm and the neighborhood intersect As the sun rises, the farm's workers snip the roots off scallions and pull up thick bunches of lettuce and green garlic. Before he started working at Agritopia, Ernesto Penalba didn't know all the steps involved in growing garlic — harvesting, cleaning, plus packing and transporting. 'But we only perceive it as one process. So it was really interesting to understand that,' he said, speaking in Spanish. CC Garrett, who goes by 'Miss Hickory' when she's leading educational tours for kids on the farm, said she loves watching young people connect with their food in new ways — eating and maybe even enjoying salad for the first time or learning why you can't grow tomatoes year-round. 'It's amazing for me just because this community, it just really speaks to me, being built around an urban farm, which I think is such an important American concept,' she said. For some who live here, this place is more than a typical neighborhood. In Agritopia's 'kid pod,' a cluster of families with 23 kids between them, parents let the young ones roam freely, knowing at least one guardian will always be looking out for them. The rest of the parents make dinner or plan a date night. Just across the street, a peach and citrus orchard sways in the breeze, occasionally wafting the smells of fruit into front yards. Maria Padron lives in the 'kid pod' with her husband and two children. She loves living in Agritopia for the sense of camaraderie with her neighbors. Her own family in Virginia had to give up their farm when her grandfather couldn't take care of it anymore. She wishes it had stayed in the family, but it's a vineyard now. Asked whether she would have wanted her grandfather's land to become an agrihood, she says maybe — if it was done right. 'There's something obviously beautiful here that's going on, but there is some grief there too, if you've watched this land be a certain thing and then it changes within an instant,' Padron said. ___ Follow Melina Walling on X @MelinaWalling and Bluesky @ Follow Joshua A. Bickel on Instagram, Bluesky and X @joshuabickel. Follow Annika Hammerschlag on Instagram @ahammergram. ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Hamilton Spectator
28-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
A little bit of farm, a little bit of suburbia: That's the recipe for Agritopia
GILBERT, Ariz. (AP) — Just steps from the porticos, patios, clay-tiled roofs and manicured lawns of suburbia, Kelly Saxer has gotten used to questions. As she weaves through tomato vines, snaps asparagus and generally gets her hands dirty, visitors and even some nearby residents want to know what she's doing — and how the farm where she works wound up here. 'Sometimes it feels like we're animals in a zoo a little bit because people will walk by and they'll just stare, you know, like gawk at us,' Saxer said. This is Agritopia, an 11-acre (4.5-hectare) organic farm that's all that remains after miles of alfalfa, corn, cotton, durum wheat and sugar beets were swallowed up by Phoenix's roaring development . In this 'agrihood' — a residential community that includes a working farm — kids play outside at a school that borders vegetable fields or in communal green spaces nestled between homes. Well-dressed couples and boisterous teenagers flock for selfies and picturesque photos. Lines form at the diner featured on Guy Fieri's Food Network show. On the farm itself, people can walk the dirt roads, rent out plots to grow their own foods or buy its produce. Some developers have turned to the agrihood concept in the past couple of decades to lure buyers with a different kind of amenity. At least 27 U.S. states and Canadian provinces had agrihoods as of a 2018 report from the Urban Land Institute, and more have cropped up since then. Experts say agrihoods cater to buyers interested in sustainability, access to healthy food and a mix of urban and rural life. The core aim of many projects is to 'create a feeling for people,' said Matt Norris, one of the lead authors of that report. Agritopia's founders saw change coming, and made a plan It was the late 1990s when the family behind Agritopia saw 'the writing on the wall,' said Joe Johnston. The family farm was some 5 miles (8 kilometers) from Gilbert then but it was clear the Phoenix area's rapid growth was going to bring development to their doorstep. With his parents mostly retired and a pair of brothers interested in doing other things, Johnston got their blessing to develop the land himself rather than simply selling it. Johnston, with a background in design engineering, was intent on 'creating place,' as he puts it. The neighborhood features narrow streets and homes within walking distance of restaurants, bars, shops, small parks and fitness businesses. The farm is at the center of it. Melissa Checker, a professor of anthropology at City University of New York and author of a book on environmental gentrification, said agrihoods can appeal to people in different ways — their desire to feel environmentally conscious, nostalgia for an imagined idea of the past, increased interest in food 'self-sufficiency' and even a heightened desire to be safe and connected to neighbors after the COVID-19 pandemic . 'You have a kind of convergence of some commercial interests, you know, something that you can sell to people, and then also this real desire to change the way we do things,' she said. Agritopia, but not utopia In an ideal world, using green community space to grow food could especially benefit people who are food-insecure, Checker said. But because agrihoods are often tied to real estate prices and developers want a return on their investment, 'it's much more likely that these kinds of projects go into gentrifying neighborhoods or more affluent neighborhoods,' she said. It's not clear just how big a role the farm plays in attracting buyers. At Agritopia, for example, few of the 500 homes participate in the farm box program that offers them first pick of seasonal fruits and vegetables. (The farm also sells at a market in downtown Gilbert and donates to a local food pantry.) Johnston said he knew 'not everyone's going to be passionate about agriculture.' That's why he was intent on creating a village where people have spaces to come together; it's up to them how much, if at all, they want to be involved in farming. Still, farms are a selling point for developers especially across the Sun Belt who compete to offer pools, gyms, parks and other perks to would-be residents who have a wide range of planned communities to choose from, said Scott Snodgrass. He's founding partner of a developer that created Indigo, an agrihood outside Houston, and also of a company called Agmenity that runs farms for agrihood developers. How the farm and the neighborhood intersect As the sun rises, the farm's workers snip the roots off scallions and pull up thick bunches of lettuce and green garlic. Before he started working at Agritopia, Ernesto Penalba didn't know all the steps involved in growing garlic — harvesting, cleaning, plus packing and transporting. 'But we only perceive it as one process. So it was really interesting to understand that,' he said, speaking in Spanish. CC Garrett, who goes by 'Miss Hickory' when she's leading educational tours for kids on the farm, said she loves watching young people connect with their food in new ways — eating and maybe even enjoying salad for the first time or learning why you can't grow tomatoes year-round. 'It's amazing for me just because this community, it just really speaks to me, being built around an urban farm, which I think is such an important American concept,' she said. For some who live here, this place is more than a typical neighborhood. In Agritopia's 'kid pod,' a cluster of families with 23 kids between them, parents let the young ones roam freely, knowing at least one guardian will always be looking out for them. The rest of the parents make dinner or plan a date night. Just across the street, a peach and citrus orchard sways in the breeze, occasionally wafting the smells of fruit into front yards. Maria Padron lives in the 'kid pod' with her husband and two children. She loves living in Agritopia for the sense of camaraderie with her neighbors. Her own family in Virginia had to give up their farm when her grandfather couldn't take care of it anymore. She wishes it had stayed in the family, but it's a vineyard now. Asked whether she would have wanted her grandfather's land to become an agrihood, she says maybe — if it was done right. 'There's something obviously beautiful here that's going on, but there is some grief there too, if you've watched this land be a certain thing and then it changes within an instant,' Padron said. ___ Follow Melina Walling on X @MelinaWalling and Bluesky @ . Follow Joshua A. Bickel on Instagram , Bluesky and X @joshuabickel. Follow Annika Hammerschlag on Instagram @ahammergram. ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at .
San Francisco Chronicle
28-05-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
A little bit of farm, a little bit of suburbia: That's the recipe for Agritopia
GILBERT, Ariz. (AP) — Just steps from the porticos, patios, clay-tiled roofs and manicured lawns of suburbia, Kelly Saxer has gotten used to questions. As she weaves through tomato vines, snaps asparagus and generally gets her hands dirty, visitors and even some nearby residents want to know what she's doing — and how the farm where she works wound up here. 'Sometimes it feels like we're animals in a zoo a little bit because people will walk by and they'll just stare, you know, like gawk at us,' Saxer said. This is Agritopia, an 11-acre (4.5-hectare) organic farm that's all that remains after miles of alfalfa, corn, cotton, durum wheat and sugar beets were swallowed up by Phoenix's roaring development. In this 'agrihood' — a residential community that includes a working farm — kids play outside at a school that borders vegetable fields or in communal green spaces nestled between homes. Well-dressed couples and boisterous teenagers flock for selfies and picturesque photos. Lines form at the diner featured on Guy Fieri's Food Network show. On the farm itself, people can walk the dirt roads, rent out plots to grow their own foods or buy its produce. Some developers have turned to the agrihood concept in the past couple of decades to lure buyers with a different kind of amenity. At least 27 U.S. states and Canadian provinces had agrihoods as of a 2018 report from the Urban Land Institute, and more have cropped up since then. Experts say agrihoods cater to buyers interested in sustainability, access to healthy food and a mix of urban and rural life. The core aim of many projects is to 'create a feeling for people,' said Matt Norris, one of the lead authors of that report. Agritopia's founders saw change coming, and made a plan It was the late 1990s when the family behind Agritopia saw 'the writing on the wall,' said Joe Johnston. The family farm was some 5 miles (8 kilometers) from Gilbert then but it was clear the Phoenix area's rapid growth was going to bring development to their doorstep. With his parents mostly retired and a pair of brothers interested in doing other things, Johnston got their blessing to develop the land himself rather than simply selling it. Johnston, with a background in design engineering, was intent on 'creating place," as he puts it. The neighborhood features narrow streets and homes within walking distance of restaurants, bars, shops, small parks and fitness businesses. The farm is at the center of it. Melissa Checker, a professor of anthropology at City University of New York and author of a book on environmental gentrification, said agrihoods can appeal to people in different ways — their desire to feel environmentally conscious, nostalgia for an imagined idea of the past, increased interest in food 'self-sufficiency' and even a heightened desire to be safe and connected to neighbors after the COVID-19 pandemic. 'You have a kind of convergence of some commercial interests, you know, something that you can sell to people, and then also this real desire to change the way we do things,' she said. Agritopia, but not utopia In an ideal world, using green community space to grow food could especially benefit people who are food-insecure, Checker said. But because agrihoods are often tied to real estate prices and developers want a return on their investment, 'it's much more likely that these kinds of projects go into gentrifying neighborhoods or more affluent neighborhoods,' she said. It's not clear just how big a role the farm plays in attracting buyers. At Agritopia, for example, few of the 500 homes participate in the farm box program that offers them first pick of seasonal fruits and vegetables. (The farm also sells at a market in downtown Gilbert and donates to a local food pantry.) Johnston said he knew 'not everyone's going to be passionate about agriculture." That's why he was intent on creating a village where people have spaces to come together; it's up to them how much, if at all, they want to be involved in farming. Still, farms are a selling point for developers especially across the Sun Belt who compete to offer pools, gyms, parks and other perks to would-be residents who have a wide range of planned communities to choose from, said Scott Snodgrass. He's founding partner of a developer that created Indigo, an agrihood outside Houston, and also of a company called Agmenity that runs farms for agrihood developers. How the farm and the neighborhood intersect As the sun rises, the farm's workers snip the roots off scallions and pull up thick bunches of lettuce and green garlic. Before he started working at Agritopia, Ernesto Penalba didn't know all the steps involved in growing garlic — harvesting, cleaning, plus packing and transporting. 'But we only perceive it as one process. So it was really interesting to understand that,' he said, speaking in Spanish. CC Garrett, who goes by 'Miss Hickory' when she's leading educational tours for kids on the farm, said she loves watching young people connect with their food in new ways — eating and maybe even enjoying salad for the first time or learning why you can't grow tomatoes year-round. 'It's amazing for me just because this community, it just really speaks to me, being built around an urban farm, which I think is such an important American concept,' she said. For some who live here, this place is more than a typical neighborhood. In Agritopia's 'kid pod,' a cluster of families with 23 kids between them, parents let the young ones roam freely, knowing at least one guardian will always be looking out for them. The rest of the parents make dinner or plan a date night. Just across the street, a peach and citrus orchard sways in the breeze, occasionally wafting the smells of fruit into front yards. Maria Padron lives in the 'kid pod' with her husband and two children. She loves living in Agritopia for the sense of camaraderie with her neighbors. Her own family in Virginia had to give up their farm when her grandfather couldn't take care of it anymore. She wishes it had stayed in the family, but it's a vineyard now. Asked whether she would have wanted her grandfather's land to become an agrihood, she says maybe — if it was done right. 'There's something obviously beautiful here that's going on, but there is some grief there too, if you've watched this land be a certain thing and then it changes within an instant,' Padron said. ___ ___
