Moving to Cheltenham’s Post

"I strongly agree" A productive morning out of the WSP in the UK office with three highlights that truly stood out: 1.- Exciting Progress: It was great to see the Midland Metro Alliance Birmingham Eastside Extension works and how they are starting to define the site boundaries of Martineau Galleries scheme. I have been lucky to be working on this regeneration scheme for the past few years supporting Hammerson. It’s always rewarding to see planning come to life! 2.- Topping Out Celebration: Had the pleasure of attending the topping out ceremony for the Glasswater Locks residential development. A key milestone in a project that’s set to bring fantastic new living spaces to the area by Berkeley Group Plc, St. Joseph team. 3.- Inspiring Conversations: I met a group of scholars conducting a survey on urban regeneration in Birmingham. One of their questions: “Do you think the regeneration around the area (we were opposite Millennium Point) is benefiting the community?” I immediately ticked the "I strongly agree" box. Amazing how young people are getting awareness on what is, and what regeneration means, in a city context like Birmingham. In summary, a morning filled with progress, celebration and regeneration discussions! #UrbanDevelopment #Regeneration #Infrastructure #WeareWSP #Birmingham

We help Galliford Try get planning success for Brentwood Special Needs School in Manchester With a critical deadline looming, Galliford Try required 8.48 habitat units to meet planning conditions set by Trafford Council, ensuring the timely start of construction. Galliford Try is one of the UK’s leading building constructors. They turned to us for a fast, effective solution. Working in partnership with the Iford Estate, one of only seven projects officially registered on the government’s DEFRA platform at the time, we sourced the necessary BNG units and swiftly completed all required legal paperwork. This enabled Galliford Try to discharge the planning conditions and proceed with construction in time for the school holidays. Michael Cook, Senior Design Manager at Galliford Try, commented: "𝘞𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘉𝘕𝘎 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘉𝘕𝘎 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴.” Ian Hambleton, Founder of Biodiversity Units UK commented: “𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘛𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵, 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘪𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘵 𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘈𝘵 𝘉𝘪𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘜𝘒, 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥-𝘪𝘯-𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥" For more information about our approach, and mission to give developers more BNG certainty, visit biodiversity-units.uk #BNG #insight #biodiversityunits #biodiversity #uk #property #biodiversitynetgain #propertydevelopment

NYC DDC - DBIA Liberty Region - New York Build Expo -- Great job this week by NYC DDC's Jade Bailey, Director of the Design-Build Unit, along with NYCHA, MTA, and the New York Power Authority with amazing audience support from Commissioner Foley, Assistant Commissioner Yvi McEvilly, Kayla Holmes, and NYC Parks' Laura Pavilonis. It is exciting to see how critical public work improvement projects are benefiting from having the right project delivery tool. Since NYS gave the City the authority to use this tool, NYC DDC has been selecting critical and complicated projects for this tool and the results are coming in. Design-build gives NYC DDC the right project delivery tool to finish projects faster and more efficiently. Of course, the real winners are the residents and businesses. The days of open construction projects dragging on for years are ending as this project delivery tool is utilized. If the City gets the authorization from NYS in 2024 to also use Progressive Design-build and CM-Build, then the paradigm for how projects are executed will change dramatically and all in favor of the residents and businesses. Exciting times for NYC DDC and everyone that will use the completed buildings or roadways

CIBS Hosts Insightful Discussion on Melville Town Center's Future On Wednesday, September 25, 2024, the Commercial and Industrial Brokers Society of Long Island (CIBS) hosted a highly anticipated panel discussion: “The Melville Town Center – Will it Succeed and is It a Model for Other Long Island Municipalities?” The event brought together industry leaders and real estate professionals to explore the potential of the Melville Town Center and its impact on Long Island’s growth. Moderated by Peter L. Curry, partner at Farrell Fritz, P.C., the panel featured: • David Pennetta SIOR, CIBS, LEED GA, CIBS Co-President and Executive Managing Director at Cushman & Wakefield • Michael Florio, CEO of Long Island Builders Institute • Louis Bekofsky, Principal & Managing Director at VHB Engineering • Kelley Coughlan Heck, Executive Vice President & Partner at TRITEC Real Estate Company, Inc. The conversation highlighted opportunities and challenges tied to redeveloping the Maxess Road area into a dynamic mixed-use community, blending commercial, residential, and recreational spaces. Peter Curry noted, “The Melville Town Center project could reshape how Long Island approaches mixed-use development and serve as a model for other municipalities balancing growth with community needs.” The panel emphasized the need for collaboration between developers, local governments, and communities to ensure Long Island remains a thriving hub for commercial and residential activity. CIBS Co-President David Pennetta added, “CIBS is proud to facilitate these essential conversations. As Long Island evolves, it’s critical that we proactively address the challenges and opportunities of major projects like the Melville Town Center.” #CIBS #LongIsland #RealEstate #MixedUseDevelopment #MelvilleTownCenter #CommercialRealEstate #CommunityGrowth  

Wigan Council has recently confirmed plans for the construction of 1,100 residential units on Green Belt Land. The initial phase of the project aims to provide 200 dwellings, with 25% designated as affordable housing. Additionally, the proposal includes the expansion of a primary school, the establishment of new parkland and wetland areas, the creation of public open spaces, and the enhancement of footpaths and cycleways.   Traditionally, any development on Green Belt Land is often perceived as inherently "harmful" and deemed to cause "significant harm" to the visual and spatial openness of the green belt. Despite this, the scheme offers substantial benefits, such as the creation of 220 jobs, the provision of affordable housing, the implementation of new transport infrastructure, and the development of high-quality parkland.   Given the general aversion to development on Green Belt Land at both local and national levels, the question arises: Are projects with clear and significant benefits the path forward for development on the Green Belt? #wigan #planning #greenbelt #developmentmanagement

Located on busy Voortrekker Road, this mixed-use asset is well located.

The redevelopment of brownfields generally requires more stakeholder participation than the typical real estate transaction, due to a number of possible factors including: the complex history of the site, community concerns about public health impacts and safety, difficulty getting funding and financing, and competing visions for the site’s redevelopment. https://ed.gr/dxm21

👷♂️ Big things are happening at P McVey Building Systems this week! Our team is hard at work, with modular buildings rolling out of the factory all day long. Watch the P McVey team in action - it's always exciting to see these structures come to life! 🏗️🚛 #PMcVeyBuildingSystems #ModularConstruction #TeamInAction #InnovationOnTheMove

Navigating the road to brownfields redevelopment can be complex and challenging. Developing relationships and meaningful partnerships are critical to success. https://ed.gr/dxm20

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is a widely interdisciplinary practice, and working alongside so many distinct teams within one firm—across disciplines, time zones, and typologies—has been a major work-perk over the past two years. While some jobs at large firms might narrow into a single specialty over time, I'm glad to be faced with such diverse opportunities and challenges. Recently, I've had a hand in winning work for: - new hospitals here in the US and abroad - a cutting-edge vertical manufacturing tower - a training campus for a major sports team - green economy-focused master plans - adaptive reuse and repositioning of high-rise offices - state and federal research facilities - a transformative master plan for a defunct airport - all kinds of multifamily residential buildings around the world Of course, I've lost a few cool projects in the mix but still can't wait to see what's next! #expandingpractice #transformativearchitecture #interdisciplinaryarchitecture #businessdevelopment #designstrategy