Economic Development

For over 30 years, John has guided HR&A’s real estate advisory practice.
John’s work focuses on development finance, the revitalization of urban communities, regional economic development, waterfront redevelopment and asset planning for institutions. John’s core skills include structuring public-private partnerships, development finance, building parklands, and creating innovative development strategies.

John’s wide-ranging practice is national and international in scope ranging from New York to Cincinnati, San Antonio to London. His work focuses on large-scale urban transformations, as well as discrete real estate transactions. Since founding the New York office of HR&A in 1984, he has led bold plans that have reshaped important waterfronts, downtown districts and neighborhoods.

John held several positions in city governments and brings his experience in public budgeting and public finance to his practice. He served as the City Manager of Santa Monica, California, where he was responsible for the planning and development of the Third Street Promenade.

John is a regularly requested speaker for conferences and events hosted by large professional organizations throughout the United States and internationally. Recently, he has held speaking engagements for the Urban Land Institute, the New York City Bar Association, WNYC, the New London Architecture Centre, and the International Skyrise Greenery Conference.

John holds a Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University and a Doctorate from the University of Massachusetts.

J. Devereaux Hawley manages real estate at Yale University. He leads the strategy behind campus planning and pre-development along with Yale’s commercial property in New Haven, a total portfolio of over 17 million sf. He also manages all operations for the campus, an organization of over 900 staff. Previously, Dev was the Global Head of Capital Projects at Goldman Sachs, where he managed over 12 million sf and the interior development of Goldman Sachs Worldwide Headquarters in New York and new campuses in London and Bangaluru. He served as Director of Real Estate Development at The Walt Disney Company, where he helped develop the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and Downtown Disney at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, CA. Dev holds Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Architecture II degrees. He currently also serves as Vice Chair of the Salvadori Center.

James von Klemperer is President and Design Principal at Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates where he began as a young architect in 1983. His work ranges in scale from a house to a city, and he contributes closely to these efforts from conception to completion. In addition to focusing on his own projects, he leads the community of designers within the firm in exploring shared architectural agendas and goals. As President of the firm, he is responsible for leading the staff of 550 people in 6 offices around the world.

A major focus of Jamie’s work has been to heighten the role that large buildings play in making urban space. He has explored this theme in major projects in Asia including the China Resources Headquarters in Shenzhen, Plaza 66 and the Jing An Kerry Centre in Shanghai, China Central Place in Beijing, and the 123-story Lotte World Tower in Seoul. In New York, his design for One Vanderbilt will link Midtown's tallest tower directly to Grand Central Terminal. Each of these projects creates strong symbiotic relationships between program space and the public realm. At the larger scale, his design for New Songdo City extends this challenge to the scope of urban planning.

Jamie’s designs have been recognized for the marriage of efficient program with adventurous form. His Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington DC, Dongbu Financial Center in Seoul, Park Fifth residential project in Los Angeles, and Riverside 66 urban market in Tianjin have all received AIA design awards.

In London, Jamie is leading the design of the Wanda hotel and residential towers in One Nine Elms. He is also active on the continent, in particular in Paris, where he is completing a building for the Ministry of Justice at the Parc du Millénaire and in Lyon where he is designing a series of buildings within the Part Dieu station precinct.

Jamie has lectured at Harvard, Columbia, Tsinghua, Tongji, Seoul National, and Yonsei Universities, the ESA in Paris, AMO in Lyon, and at Yale, where he taught as a Saarinen Visiting Professor. He recently spoke at the fourth Nobel Laureates Symposium on Global Sustainability, hosted in Hong Kong. After graduating from Phillips Academy Andover, he received a BA from Harvard in 1979, Magna Cum Laude in History and Literature. In 1980 he was the Charles Henry Fiske Fellow at Trinity College Cambridge. He received his MArch from Princeton in 1983. Jamie serves on the Board of Directors of the Skyscraper Museum, the Storefront for Art and Architecture, as well as the Urban Design Forum. Jamie is also a Trustee of Bard College.

Timur Galen was recently named Executive Vice President at Related Companies. He will help the executive team in the continued development of the Hudson Yards, particularly by overseeing the development of seven million square feet of commercial property.

Mr. Galen formally served as global co-head of Corporate Services and Real Estate (CSRE) at Goldman Sachs where he led the development of 200 West Street, the firm's global headquarters, and the transformative redevelopment of the broader New York/New Jersey campus, including 30 Hudson Street and the Conrad New York hotel and retail complex. He also oversaw the evolution of the balance of Goldman’s global campus, including significant projects in Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Paris, Moscow, Chicago, São Paulo, Salt Lake City and major new developments in London and Bengaluru.

Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Mr. Galen worked as an executive with The Walt Disney Company, Reichmann International, BPT Properties and Hines. While at The Walt Disney Company, he worked alongside Ken Wong, COO of Related Companies and has been a friend, and sometimes collaborator, with L. Jay Cross, President of Related Hudson Yards, since his days at Hines. An architect, he completed his professional apprenticeship with Pritzker Prize winners Robert Venturi and Fumihiko Maki. He is chair of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, an executive committee board member of the Regional Plan Association, special advisor to the New York Public Library, a founding director of the Forum for Urban Design, and a member of the US Department of State’s Overseas Building Operations Industry Advisory Group. Mr. Galen is also a trustee of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art and the Canadian Centre for Architecture, a member of the board of managers of Haverford College, and the former vice chair of the Downtown Lower Manhattan Association. He earned a BA in Physics from Haverford College in 1978, a Master of Architecture and Master of Civil and Urban Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1984 and was a Henry Luce Foundation Research Fellow at Tokyo University in 1982 and 1983.

Daniel H. Fuchs is Director of Capital Planning at the New York City Department of City Planning. He brings experience in infrastructure development, waterfront revitalization strategies, public-private real estate transactions, economic and fiscal impact analysis, and multidisciplinary project management. He has supported strategic planning efforts for clients in the public, private and nonprofit sectors, and is currently working with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on real estate strategy for the $9 billion Access to the Region's Core tunnel project, and with a multidisciplinary team analyzing the removal of the elevated Gardiner Expressway along Toronto's waterfront. Other recent work includes two pier redevelopment efforts in the Hudson River Park, a downtown plan for Austin, Texas, an economic development strategy for the State of Connecticut, and projecting the economic and fiscal impacts of nearly $20 billion in real estate development. Mr. Fuchs holds a B.A. from Yale University with distinction in architecture and urban studies.

Jennifer Pehr is the City Design Practice Manager at Skidmore, Owings & Merril LLP. She received her Masters of Urban Planning at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and her Masters of Public Health from the Columbia University School of Public Health. She is an alumna of Barnard College.

Jay Cross is President of Related Hudson Yards, leading the Related Companies’ development efforts of the 26-acre Hudson Yards site on the west side of New York City.

Cross was formerly President of the New York Jets LLC where he was responsible for all business operations of the NFL team, including finance, marketing, community relations, broadcast and game operations and the team’s 50% share in the New Meadowlands Stadium a joint venture with the New York Giants. Cross joined the Jets in 2000 from the Miami Heat of the NBA where he was the President of Business Operations and led the development of the America Airlines Arena, creating a public-private partnership between the Heat and Miami-Dade County to manage the project. An accomplished sailor, Cross has been a member of three Canadian Olympic Teams and won 10 World, North American and National titles.

Cross holds a Bachelor’s degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Toronto and a Master’s degree in Architectural Technology from Columbia University.

Regina Myer became President of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership in October 2016. Previously, she served as President of Brooklyn Bridge Park, transforming the formerly industrial Brooklyn waterfront into a world-class open space that welcomes millions of visitors a year.

Prior to Brooklyn Bridge Park, Regina was the senior vice president for planning and design at the Hudson Yards Development Corporation, and the Brooklyn Borough Director for the New York City Planning Department, where she directed the comprehensive redevelopment for two miles of the Greenpoint/Williamsburg waterfront, the rezoning of Downtown Brooklyn for high density office and apartments and numerous neighborhood rezoning efforts. She received her BA and Masters in Urban Planning from the University of Michigan, and resides in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Mehul Patel is Chief Operating Officer for Midwood Investment & Development, an investment and development platform that owns over 125 properties in 10 states and the District of Columbia comprising in excess of 3,500,000 square feet.

Previously, he served as chief of staff for New York State’s primary real estate and economic development agency, where he was charged with building a shared vision on complex large-scale projects. It is a skill he honed while working as vice president of the Moynihan Station Project, the long-overdue plan to shift and expand New York City’s Penn Station into the historic James A. Farley Post Office Building.

Patel oversaw the design, planning, and financing for the project, which—after two decades of false starts—is now under construction thanks to a strategy of breaking the project into achievable phases that could win agreement from overseers from the federal, state, and city governments as well as representatives of four transit agencies that use the station—Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, the Long Island Rail Road, and New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority. Patel played a leading role in other megaprojects in New York, including Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn and the 350-acre (142 ha) Buffalo Outer Harbor redevelopment.

Robert Garneau, a founding principal of Architecture Workshop PC, is an architect with over twenty years’ experience in a broad range of project types. The Award Winning design firm is based in NYC that provides Architecture and Interior Design services. Projects include high-end residential apartments as well as mixed-use and mixed-income buildings.
Prior to launching AWPC, Robert was an associate with the international firm of Grimshaw and a project architect at Kiss + Cathcart.
Projects have been recognized with over a dozen design awards and published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Dwell Magazine, as well as featured on television and online media.
Robert is also part of the faculty at Columbia University and Pratt Institute. Robert has also been an invited critic at Yale, Parsons, NYU, City College and NYIT.
Robert holds degrees in Fine Arts, Environmental Studies and Architecture. He is an AIA member, USGBC member, a registered architect in New York State and a LEED accredited professional

An award-winning planning and urban design consultant, Mr. Pobiner has influenced responsible planning in communities in 31 countries worldwide and 41 US states. Now a Practice Leader with Gensler, he has also previously led the global planning practice for international design firms including HOK, HKS, and Atkins, with projects representing more than 250 million total acres and $52 billion in new construction throughout the US, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East; mixed-use developments in Qatar and Libya; and numerous large-scale master plans across the US. He is a member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners (FAICP) and became one of CNU's first accredited design professionals (CNU-A). The Ohio State University Knowlton School of Architecture named him its 2012 Distinguished Alumnus, one of the few planners to receive this honor since the awards were established in 1954.

Justin Garrett Moore is an urban designer and the executive director of the New York City Public Design Commission. He has extensive experience in urban design and city planning—from large-scale urban systems, policies, and projects to grassroots and community-focused planning, design, and arts initiatives. At the Public Design Commission his work is focused on prioritizing the quality and excellence of the public realm, and fostering accessibility, diversity and inclusion in the City’s public buildings, spaces, and art.

Justin is a former Senior Urban Designer for the NYC Department of City Planning where, for over a decade, he was responsible for conducting complex urban design plans and studies of the physical design and utilization of sites including infrastructure, public spaces, land use patterns and neighborhood character. His projects included the Greenpoint and Williamsburg Waterfront, Hunter’s Point South, the Coney Island Plan and the Brooklyn Cultural District. He received degrees in both architecture and urban design from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation where he is now an Adjunct Associate Professor of Architecture in the urban design and urban planning programs.

He is the co-founder of Urban Patch, a social enterprise based in Indianapolis that focuses on community revitalization and design in American inner cities. His professional affiliations include the American Institute of Certified Planners, the Urban Design Forum, and Next City’s Vanguard. In addition to ioby, he also serves as a board member for Mary Miss—City as Living Laboratory, and Made in Brownsville.

Mr. Rui Qian holds a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from Harvard GSD, and a Master of Urban Design degree from TCAUP, University of Michigan. Mr. Qian was recently nominated as the International Research Associate of National Research Center of Rural Planning and Development of China. Along with that, he has been serving as the VP of UM Beijing Alumni Association, in charge of bridging Sino-US institutions. He has worked as an urban designer with Cooper Robertson and Partners, Goody Clancy and Associates and China Sustainability Center of AECOM Beijing Office. He also serves as the overseas editor for several professional magazines in China.

Alice Shay is a city planner and urban designer with the Bloomberg Associates Urban Planning practice. She contributes to the team’s full range of strategic planning and public realm projects including waterfront infrastructure, public space redevelopment and land use instruments.

Previously, Alice worked with WXY Architecture and Urban Design, an architecture and planning firm that works closely with government agencies and private stakeholders on public realm projects. Alice also consulted for the UN-HABITAT City Development Strategies program in Indonesia with Solo Kota Kita (SKK). With the support of AECOM, Alice and SKK used a participatory charrette process to create Firm Foundation, a waterfront public space, for a low-income neighborhood in Banjarmasin. Documenting the process with SKK, Alice co-authored the Firm Foundation Social Design Field Guide.

Alice exhibited at the 2013 Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture in Hong Kong, conducted research in residence at the Strelka Institute in Moscow in 2012 and has consulted on public realm strategies in London. Alice has a B.A. from Brown University and a Master in City Planning from MIT.

Stephen Fan is an adjunct assistant professor in the art history and architectural studies department at Connecticut College. His research focuses on user-centered, evidenced-based design informed by psychology and anthropology. He is the curator and editor of SubUrbanisms: Casino Urbanization, Chinatowns, and the Contested American Landscape, which has received awards from the Vernacular Architecture Forum, American Planning Association, among others. He has lectured on topics such as peripheral urbanization, crowding, and informal suburbs, including at Columbia University, Hong Kong University, National University of Singapore, UCLA, and Yale.
His work has been featured in Architectural Record, The Atlantic's City Lab, Metropolis, Next City, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Shinkenchiku, Urban Omnibus, and the World Journal.
Stephen holds a Masters in Architecture and Bachelors Degree from Harvard University, where he has also taught art history. He serves on the Board of the VAF New England Chapter.

Lena has extensive experience merging data, policy, and grassroots organizing. As a Policy Coordinator at the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD), Lena integrates quantitative research, geographic analysis, and coalition based campaign planning to inform ANHD's equitable economic development agenda. Lena holds a B.A from Mount Holyoke College and a Master of Regional Planning from Cornell University.

Working at the intersection of the public and private sectors, Erin leverages her experience with urban planning, economics, and real estate to contribute to the vitality of cities and the public realm. Her work includes leveraging transit plans for economic growth and dense, resilient development, creating open space programming and revenue generation strategies, and developing large-scale master plans that will have critical economic and fiscal benefits.

Christopher Rice is a New York-based Urban Planner. He completed his MSc in City & Regional Planning at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York and is interested in climate resiliency, green infrastructure and social inclusion. Christopher is originally from Ohio, where he completed his undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies at Oberlin College. He recently joined WXY Studio where he is working on the Brooklyn Navy Yard Master Plan and researching public school system admissions policies. Previously at the New York City Council, he managed large-scale neighborhood re-zonings. Outside of the studio, you can find Chris biking around the city, snapping photos with his 35mm camera, or listening to house music.

Tiffany is an Urban Planner with experience in transportation and economic development. Through her experience in and around New York City, she has had the opportunity to take part in complex but transformative projects. Tiffany holds a Masters degree in City & Regional Planning from Pratt Institute.

Alan Waxman, MLA Harvard 2014, works in landscape design for health and resiliency. He models real-time psychosocial datascapes through dance biorhythms with Mark Morris Dance, is facilitating an ecology of deliciousness in public housing evaluated by hospital data with Claus Meyer, and is designing parks with Quennell Rothschild & Partners.

Paul Travis is Managing Partner of Washington Square Partners, a real estate development advisory firm in New York City which he founded in 1994. Over the years he has worked with corporations, non-profit institutions and government entities to reconfigure real estate assets and solve land use issues. He is also a partner in Kingsbridge Development Partners, a real estate development firm that developed the River Plaza center with Target Stores, at the time the first major private commercial development in the Bronx in twenty years.

Since its inception, his firm has been responsible for several major redevelopment initiatives including Moynihan Station Redevelopment, New York Historical Society, Downtown Brooklyn Redevelopment, Cooper Union, Harlem Park, River Plaza, Theatre Row, Long Island City and Skyland Center in Washington, D.C. Mr. Travis is currently a partner in the 1.8 million square foot mixed use City Point project in Downtown Brooklyn

Prior to founding Washington Square Partners, Mr. Travis served as Chief Operating Officer of Forest City Ratner Companies in New York City where he was responsible for the development and leasing of MetroTech Center, a 4.5-million-square-foot complex in Brooklyn, New York. He was also responsible for the revival of Lincoln Road and the development of the Loews Miami Beach Hotel, the first new convention center hotel in that City. Mr. Travis had previously been Director of Real Estate for the Price Company, the predecessor to Costco, and Senior Vice President of the New York City Public Development Corporation (now EDC). At PDC, he directed the 42nd Street Development Project in Manhattan and was responsible for commercial and industrial development projects throughout the City, including the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square.

Mr. Travis is a member of the Urban Land Institute and serves on the Board of Directors of Playwrights Horizons, the Milano School at the New School University, and the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs at The University of Albany.

Mr. Travis received his Bachelors in Political Science (cum laude) from the University at Albany in 1975; his Masters in Policy Analysis from the New School University in 1977.

MaryAnne Gilmartin is president and chief executive officer of Forest City Ratner Companies, the New York office of Forest City Realty Trust, Inc.

Gilmartin has been point person in the development of some of the most high-profile real estate projects in New York City, including Pacific Park Brooklyn, The New York Times Building and New York by Gehry. In addition to these projects, Gilmartin has managed the commercial portfolio at MetroTech Center in Downtown Brooklyn.

Gilmartin graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Fordham University, where she also completed her Master’s Degree.

She served proudly for more than seven years on the New York City Ballet Advisory Board. Currently, Gilmartin serves as a board trustee for the Brooklyn Academy of Music, a member of the executive committee and board of governors of the Real Estate Board of New York, and as a member of the Industry Advisory Board of the MS Real Estate Development Program at Columbia University. Most recently, she was named co-chair of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, a member of the board of directors of the Jefferies Group LLC, a global investment banking firm, and a member of the board of trustees of New York Public Radio.

Gilmartin has been recognized as a top professional in her field, earning the Woman of the Year honor in 2007 from WX New York Women Executives in Real Estate. In addition, she was made multiple appearances on Crain’s New York Business’s annual list of New York’s 50 Most Powerful Women.

Ms. Nandan believes in sustainability as a holistic and supple design approach, integral to all aspect of design and construction. She is at the forefront of sustainability in New York, having served in various roles to help shape public policy, most recently board co-chair of the New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program Red Hook Community Committee ; member of the Homes Committee for Urban Green Codes Task Force (2012); and the Building Resiliency Task Force (2013). Gita further puts her beliefs into practice as an architectural educator, currently a visiting assistant professor at Pratt Institute and the School of Visual Arts where she teaches the Green Infrastructure Studio, Sustainable and Resilient Existing Building Design and thesis. Gita received her Master of Architecture from UC Berkeley and is a registered architect in New York and New Jersey, an accredited LEED professional and Enterprise Green Communities Technical Assistant.

Purnima Kapur is the Executive Director of New York City Department of City Planning. The Department promotes housing production and affordability, fosters economic development and coordinated investments in infrastructure and services, and supports resilient, sustainable communities across the five boroughs for a more equitable New York City. Under the Mayor deBlasio's Housing New York Plan, Ms. Kapur is spearheading the Department's coordinated, ground up neighborhood planning studies and regulatory changes to promote more economically diverse communities and housing opportunities for New Yorkers at all income levels.

Jack Robbins joined FXFOWLE in 2012, and was promoted to Principal in 2014. Accomplished as both an architect and urban designer, Jack Robbins works with public and private clients worldwide to create vibrant, sustainable cities. He brings a design-oriented approach and international experience to creatively solving complex urban challenges. Jack has extensive experience leading large, collaborative, multi-disciplinary teams to deliver design solutions that are both innovative and realizable. His projects include multi-family residential developments, both affordable and luxury; commercial office buildings; transportation centers; and large scale master plans for public, private, and institutional clients. He has a particular expertise in waterfront and urban infrastructure-related projects.

Margaret Tobin is Principal of M.Tobin Co, a firm that specializes in conceptualizing, analyzing, planning and design, negotiating with tenants, regulators and contractors, and implementing complex real estate projects, with a specialty in New York City real estate and its regulatory and political environment. Before, Margaret served as Senior Vice President of Development for the New York Convention Center Operating Corporation. Margaret was also instrumental in the formation of the Hudson River Park Conservancy as the Executive Vice President and CFO.

Jennifer is a DPhil (PhD) ​candidate ​in Social Policy at Oxford. Her research examines the process of policy decision-making in 21st century U.S. cities. She is specifically interested in economic development policy, and the case she is using for her thesis is Applied Sciences NYC under the Bloomberg administration. Jenny holds a master’s degree in public policy from the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford and a bachelor'​s degree in Ethics, Politics, and Economics from Yale.​ She studies at Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship.​

Josh Sirefman is Head of Development at Sidewalk Labs. Josh has spent his career at the forefront of the planning, negotiation and implementation of complex growth and development strategies across the public and private sectors. As founder and President of Sirefman Ventures, he led transformative development projects for a range of corporate, nonprofit and government entities, including Cornell University’s successful effort to build a new applied sciences campus in New York City, the University of Chicago’s transformation of Hyde Park through the redevelopment of a vibrant new mixed-use district, and the repositioning of the New York Public Library’s renovation of its flagship building.

Prior to founding Sirefman Ventures, Josh was the Senior Vice President for U.S. Development at Brookfield Properties and managed a development portfolio of more than 15 million square feet across the country. Before joining Brookfield Properties, Josh held a series of high-level roles within the administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, including Chief of Staff to the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding, and Interim President of the New York City Economic Development Corporation.