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Program Highlights!

Friday, April 29

• Program starts at 4 pm with presentation by Director of Planning at Boston Redevelopment Authority – Rebecca Barnes;
• Walking tour of Quincy Market, Faneuil Hall, and part of Rose Kennedy Greenway – David Dixon of Goody Clancy;
• Reception at Boston Society of Architects;
• Dinner at Durgin Park with – Director of Economic Development -- Tom Miller.

Saturday, April 30

• Mobile study tour begins at 8:30 am.
• Boston Convention & Exhibition Center with Chief Development Officer -- Lowell Richards III;
• Genzyme Headquarters, a Platinum LEED Building with Chief Counsel – Bob Husslien
• Stata Center MIT with David Dixon;
• Lunch at Middlesex Bistro with Cambridge Planning Department;
• Tour of Cambridge;
• Couple of hour’s free time!
• Tour of Back Bay;
• Reception hosted by Boston Properties at the Prudential Center;
• Dinner at Turner Fisheries with history of Copley Place development by Norman Elkin and the future of Prudential Center by Boston Properties, Bryan Koop.

The Boston Lambda alpha Chapter under the leadership of its president John Fuller, as developed an outstanding program that focuses on the future of Boston.

“Who Should Attend?” Lambda Alpha Members and guests. Many participants in the Weekend Experiences are accompanied by their spouse or “significant other.” In addition to a learning experience, the Weekend Experiences are great social events, where you will renew and develop both business and social relationships.

What you will Learn:  Boston is addressing many of the same issues that you are in your business or community.  This program provides exposure to a variety of projects in Boston, where you will learn, through the “look and learn” method, how Boston is addressing these issues.  The Boston Chapter has also arranged to have the key people involved with the planning and development of Boston to lead the tours.  You will have the opportunity to talk with our "tour guides" to have your questions answered.

The Program: Our Weekend will begin Friday evening at 4 pm. when we walk from our hotel, the Omni Parker House to City Hall where we will meet Rebecca Barnes, the director of planning for the Boston Redevelopment Authority.  From City Hall, David Dixon, Director of Planning and Design at Goody Clancy Architects will lead us to the Boston Society of Architects through Quincy Market, Faneuil Hall, and part of the Rose Kennedy Greenway.

Read More about the weekend....

[Click Here] to register for the Boston Weekend Experience Online

or [Click Here] to register by mail

Letter from the President

Larry Lund at the Ely home 205 N Prospect Ave, Madison, Wi.

What connects Richard T. Ely’s home, Poland Spring Water, and Boston?

A part of Lambda Alpha International is about connections and its importance to you as members.  This month I explore interconnectedness, as one of the many reasons you should attend the Boston Weekend Experience April 29-30.

Last year, you may recall, I wrote about my visit to Ely’s boyhood home in Fredonia, New York, and the nearby Chautauqua Institution, where Ely was a frequent lecturer in the 1880s.  But earlier this month I visited Madison, Wisconsin for an interview on a potential business assignment and took some extra time to continue tracing the personal history of Richard T. Ely – which some are calling my personal obsession.  Now, I have discovered his home in Madison (see adjacent photo), where he lived during his tenure at the University of Wisconsin.

In 1892, Professor Fredrick Jackson Turner, a former student of Ely, helped recruit him from Johns Hopkins to start the economics department at Madison.  Ely, feeling more secure in his position after his successful 1894 “trial,” retained the services of architect Charles Sumner Frost to design a spacious hill top home in a fashionable section of Madison adjacent to campus.  (Louis Sullivan’s Bradley House [1910] and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Gilmore House [1908] are nearby.)  Frost was the architect of the Maine State Building at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair that Ely must have seen while attending Turner’s historic lecture at the Fair on the closing of the American frontier.  Later Poland Spring moved the Maine State Building to Maine where they made it their headquarters’ building – it still stands today as one of only three buildings to survive the Fair.  (Ok, the other two are the Museum of Science and Industry, which is still on the site, and the Norway Building now in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin.)

I also discovered that Frost learned his architectural trade at MIT in Boston and later moved to Chicago after the Great Fire.  Frost, incidentally, designed many train stations (It paid to marry the daughter of the president of the Northwestern Railroad) and went on to design several other important buildings including the Potter Palmer mansion (with Cobb) and Navy Pier – now Chicago’s largest tourist attraction.

Was the influence of Boston the source of Frost’s architectural creativity?  Was Frost’s commission to design the Ely home the result of Ely’s visit to the Chicago’s World Fair?  Who knows?  But I do know that interconnectedness is important.

I just returned from ULI’s annual retail conference in Los Angles, where I heard Sam Hill, author of Sixty Trends in Sixty Minutes, say that “interconnectedness” is at the basis of most current business trends.  Interconnectedness is the network that distributes goods, transports people, and communicates ideas; interconnectedness is what now links us globally.

The Boston Weekend Experience helps our members interconnect by providing a stage where members can develop networks with other interesting and knowledgeable people.  Please join us in Boston and be inspired, develop important business and social networks, and have a great time.

Larry Lund

International President
LarryLund@LAI.org
312-751-1250

Editor's Column

San Diego General Plan 2020

I recently reviewed the new San Diego General Plan 2020 for the unincorporated area of San Diego County and wanted to share with you some observations on its basic qualities. It is most probably reminiscent of what many other metropolitan areas (especially fast growing ones) face in trying to plan for future growth.

The new general plan will replace one that is 30 years old. In that period of time, the County has added more than a 1,000,000 population. The unincorporated area of the County contains virtually all the remaining developable land as the 18 cities in the County are approaching build-out.

My first observation is that to create a plan for 2020 in 2005 is ludicrous. The County should be producing a 2050 plan in order to recognize the timeframe that it takes to implement a plan and to assess the long-term implications of growth. Fifteen years is a blip on the horizon.

The other major flaw in the plan is that it is based on a wholly unrealistic pace of growth and housing demand for the County. The County is growing at a pace of 40,000-50,000 persons per year with a housing demand for more than 20,000 units per year.

The projected growth of the County is typically based on the input from the 18 cities of the county and their routine reluctance to accept new growth and higher densities on their remaining land. Therefore, the projected land allocation has little to do with past growth patterns of the County and the unduly low acceptance of new housing development in the 18 cities.

The intent of the 2020 plan is well-meaning in that it tries to accommodate the bulk of its growth within villages but the densities that are utilized are more akin to those in rural areas than in fast-growing metros. The maximum density allowed under the new plan is 24 units per acre, a density that would correspond with two-story garden apartments, but unrealistically low for close-in areas with a market that accepts much higher densities and is desperately needed to accommodate the burgeoning population.

The plan, in all likelihood, will be passed by the Board of Supervisors in spring 2006 and implemented over the next few years. It will not take too long to recognize that the plan is short-sighted and because of its shortcomings, more San Diegans will be forced to drive one to two hours to work in San Diego County from their homes in adjacent Riverside and Imperial Counties and Tijuana.

Facing reality is difficult especially when elected officials don’t want to anger their constituencies. As a result, the new General Plan is basically a rehash of old thinking and limited utilization. It’s a shame! The future of San Diego County deserves better.

Alan Nevin
International Editor
anevin@marketpointe.com

Vancouver Chapter

The Vancouver Chapter of LAI's new Executive Committee include from left to right. David Greenwood, Ken Cameron, Ann Bancroft-Jones, Howie Charters (Chapter President), Don Vaughan and Michael Geller. Missing from the picture are Russ Anthony (Past President) and Kathleen Murray (Executive Assistant).

The first dinner meeting of the 2005 season was held at the Vancouver Club. With Vancouver's real estate market being lead by the residential housing boom, that had seen an average 18% increases in sale prices for homes over the last year, the topic, REAL ESTATE OUTLOOK 2005 – OUR MEMBERS SPEAK! looked at the other real estate markets. A panel of LAI experts and others offered their views and predictions on major events and trends in office, retail, Hotel & Resort and industrial development for the coming year.

The speakers from left to right were Peter Maddocks, Bart Corbett, Blake Hudema, Beth Walters and Bob Laurie.

F. Peter Maddocks, Senior Vice President & Director, Royal LePage Commercial Inc. and Bart Corbett, from their leasing team, discussed events going on in the office market. As few major office buildings have been built over the last ten years many of the land previously zoned for office has been rezoned for multi-family residential.  They also discussed the implications of a large proportion of the office buildings now being owned by pension funds.

Blake Hudema, Hudema Consulting Group Ltd., spoke of how major chain stores are growing strongly throughout the province with the trend in shopping centres going toward an outdoor village.

Bob Laurie expressed concern over loss of prime industrial zoned land, but pointed out that much of the industrial zoned land is now being developed with med-tech & mid-tech and software companies.

Ely-Chicago Chapter

Panel presentation to Ely Members during February meeting on Roosevelt Road, Retail Development.

Left to right, Rick Filler, Harlem Irving Companies, Inc., Todd Cabanban, Zifkin Realty & Development, Dave Hene, JPS Interests, and Mike Mallon Ely Board member Vice President Dominick's.

In Memoriam

Ely member, Earl Langdon Neal (1970) died of cancer February 13 at age 76. Mr. Neal was a legendary condemnation lawyer who served as trusted confidant to Mayors Daley, Bilandic, Byrne, Washington, Sawyer, and Daley.

Appointed by Mayor Richard J. Daley, Mr. Neal served from 1960 through 1969 as special assistant corporation counsel, responsible for acquiring land for the Dan Ryan Expressway, Deep Tunnel Project and the Near South Side's redevelopment.

In 1975, he was appointed the first African-American president of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. He reminded people that when he attended U. of I in the '40s, African Americans were not allowed to live in the dorms or eat in the campus food halls.

In 1980, he was among 10 persons from Illinois elected to the Democratic National Committee. Two years later, Mayor Jane Byrne named him president of the Chicago Metropolitan Housing Development Corp. and appointed him to the Chicago Housing Authority Board.

Neal was born in Chicago in 1928 to Judge Earl James Neal and Evelyn Neal, a teacher in the Chicago Public Schools. He attended Englewood High School, U. of I., and the University of Michigan Law School. For the last 49 years, he has been married to Isobel Hoskins Neal. His son, Langdon Neal, is also a member of the Ely Chapter (1998) of Lambda Alpha International.

A memorial service was held February 21.

Lambda Alpha International would welcomes memorials and tributes in Mr. Earl Langdon Neal’s memory.

Donations can either be made online at 209.224.198.102 by clicking on the "members" tab. The password is lai. Then click on "Donate to the Land Economics Foundation." For U.S. members, you can make a donation using your credit card. Also, if you wish to send a check, it should be made payable to Lambda Alpha Land Economics Foundation and mailed to 514 North Hale Street, Wheaton, IL 60187. The Land Economics Foundation is a 501(c) (3) tax-deductible foundation that supports the educational goals of the organization. Canadian members can make checks payable to the Canadian Land Economics Foundation and mailed to the same address above. Thank you.

Announcements

LAI Awards

The People Who Really Get it Right

In today’s hectic. frenetic world it is important to pose, to acknowledge and to honor those people who “get it right”. Catching people in the act of making a significant contribution, improving our profession or achieving excellence in their field of endeavor is the goal and objective of the Lambda Alpha International Awards.

Opening the 75th Anniversary celebration of LAI on Thursday evening October, 20 at the Signature Room on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Center in Chicago is the biennial International Awards ceremony.

The Awards honor the men and the women who have advanced the principles of land economics through their achievements in service to their profession, their community and the affairs of their chapter. The Awards are presented in the following nine categories.

INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC OFFICIAL AWARD

This award is presented to a public official who, through his or her efforts – be it technical, managerial or other – has contributed significantly to the local level of improving the quality of urban living.

INTERNATIONAL URBAN AFFAIRS AWARD

This award is presented to a person who has made outstanding contributions to urban affairs and who has advanced the frontiers of knowledge via research and the development of unique operations and technical programs.

JOURNALISM AWARD

This award is presented to a journalist whose efforts have contributed to a greater understanding of the principles, practices and greater awareness of land economics. This award is for a sustained, exemplary contribution to a regional body of work.

AUTHOR AWARD

This award is presented to an author whose literary efforts have contributed to a greater understanding of the principles, practices, and greater awareness of land economics internationally. This award is for an exemplary book length publication.

RICHARD T. ELY DISTINGUISHED EDUCATOR AWARD

This award is presented to the person who has achieved excellence within the academic world in the field of land economics.

GERALD D. HINES INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN AWARD

This award is presented to a person who has or had a vision for what his or her community could become in the future, and the ability to see what was needed to achieve that vision, then marshaled the resources and helped direct the activity to accomplish the goal, often working behind the scenes and out of the public’s attention. That person also became a mentor to a number of people who helped carry out the vision and assure that the community remains a vital and a pleasant place to live.

INTERNATIONAL FELLOW AWARDS

This designation is presented to individuals for their outstanding achievements in the field of land economics and for contributions to the advancement of Lambda Alpha International’s goals, through esteemed leadership and foresight.

INTERNATIONAL MEMBER OF THE YEAR AWARD

This award is selected from Chapter nominations for Chapter Member of the Year by the International’s Awards Committee and will be based upon commitment to Lambda Alpha, to the nominee’s profession and to land economics with respect to achievement in the private or public sectors, research or education.

 SKYLINE AWARD

This award is to be selected from Chapter nominations for individual Chapter Skyline Awards submitted to the International’s Awards Committee and based on the following criteria:

“to recognize noteworthy and commendable instances of the practical application of the principles of land economics in the preservation, development or utilization of our land resources.”

All Chapters have been invited to submit nominations in any and all categories by March 31, 2005.The nominations will be presented to LAI regional vice-presidents, for their initial review and comment.  Final selection of recipients of each award will be made by this years Awards Selection Committee consisting of Fereydoon Ghaffari of Los Angeles Chapter, Karen Sieracki of London Chapter and David Glancey of Philadelphia Chapter.

The Award Selection Committee recommendation will be submitted to the Board of Governors for ratification.

Please submit your Chapter’s nominations to:

            LAI International
            c/o Association Mgt, Inc.
            214 North Hale Street
            Wheaton, IL 60187
            Attn: Terry Stevenson

Fereydoon Ghaffari, A.I.C.P.
Los Angeles Chapter

New LAI Calendar!

A new feature at 209.224.198.102 is the Calendar. This is a great resource if you are traveling and want to attend another chapter's monthly meeting or special programs.

Chapters make sure that you send your calendar to International so we can post your meeting dates or special events.

Have you misplaced your LAI key? If you would like to purchase a new key, go online at 209.224.198.102 then click on the Shop tab and you can order your replacement!

We will be featuring different LAI logo items over the next several months. Remember you can place individual orders, or your chapter can purchase items, such as LAI mugs, polo, or sweat shirts for special events.

KeyNotes is the primary information vehicle to reach LAI members, Chapters should please email International announcements about upcoming monthly programs or special chapter events. Also, use KeyNotes to promote individual member achievements, awards, publications and future speaking engagements that would be of interest to our general membership.

LAI member Michael Maremont is helping to start an LAI Chapter in New Mexico. If you know of people in New Mexico that you think qualify for LAI membership, please e-mail Michael at mmaremont@comcast.net.

The president of each LAI chapter and the executive committee constitute the governing body of LAI. The Board of Governors meet semi-annually and the next meeting will be in Boston during the Weekend Experience. The meeting will be at the Omni Parker House hotel. The Board of Governors meeting will be Sunday, May 1 from 8:30 am until noon.

Russ Salzman, CEO of IREM will conduct a two-hour leadership seminar for chapter presidents from 8:30 am until 10:30 am. This will be followed by the Board meeting.

The Executive Committee will also meet in Boston Friday, April 29 from noon until 4 pm just before the Weekend Experience begins.

The 36th Biennial Congress, where we will celebrate the 75th Anniversary of LAI will be held in Chicago, October 20-22.

New Members

Robert J. Bell, Esq., Luce Forward Hamilton & Scripps
Marie Burke Lia, Esq., Marie Burke Lia Attorney at Law
Gil Cooke, New School of Architecture and Design
Wilmer Cooks, Hallmark Asset Management
Louis A. Galuppo, Esq., USD Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate
Kathy Garcia, Wallace Roberts & Todd, LLC
Ralph Hicks, Port of San Diego
Robert Ito, Ito Girard & Associates
Robert A. Leiter, San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG)
Garry Papers, Centre City Development Corporation
Tony Pauker, The Olson Company
Dr. Elaine M. Worzala, USD Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate