Proudly presents the third installment in the 2004 Spring Speakers Series:

Better Collaboration--Better Development

DATE Tuesday, April 20, 2004

TIME Registration starting at 5:30pm, panel discussion beginning at 6pm,

followed by question and answer session

LOCATION Prairie Avenue Bookstore

418 S. Wabash, Chicago, IL 60605

MODERATOR:

Jennifer Tammen, Director of Planning, Norwood Builders

PANELISTS:

Rick Cavenaugh, Chief Operating Officer, Fifield Companies
Mike Chen, Director of Development Services, Village of Oak Park
Eliud Medina, Executive Director, Near Northwest Neighborhood Network
Stephen Porras, Vice President, Acquisitions and Affordable Housing, LR Development Company

DESCRIPTION

How do developers approach and view the communities that they work in?
What are the considerations beyond strong demographics, prime locations, visibility, and access when choosing a site to develop?
How do affordability issues affect the development discussion?
How does redevelopment of the built environment affect communities and residents?
How do current trends such as tear-downs affect communities, developers, and municipalities?

Join our panel of experts as they start to answer these questions. The moderator and panelists will provide examples and perspectives on public-private partnerships, interaction with the community, and the importance of community buy-in for creating a true win-win development.

Community members have always been interested in how their cities and neighborhoods are developed and redeveloped, and new laws and developer and planner outreach have facilitated their participation in development decisions. Neighborhood groups often take an active role in the interplay between elected officials and the development community. Elected officials are also learning how to better integrate the community’s voice into the public process for development. As a result, developers are becoming more cognizant of the community and its role in development and successful developers are savvy in their understanding of and approach to working with elected officials and the communities they represent, and see the benefits of the public process. Community stakeholders benefit from being aware of the various perspectives of the key players in the development arena. Understanding among parties is critical to establishing strong working relationships between all groups to ensure that development projects are both responsive to the needs of the community and financially feasible for the investor.