Urban Land Institute Advisory Services Panel to Offer Recommendations For Gallaudet University's Master Plan Development

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Sep 13, 2011, 04:47 ET

Recommendations to be Presented on Saturday, September 17 from 8:00-11:00 a.m. in the Foster Auditorium at Gallaudet University

WASHINGTON, Sept. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An advisory services panel from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) today begins its examination of Gallaudet University and considers recommendations and options for the university's 2012-2022 campus master plan. The 10-member panel, sponsored by Gallaudet University and PNC Bank, is tasked with providing advice on how to create a campus master plan vision that integrates the campus with the community while facilitating on- and off-campus development and renewal.

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Panelists will tour the campus and the surrounding area and will conduct approximately 80 individual interviews over a two-day period. Individuals to be interviewed include students, faculty, alumni, and staff with the university; local area merchants and neighborhood associations; officials from the D.C. government, including the Mayor's Office, Parks and Recreation, D.C. Public Schools, and city planners; local Advisory Neighborhood Commission members; local and citywide Chambers of Commerce; representatives from other area universities and the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area; among other stakeholders.

The panel will offer recommendations on: 1) how the university can fully realize its goal of serving as a catalyst for multi-use development, 2) determine the appropriate use for land development opportunities that could result from current long-term revitalization efforts, and 3) how to the university can best position itself with developers and stakeholders.

The advisory panel will then spend two days framing their recommendations and drafting a report that will be presented to the public at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 17 in Gallaudet University's Foster Auditorium. The university's Campus Plan Steering Committee (CPSC) will then take the panel's final recommendations into consideration in developing its plan for future development. Specifically, the CPSC will consider the implications of the panel's recommendations in terms of living and learning facilities, academic instruction needs, and "DeafSpace" design elements, among other considerations.

Since the opening of the New York Avenue Metro stop, improved local bus service, and the District of Columbia's (D.C.) consideration of a plan to construct a streetcar route along Florida Avenue, the area around the Florida Avenue Market has been poised for mixed-use redevelopment. Gallaudet, which owns undeveloped land within the Florida Avenue Market area, will be a key player in helping create an achievable vision that dovetails with all stakeholder interests.

Through the advisory services program, ULI assembles experts in the fields of real estate and land use planning to participate on panels worldwide, offering recommendations for complex planning and development projects, programs and policies. According to Tom Eitler, vice president of advisory services, the strength of the program lies in ULI's unique ability to draw on the knowledge and experience of its nearly 30,000 members, including land developers, public officials, academics, lenders, architects, planners and urban designers.

This analysis from a wide variety of land use experts, coupled with substantial input from representatives of the communities, produces excellent results "time after time," Eitler says. "The panel process helps build consensus to support an effort that benefits the entire community. It's often the fresh, outside view provided by the panel that achieves these results. We seek possibilities and opportunities that might have been overlooked. The advisory services panel program is all about seeing things a different way."

ULI teams approach the project from all perspectives, including market potential, land use and design, financing and development strategies, and organizing for implementation. Each team proposes practical solutions that serve as a blueprint to move the project forward. Panelists have developed strategies for a broad range of land uses, including downtown revitalization; retail/entertainment development, inner-city neighborhood revival, affordable housing, brownfields development, public facility sites such as stadiums, arenas and convention centers, transit-oriented development, resort and master-planned communities, and military base reuse.

Past sponsors of ULI advisory services panels include: federal, state and local government agencies; regional councils of government; chambers of commerce; redevelopment authorities; private developers and property owners; community development corporations; lenders; historic preservation groups; non-profit community groups; environmental organizations; and economic development agencies. Over the years, the program has been a leader in offering redevelopment advice for challenges across the country, including recommendations for Oklahoma City after the 1995 federal building bombing; Minneapolis following the I-35W Mississippi River Bridge in 2007; Lower Manhattan after the 9-11 terrorist attacks; and the Gulf Coast region following Hurricane Katrina.

About the Urban Land Institute

The Urban Land Institute (www.uli.org) is a global nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the Institute has nearly 30,000 members representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines.

SOURCE Urban Land Institute