12:00-1:15 Luncheon with keynote speaker, the Hon. Wellington E. Webb, Former Mayor of Denver, and founder of Webb Group Intl., LLC
While in office from 1991 to July 2003, Mayor Webb oversaw an investment of $7 billion in infrastructure, including the Denver International Airport, the redevelopment of former Stapleton Airport into a thriving residential/business community, and the revitalization of Denver’s downtown. In October 2003, he founded Webb Group International, working with businesses and cities on economic development projects, public relations and other consulting areas. Mayor Webb will share lessons learned from his years in both the public and private sectors. Mayor Webb will be introduced by his friend Mr. Fernando De Leon, Managing Director, INCAP Fund, who attended last year’s Urban Marketplace and will speak to several deals he made as a result.

1:30-4:30 Featured Presentations (2 sessions each hour, running concurrently)

1:30-2:30 Featured Presentation I:
“Urban Opportunities in a Booming Houston Economy”
The Changing Context of Urban Development in Houston
Speaker: Dr. Peter Bishop, University of Houston Futures Studies Program
Enormous changes are looming in the fundamental economic, demographic, and environmental realities that will shape development in Houston in the decades to come. Population growth, ethnic shifts, immigration, the cost of energy, transformations in key economic sectors and more will all transform the context in which we work. What are these changes and how can developers make a profit g in a rapidly changing market?

1:30-2:30 Featured Presentation II: “Is Plan Just a Four-Letter Word?”
Public Policy to Manage Urban Change in the 21st Century
Speakers: David Crossley, Gulf Coast Institute; Roger Galatas, Roger Galatas Interests; Leonard Gilroy, Reason Foundation; Patti Knudson Joiner, Knudson & Associates; Ed Taravella, TARACORP; Doug O. Williams, Doug O. Williams Consulting
Houston prides itself on its laissez faire approach to planning and development, which many credit for the city’s vitality and economic success. Some question, though, whether a “market leads, infrastructure follows” approach to regional growth can help us cope with problems of mobility, clean air, quality of life, and more. Do we need to change the way we plan? Or should we keep on doing what we’re doing? Experts from here and afar will join the debate.

2:30-3:30 Featured Presentation III: “Maintaining the Houston Advantage”
Promoting Housing Affordability and Managing Neighborhood Change
Speaker: Richard D. Baron, Chairman & CEO, McCormack Baron Salazar, St. Louis, MO
One of Houston’s competitive advantages has long been relatively low housing costs. But the advantage seems at risk. Inside-the-loop neighborhoods face rapid transformation in a hot market. Close-in development is driving up prices. Many households are squeezed out in the process. Who is moving and who’s moving out? Who are the early movers to urban neighborhoods? What strategies can we find to make sure that people of all incomes can live in the city while we preserve the character and quality of existing neighborhoods? Richard Baron, one of the nation’s most successful developers of inner-city mixed-income communities, shares his perspective.

2:30-3:30 Featured Presentation IV: “Profit from the Public Realm”
Making the ‘Public Realm’ for Changing Retail and Residential Markets
Speakers: Dr. Mariela Alfonzo, University of California, Irvine; David Levine, HSM Urban Partners, Inc., Dallas, TX; Tacee Webb, American Apparel, Los Angeles, CA
Some of the hottest trends in real estate – mixed use, street retail, transit oriented development – all depend on something called the “public realm.” Walkable streets, inviting public spaces, and connections to transit all form the urban fabric that support these emerging forms of development. In Houston, only fragments of this fabric exist. This session will explore the practical principles, programs and projects that can stitch it together and expand it.

3:30-4:30 Featured Presentation I continued

3:30-4:30 Featured Presentation II Continued: Focus on Urban Corridors Planning
Speaker: Marlene Gafrick, City of Houston Planning & Development
The Director of the Planning & Development Department will discuss the results of the Urban Corridors Planning Workshop, which will have just been held on Saturday, August 26. Urban corridors are areas that are being changed by growth, increasing density, rapid transit or new major road construction. The City is seeking to set new standards where urban development is occurring, and this workshop will have been the first phase of this planning process that will focus on the neighborhood and commercial areas in the six transit corridors. Citizen input from this and future pahses will lead to changes in city ordinances and policies.

1:30-4:30 Roundtable Discussion Groups
Experts from the real estate industry, government, non-profits, and academia sit at tables throughout the room, where attendees can ask questions and engage them and fellow attendees in a free-flowing conversation on the following topics:
“Financing the Deal”, “Potholes in the Road to Urban Deals (and How to Avoid Them)”, “Successful Inner-City Retail”, “Making Affordable Housing Happen”, “Public/Private Partnerships”, “Greenbuilding- What Does It Really Mean?”, “New Markets Tax Credits”, “Saving Places, Saving Spaces”, and “Neighborhood Spotlight: Eastwood”

1:30-6:30 Marketplace
Exhibitors from both for-profit and non-profit development service providers, communities, and local governments market their development plans, incentives and services to developers and financiers.

4:30-6:30 Cocktail Reception
Participants put the information they have gained and the contacts they have made to immediate use, interacting with one another to lay the foundation for future collaborative efforts.

Gold Sponsors