By Adam D. Lustig, Suzanne M. Amaducci-Adams

The University of Miami held its fourth annual Real Estate Impact Conference on February 18th at the JW Marriott Marquis Miami in Downtown Miami. In front of a standing room only crowd of approximately 600 people, both local and national real estate heavyweights spoke on topics such as Retail Evolution and Revolutions, New Concepts in Lifestyle Hotels and Creating Value in Urban Real Estate by the Use of Public Space. The keynote speaker was Richard LeFrak, Chairman and CEO of the LeFrak Organization, a privately held, family run company based in New York.

In the Real Estate Revolutions segment: Creating Value in Urban Real Estate by the Use of Public Space panel, Charles Bohl, Director and Associate Professor in the Master in Real Estate Development and Urbanism Program at the University of Miami served as the moderator. The panelists were Philip Aarons, Principal and Founding Partner of Millennium Partners; Meg Daly, Founder of Friends of the Underline; Steve Owens, President of Swire Properties; and Vincent Signorello, President and CEO of Florida East Coast Industries (FECI). Mr. Aarons discussed his involvement with the High Line Project in New York City, which has been extraordinarily successful in transforming an unused elevated freight rail line into a free public park on Manhattan’s West Side. Ms. Daly is working on a project in Miami called the Underline, which will develop 10 miles of bicycle and walking paths under the Metrorail line that runs from Dadeland Station to Brickell Station.

“We want to find ways to take these leftover lands and give them back to the public in a meaningful way,” according to Ms. Daly.

Swire Properties, the developer of Brickell Citi Centre, is working on the Brickell Citi Centre Garden Walk to create a public green space around its project. FECI’s Ludlam Trail is a 6 mile stretch of an unused rail line from Dadeland to the Miami International Airport. According to Mr. Signorello, FECI plans to develop several mixed-use projects at key nodes along Ludlam Trail. The panelists discussed the exciting potential to connect the Underline, Ludlam Trail and the Riverwalk around Downtown Miami and Brickell to create a continuous public space.

For the complete article and more information on the conference, click here.