We’ve always thought of housing as shelter and little more. Now we are on the cusp of a massive cultural shift here in the United States, and soon we’ll expect our homes to be much more than a place to hang our hat at the end of the day. It seems that the possibilities are endless and that they are very much in our grasp. Now is not the time to limit our collective … [Read more...] about Embracing Smart Homes.
Development
The rise of prefab.
The residential and commercial building industry has changed radically in the last few decades, following the pattern of many other vital sectors of the US economy. Two of the developments that the industry has been focused on, which happen to be interlinked, are prefabrication and offsite construction. Coupled with this, vertical integration is a focus of many companies as … [Read more...] about The rise of prefab.
The contrarian developer.
Scott Choppin is the founder of the Urban Pacific Group of Companies, a Long Beach, CA based real estate development company. Founded in 2000, Urban Pacific focuses exclusively on urban infill and affordable housing communities throughout California and the western US. Over the last 18 years, the company has developed nearly 1,700 units of unique to market urban housing … [Read more...] about The contrarian developer.
Making allies, not opponents.
Impact investing is a relatively new phenomenon. Community-minded entrepreneurs who strive to be socially responsible are independently coming up with innovative solutions to solve or alleviate problems across the country. They are tackling issues like housing insecurity, the deleterious effects of suburban sprawl and environmental concerns related to housing. While every … [Read more...] about Making allies, not opponents.
Investors as educators.
Most people have some familiarity with the process of buying real estate, either through popular media or their own experiences purchasing a home. But when you enter the world of commercial property development and investment, there is a "lingua franca" that is unique to the real estate business. While there may be a justifiable need for this "secret language" between real … [Read more...] about Investors as educators.