Events
Overview: Every community needs housing options that meet a diversity of incomes and lifestyles. Downtowns, city centers and neighborhood districts throughout North America are working to make attainable housing a reality for people seeking an urban lifestyle. Urban place management organizations of all sizes and resource levels can play a role in encouraging more housing at a variety of price points and of varying styles.
What can urban place management leaders do to make attainable housing a reality? Hear from three panelists as they discuss their work towards attainable housing goals in their city. Learn how districts can leverage private and public sector connection, board and bylaw development, and foster new initiatives that reduce the cost of an urban lifestyle to ensure housing attainability.
February 5, 2021 | 11:15am ET (8:15am PT)
Learning Objectives
- Learn how your organization can be pro-active in attainable housing advocacy.
- Understand the financial dynamics at play in the housing market.
- Develop a starting point for approaching urban housing issues in any size city.
Domain: Economic Development
Pricing: IDA Members: Free | Nonmembers: $40
Advancing Places is an online series aimed at empowering IDA members with the solutions needed to address the most critical urban issues of the day. This session will include a moderated Q&A and will be recorded for member and nonmember use in the future.
Speakers:
- Michael Deemer, Executive Vice President for Business Development, Downtown Cleveland Alliance (Cleveland, OH)
- Amy Geren, Program Director, Portland Downtown (Portland, ME)
- Ray Gibbs, RLA, ASLA, Executive Director, Forward High Point (High Point, NC)
Moderator:
- David Downey, President & CEO, International Downtown Association
Speakers
Michael Deemer
Executive Vice President for Business Development, Downtown Cleveland Alliance (Cleveland, OH)
Michael leads DCA’s Business Development Center, the “go-to” resource for attracting people, jobs and investment to Downtown Cleveland. He previously served in leadership positions for the Ohio Governor’s Office, Ohio Attorney General, Ohio Senate, and Ohio Poverty Law Center. Michael served as Vice-Chair of the 2019 IDA Top Issues Council on Housing Attainability and was a member of the Leadership Cleveland Class of 2019.
Amy Geren
Program Director, Portland Downtown (Portland, ME)
Amy Geren has analytic, statistical and evaluative experience in local government, nonprofit, and private business. Through her work with Portland Downtown, Amy develops, manages and evaluates programs in support of the Downtown Improvement District’s clean and safe initiatives. She serves on numerous municipal and organizational committees, and is a board member of the Portland 2030 District. Amy holds a Master’s Degree of Community Planning and Development from the Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service.
Ray Gibbs
Executive Director, Forward High Point (High Point, NC)
Ray Gibbs, RLA, ASLA, is the current Executive Director of the downtown development organization in High Point, North Carolina (Forward High Point). Over his long career Ray has been the Chief Executive of Downtown Organizations for 25 years, but has also held other public and private positions. These include; City Planning Director, Multifamily real estate development, leading a Community Development Corporation (CDC), and as Senior Landscape Architect & Urban Planner with an International Design and Engineering firm. His current organization, Forward High Point is very proactive, having acquired over 16 acres of land in downtown High Point with a total value of around $15 million. The majority of that land, was sold after assembly for new development, which when completed will represent about $150 million in new investment.
More Information
Registration information: When registering for a webinar, please complete the sign-up as yourself and not your organization. If additional staff would like to attend the same webinar, each individual must register as themselves to receive their unique login link. Questions? Email registration@downtown.org.
IDA is committed to making our educational sessions accessible to everyone, regardless of ability, and to reasonably accommodating the assistive needs of our members, attendees and partners. We are actively working to increase the accessibility of our offerings. In so doing, we strive to comply with the available standards and guidelines under the Americans with Disabilities Act and related laws to the greatest extent possible. If you are having trouble accessing an IDA offering, or have a question regarding session accessibility features, please contact IDA at registration@downtown.org for assistance.
Interested in Sponsoring?
Gain access to an audience of urban leaders who want to learn about your product or service.
Interested in Membership?
IDA membership provides resources and solutions to help organizations grow and thrive.
Questions?
For registration assistance or further information, please contact IDA’s registration team.
