Transforming Cities

On this episode I’m speaking with Arun Paul, Founder of Priya Living, where he and his team create places where hearts sing and spirits soar. Arun started his place-making career at The Irvine Company, where he helped create best-in-class residential communities throughout coastal California. He then spent many of his formative years in the resort industry, where he co-founded two companies, both...

On this episode I’m speaking with Michael Pink, CEO and Managing Partner of Left Lane Ventures, which develops boutique multifamily urban infill projects ranging in size from 12 to 75 units. Michael began his career as an attorney serving in the roles of Associate, Partner, and then Of Counsel at Best & Flanagan where he practiced commercial and construction litigation for a decade. In 2000, M...

On this episode I’m speaking with Brian Murray, the CEO and Founder of Shift Capital, a Certified B-Corp impact real estate group headquartered in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia and focused on aligning capital and philanthropy with underserved communities. Brian is a seasoned entrepreneur who strives to be a catalyst for positive change. Through his work at Shift, Brian is focused on...

On this episode I’m speaking with Jamie Giellis, founder and principal of Centro, a consulting firm which works to support cities and neighborhoods through community-led renewal and reinvestment by exploring their underlying opportunities and challenges. Jamie has been practicing in the community development space for more than 20 years, working in communities of varied sizes – all facing unique c...

On this end-of-year episode, we'll take a brief look back at some of our listener favorites, diving into the archives to revisit a few great conversations! If you haven't already - please support the show by subscribing to Transforming Cities, like or star the podcast, and leave us a positive review on Apple Podcasts. Check back with us in 2021 for more great guests and conversations across the re...

On this episode I’m speaking with Pinar Guvenc. Pinar is the Partner of SOUR an international, award-winning architecture and design studio with the mission to address social and urban problems through sustainable, adaptive and inclusive methodologies. In addition to managing the business operations, she also leads the strategic planning, research and partnerships efforts of the studio. Prior to S...

On this episode I’m speaking with Matt McPheely. Matt is a native of Greenville, SC, and recently moved back home after a decade(+) in San Francisco and Austin, TX. His work over that time has been at the intersection of finance, entrepreneurship, and real estate - an admittedly strange combination, but one that has led to a drive to challenge the status quo of the way real estate development is d...

On this episode I’m speaking with Adam Fenton, Principal and Co-Founder of Narrate Companies. Adam brings over 14 years of experience in direct equity real estate investment and development, having developed over 1,500 units, valued at nearly $900 million. Raised in Iowa, Adam started his career as Principal Real Estate investor on the Equity Investment Management team. Seeking a change in lifesty...

On this episode I’m speaking with Jonathan Berk. Since 2016 he’s served as a Director at the Detroit-based placemaking startup Patronicity, and their new Placemaking Advisory firm, Bench Consulting, supporting hundreds of community-driven placemaking projects across the country. Jonathan is also the co-founder of Retail Reimagined, an organization leveraging creative collaborations and innovative...

On this episode I’m speaking with Tanya Spaulding, Principal and a 20-year Shea Design veteran. Before coming to Shea, Tanya started her career in marketing, advertising, and public relations having worked for two Minneapolis-based firms including Weber Shandwick and Martin Williams. Her focus has always been on consumer-based brands and businesses. Tanya is a member and frequent speaking contribu...

On this episode I’m speaking with Karin Brandt, CEO and founder of coUrbanize. An urban planner by trade, Karin launched the coUrbanize platform to power more effective community engagement throughout the planning and development process. Karin holds a master’s degree in city planning from MIT and began her career in urban development at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, where she co-edited In...

On this episode I’m speaking with Andrew Davidge, Senior Urban Planner at Gladki Planning Associates, based in Toronto, Canada. As a policy planner, his work focuses on helping municipalities develop frameworks to manage growth and development in a way that fosters successful communities. A particular area of focus has been creating a clear idea of what a healthy and complete community looks like,...

On this episode I’m speaking with Kelly Regan, Editorial Director at Next City. Kelly has been working for two decades in magazines, books and digital publishing, overseeing content creation for outlets such as Google and the Frommer’s Travel Guides. She’s a longtime freelance editor and writer, specializing in science, travel, educational publishing, and dream interpretation. She’s also the autho...

On this episode I’m speaking with Danielle Arigoni, Director of Livable Communities at AARP. She works to support AARP’s 53 state offices (including DC, USVI and Puerto Rico) -- and the nearly 500 localities and several states enrolled in the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities. Danielle leads the team responsible for supporting Age-Friendly Network members; developing free practit...

On this City Sessions episode I’m joined by Leith Dumas, Vice President at The Opus Group, and Paul Hyde of Hyde Development. With construction being deemed an essential business in much of the country, we discuss how job sites continue to function in the current climate. We also touch on the velocity of certain product types, as well as the contractual fine print during this pandemic. Related lin...

On this City Sessions episode I’m joined by Tyler Carner of the CBRE Industrial Group in Denver, and Paul Hyde of Hyde Development in Minneapolis. As the nation approaches one month of stay-at-home orders, we tap into what capital markets are doing in response to the pandemic. In addition, we touch on emerging trends that are moving into the spotlight, such as e-commerce, onshore manufacturing, an...

On this City Sessions episode I’m joined by Annie Spaeth, owner of The Lynhall restaurant, and Andy Risvold, co-owner of Forgotten Star Brewing - both based in Minneapolis. Annie and Andy represent just two of the thousands of small F&B businesses deeply impacted by the global coronavirus pandemic. We hear from them about what their landscapes look like as they weather the third week of shutdo...

On this City Sessions episode I’m joined by Mark Ernster of SullivanHayes Brokerage in Denver, and Paul Hyde of Hyde Development in Minneapolis. With the outbreak of Covid-19 shutting down many cities with various shelter-in-place actions, including restaurant and bar shutdowns, we discuss these impacts from the front lines. Related links for this episode: · One Fair Wage Emergency Fund · Sullivan...

On this City Sessions episode I’m joined by Anna Mackay of Guerilla Development in Portland, and Paul Hyde of Hyde Development in Minneapolis. With the global outbreak of the Coronavirus taking hold close to home this week, we discuss their take from the front lines. Related links for this episode: · One Fair Wage Emergency Fund · Guerrilla Development · Hyde Development Be sure to support this po...

On this episode I’m speaking with Max Musicant, Founder and President of The Musicant Group, a space activation firm dedicated to “creating places where people want to be”. The firm has pioneered a holistic approach to the creation of place that integrates design, events, and management systems all through the lens of the user experience. He and his firm have demonstrated that community and commer...

On this episode I’m speaking with Nate Loewentheil, Vice President at Camber Creek. Nate supports Camber Creek’s deal flow, diligence, transactions and investor and public relations. Prior to joining Camber Creek, Nate founded and scaled multiple national organizations, including the Roosevelt Campus Network. He also served as a Special Assistant to the President at the National Economic Council i...

On this episode I’m speaking with Nicole Swerhun, Principal at Swerhun Inc. Nicole specializes in public engagement for public projects by way of running processes that connect public feedback to the decisions made. She created her own firm 15 years ago and has delivered hundreds of projects, all focused on finding common ground among many voices to support decisions related to things that we shar...

On this episode I’m speaking with Matthew Rosenberg, CEO and Design Director at M-Rad. At M-Rad, the business model surrounds his unique mission to revolutionize the architecture industry to resolve its inefficiencies by expanding the scope of the architect. Matthew's an international award-winning designer whose acclamations have landed him on Forbes ‘Small Giants’ list while INC Magazine has nam...

On this episode I’m speaking with Scott Arnoldy, founder of Triten Real Estate Partners. Triten pursues flexible investment strategies that involve a high level of repositioning or development. As Founding Partner, Scott drives the strategic goals of the company with a focus on investment thesis identification as well as execution oversight. Since its founding, TREP has acquired or developed over...

On this holiday episode we'll take a brief look back at some of our listener favorites from the past year, diving deep into the archives to revisit a few great conversations. If you haven't already - please support the show by subscribing to Transforming cities, like or star the podcast, and even leave us a positive review on Apple podcasts. There aren't too many urban-related podcasts out there,...