News & Publications

You have probably heard of Kickstarter and other popular crowdfunding platforms that are used to obtain funding from individual investors for everything from independent movies and music to health care and legal expenses. In the past few years, crowdfunding platforms have also popped up to offer individuals a way to invest in commercial real estate (CRE) projects. This alternative form of financing could pay off for both investors and developers. Birth of CRE Crowdfunding The [...]

According to recent media stories, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced that he is directing his Department of City Planning (DCP) to study expanding regulations prohibiting as-of-right development of hotels throughout the City. If such a proposal were adopted, it would likely be similar to other recent actions taken that prohibit development of hotels in certain areas without first obtaining a special permit through New York City's lengthy Uniform Land Use Review [...]

The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) issued its Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) Determination to the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) on Aug. 22, 2019, concluding that the region needs to construct 1,344,740 housing units over the next decade. (SCAG Regional Housing Need Determination, p.1, 2019.) The Determination further called for 557,336, or 41.4 percent of the units, to be low-income or very low-income housing. (Id, Attachment 1.) This is more than triple the RHNA for [...]