On December 5, 2024, New York City adopted City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, the most significant update to the city’s zoning code since 1961. The city faces a persistent housing shortage, with experts estimating that 473,000 additional housing units will be needed by 2032 to meet demand. City of Yes aims to address this this issue by increasing allowable housing density, facilitating office-to-residential conversions, and reducing parking requirements. In doing so, the initiative is expected to enable the creation of 80,000 new housing units over the next 15 years.

How City of Yes expands housing development

A key feature of the plan is the Universal Affordability Preference (UAP) program, which allows developers in medium- and high-density areas to build 20% more housing if the additional units are affordable to households earning 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI). This policy was designed to complement the 485-x tax incentive, ensuring that new residential projects remain financially viable.

The Floor Area Ratio (FAR) increases enabled by City of Yes vary by zoning district, street width, and whether the site is inside or outside the Manhattan core. Developments in historic districts still must adhere to the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s regulations to preserve neighborhood character.

Where does this create the biggest opportunity?

To better understand the impact of these zoning changes, our team at ArchTam mapped the new maximum allowable floor area under the UAP program. By comparing previous limits with new maximums, our team identified neighborhoods with the greatest newly unlocked development potential. Use the interactive map below to explore the impact of the City of Yes in each neighborhood. To find a specific area, use the search function in the top right corner. The legend is found immediately below the search function.

Percent Increase in Maximum Allowable Square Footage by Neighborhood

Some neighborhoods saw substantial increases in their development potential. Park Slope and Prospect Heights in Brooklyn, along with Bronx Park in the Bronx, have seen the largest increases in maximum allowable square footage under City of Yes.

Available development rights by parcel

Our analysis also compared the existing built-out floor area with new maximums to identify unused development rights at the parcel level.

Most parcels receiving a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) boost under City of Yes saw an increase of less than 2.0. While these individual increases may seem modest, they collectively enable an additional 295 million square feet of development citywide.

Many of the City’s most underbuilt parcels tend to be in commercially zoned districts, which are largely unaffected by the UAP program. For example, Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center station in Brooklyn has a concentration of underbuilt commercial parcels near the transit hub, presenting an opportunity for additional transit-oriented development.

Beyond the UAP program, City of Yes also expands eligibility for office-to-residential conversions. Now, buildings constructed as recently as 1990 can be converted to housing in any area where residential uses are permitted. This shift could be particularly impactful in neighborhoods like Midtown Manhattan, where many office spaces remain underutilized.

Use the interactive map below to explore untapped development potential by parcel under City of Yes.

Unbuilt FAR by Parcel

What’s next?

With City of Yes now in effect, developers, city officials, and community members have new tools to help address New York’s housing shortage. Understanding how these zoning changes impact specific properties and neighborhoods is key to making the most of this opportunity.

Interested in learning more about development opportunities under City of Yes? Reach out to our team at ArchTam for data-driven insights and strategic planning support.

The post “City of Yes”: Unlocking New York City’s Housing Potential appeared first on Blog.

Laura Jevons is a director in our Cost Management team in London and has been with the business for almost eight years. Having worked across a number of sectors in the early part of her career, she specialized in the Culture sector just over 10 years ago and now works with a number of ‘household names’ across the U.K. including the British Museum, the Science Museum Group, the Natural History Museum, the Barbican, the Eden Project and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Tell us about what inspired you to join the industry.

I think I was always destined to be a quantity surveyor (QS). My father started out his career as a QS too before going on to be the Managing Director of a contracting firm in the Midlands which he retired from last month. As a young child I would play ‘offices’ with the rolled-up drawings, scale rule, calculator and take off paper that he brought home from work. I also remember helping him sort out subcontract tenders one weekend at his office.

When I left school, however, I went on to study Biochemistry at The University of Leeds but fairly quickly realised that wasn’t the career for me. So, after seeing an opportunity advertised at the careers fair in my final year, I reverted to what I knew and went to play ‘offices’ for real, doing bills of quantities working for a small QS practice in Leeds, who also sponsored me through a master’s degree in quantity surveying and Commercial Management.

What is your favorite ArchTam project that you’ve worked on and why?

I love the iconic and brutalist architecture of the Barbican Estate in London, especially the way that the 44-story residential towers still dominate the surrounding skyline and the maze that is the Highwalks. I’ve always said it was one of my favourite buildings. So when the RFP for the Barbican Renewal Project came out, I was quick to offer to lead and, naturally, was excited when we were appointed to deliver the cost management.

The project is a masterplan development that will see the refurbishment of the 40-year-old, Grade II listed Barbican Arts Centre so that it continues to meet the needs of 21st century audiences. The aim is to bring the deteriorating estate up to the modern standards required for world-class cultural venues, improve accessibility, energy performance and sustainability and connect better with the City and the local community.

I lead the cost management team, coordinating a number of workstreams for the first phase of the project including the foyer refurbishment, the redevelopment of the restaurant block, renovation of the Lakeside Terrace, renewal of the conservatory, the largest Glasshouse in London, plus a major infrastructure replacement program.

As the building is Grade II listed, one of the main challenges in refurbishing and modernising the space has been ensuring that the original design intent of the architecture is maintained and that interventions are sympathetic to the building’s heritage status. An example of this is the bespoke design being developed for the light fittings which are being upgraded from tungsten to LED. They will be specially manufactured to match the existing, original fittings while improving energy efficiency. Further, the façade design has been carefully considered to ensure that u-values meet current thermal insulation regulations but that the slim profile of the glazing frame is maintained to match the existing facade. As cost consultants we have therefore had to ensure that budgets are appropriately set, engaging early with the specialist supply chain to market test our rates and also consider the impact on procurement, ensuring orders are placed to meet long lead times for specialist and bespoke manufacture.

As with any cultural institution, funding is a challenge. Having initially developed an aspirational long term masterplan scheme at RIBA Stage 0/1, we have worked with the Barbican and the design team throughout Stage 2 to prioritise key works for the first five years. We therefore divided our cost plan up into smaller packages of work, assessing issues such as operational criticality, audience experience, sustainability enhancements and logistical implications, then produced a cashflow forecast to help consider affordability. This process has ensured that critical works are being addressed first and having supported the Barbican through the business case development, we have just been awarded funding from the City of London for the first phase of work. We’re currently progressing through RIBA Stage 3, hoping to see the first projects start on site in 2027.

Tell us a story of how your work positively impacted the community.

Working in the Culture sector, most of our projects provide a positive impact on the community. Through either placemaking or through improving accessibility to both performing and visual arts, we help to build community, provide education, strengthen social cohesion and support economic growth.

One project in particular though stands out in this regard and that’s the Eden Project Dundee.

We are appointed as cost managers from RIBA Stage 2 onwards, to support this transformative project to provide a new visitor destination, which will see the remediation of a former gas works in Dundee, Scotland into a biodiverse attraction. It also acts as part of the Dundee Waterfront masterplan helping to regenerate the old, industrial, Dundee waterfront, addressing local challenges outside of the site boundary including public access and lack of amenities. Extensive public realm surrounding the site, a pedestrian bridge joining the Eden Project to the waterfront and improvements to transport connections will catalyse wider transformation within the area to create a vibrant local community, grow the economy, provide new educational opportunities and promote health and well-being for both residents and visitors to the area.

The attraction itself also provides community benefit, seeking to engage people with the wonder of our living world, our dependence on it and the threats that it faces. New, iconic venues, including a re-purposed gas holder will help fuse experience, performance, education, art and research aiming to encourage reflection and action in relation to the climate emergency our precious planet faces.

Sustainability has been the key theme for the project, which will be an exemplar of regenerative design, achieving carbon neutrality, delivering net biodiversity gain and strengthening the health of the natural world. The design therefore maximises circular economy principles and includes for both in-situ and ex-situ re-use along with the use of recycled materials obtained from other projects such as structural elements and glazing. To allow for this, grid sizes of the buildings have been safeguarded to accommodate the type and dimensions of these recycled units. Options are also being considered to sustainably grow timber, locally for use on the scheme. As part of the process, we have therefore had to engage with the local supply chain and sustainability consultant for advice, and market intelligence and testing of these innovative solutions.

The collaborative efforts made by the project team saw planning permission for the project granted in June 2024 and we continue to develop the Stage 3 / 4 design while investment and funding for the project is secured.

Share a piece of career advice.

Try to enjoy work as it’s a major part of your life. It is more fulfilling and rewarding if you are passionate about what you do. So do something you love if you can. I feel very lucky in this regard!

And always remember — it’s nice to be important but it’s more important to be nice.

The post People Spotlight: Meet Laura Jevons appeared first on Blog.

Vehicle electrification can stimulate the economy, create jobs and, by reducing carbon emissions and other pollution, address inequity, protect our environment and improve public health. Here, we examine current and future policy and funding mechanisms needed to advance this equitable, clean and economically advantageous form of transportation.

Where we are

As we write this blog, the federal government has yet to develop meaningful targeted policies, funding mechanisms or regulations to advance vehicle electrification. States and localities are pressing ahead, working independently of the federal government to develop innovative policies that will advance the transition.

Vehicle electrification is progressing. States like California and New York are taking aggressive approaches establishing initiatives with specific policies and targets tied to utility and transportation sustainability, and climate action goals. The California Air Resources Board is mandating that fleet vehicles across the state be electrified by 2040. Progress is not limited to the coasts. Some of the most aggressive policies are coming from the Midwest and Mountain states. In 2018, Colorado established a comprehensive plan to develop fast-charging corridors across the state. In Illinois, the governor has pledged that his state will be the best place in the United States to drive or manufacture an electric vehicle as part of his published plan, “Eight Principles for a Clean and Renewable Illinois Economy.” Together, those states have pledged to have 1.7 million EVs on state roads by 2030. Both are part of comprehensive approaches aimed at creating jobs, reducing pollution, tackling the climate crisis and ensuring that all communities benefit from the transition to a clean energy economy. They aren’t alone — more states and cities are expected to roll out their own policies once they determine which are successful for early adopters.

Utilities are studying policies to expand energy generation and grid capacity as they work to meet the expected new surge of energy demand resulting from vehicle electrification. Generation increases are expected to come from renewables such as solar, so utilities are opening studies to determine how to best optimize financial and performance success when connecting clean energy sources to battery storage. Careful planning is required to develop a grid that can move energy where and when its needed. As part of this effort, governments and utilities are undertaking studies and projections of when and how people will charge to determine grid impacts and costs.

Funding requires flexibility

Even as states work on policies to accelerate electrification, funding possibilities must be expanded to ensure accelerated goals are met. We work with utilities, regional planners and fleet operators across the country developing options to prioritize investments, tapping new financing strategies and targeting incentives to accelerate electric vehicle adoption, so that e-charging infrastructure is available and affordable.

From that work, we recognize that paying for needed upgrades and charging infrastructure for fleet, transit and personal vehicles can be a major consideration. While there are a few federal grant opportunities available, there are other varied arrays of funding opportunities that can help with the costs. These include traditional incentives from utilities, as well as local and state transportation grants. And, in some instances, states and localities are developing public-private partnerships as one more strategy to innovate on the delivery side of this new infrastructure.

Partnerships: A winning proposition

States, municipalities, regional and local agencies, and utilities have a mutual interest in advancing electrification and are developing partnerships to move the process along. Partnerships provide benefits for all concerned.

Utilities benefit from new customers, a key consideration for an industry where demand has been historically flat. Municipalities and states will see new revenue sources resulting from infrastructure investments, utility taxes and use-based franchise fees. Agencies can reduce systems costs as electrification enables transit networks to run more efficiently with less required maintenance. Importantly, communities will see improved environmental and health benefits through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollution tied to transportation.

So where do we go from here?

The transition to electrification would benefit from a national policy addressing climate change and clear policy targets requiring electrification, sending a strong signal to the markets to boost already significant and aggressive technology investment. Setting this aside, it falls to the state and municipal governments and utilities to prioritize carbon reduction and organize their policies and programs so that vulnerable communities are prioritized for the economic and public health benefits that transportation electrification can deliver.

Some states have established aggressive carbon targets and ask utilities to help meet these goals. This is often accomplished by incentivizing customer behaviors, providing rebates for actions such as installing energy-efficient light bulbs to conserve energy. Similar incentive programs are being rolled out for electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, and increasingly, these programs place equity at the center of program design and delivery.

From government actions to private investments and stronger partnerships, innovative solutions are being developed and tested across the country and the lessons we can learn from those innovations are clear. If we want to get the most from transportation electrification investments, our policies must encourage and require a clear connection between climate action, economic opportunity and equity. Even the most aggressive actions by state and local governments still need an active and supportive federal partner to engage the private sector if we want to ensure that we recover from our current public health and economic crisis and build a future that is healthy, sustainable and inclusive.

The post Energizing Our Future: Policy and Funding for Electric Vehicles appeared first on Blog.

While the transit industry continues to hope for clarity, there are avenues that agencies can pursue to help shore up transit’s future, many stemming from tools that can gather and deliver information. On the passenger side, tools such as rider information applications can help revive rider confidence. For agencies, forecasting and scenario planning can enable informed decisions concerning funding, budget allocations and resources. These efforts together will help keep transit rolling by supporting healthy cities and thriving state economies.

Here are three ways that these tools can help cities maintain the health of their transit networks.

Instilling rider confidence

The future of transit is intrinsically linked to its ridership — which has dropped dramatically as a result of the pandemic. COVID-19 has taken a toll on riders’ confidence in transit safety, with many believing there is a connection between transit use and contracting the virus, despite reports refuting these links. A recent report from the American Public Transportation Association indicated there is no direct correlation between the use of public transit and contracting the coronavirus. The New York Times supports this statement, specifically highlighting conditions in New York City, stating that New Yorkers tend to practice social distancing as they travel on subways and buses while also wearing masks and avoiding talking, eating or drinking.

Regaining rider confidence is essential to the health of our transit systems. Transit agencies can help riders feel more comfortable by prioritizing system cleaning and disinfecting. This, along with providing clear passenger information can enable riders to safely schedule their trips and address their concerns. ArchTam provided cleaning and disinfection protocol guidance to Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) to help protect against COVID-19.

While emphasizing the importance of wearing masks and practicing social distancing, transit agencies are also implementing technologies like automated passenger counting, touchless fare payment systems and integrated intelligent solutions to safeguard riders and workers. For passengers, ArchTam’s Transportation Resilient Integrated Passenger Solution (TRIPS) provides an integrated approach to safety by enabling riders to plan their rides for when there are fewer people using the system.

Offering options and information

Tools such as scenario planning — looking at potential occurrences and delivering insight related to different mobility conditions and budget allocations — are increasingly important. Scenario planning and forecasting tools such as ArchTam’s Mobilitics^TM provides agency executives with varied alternatives and up-to-date information giving them if/then scenarios to plan for appropriate mid-, short- and long-term budgetary allocations that can help maintain transit health beyond the short term. Investment is important to the next wave of transit advances — including electrification. Scenario planning can highlight risks and tradeoffs and help to balance immediate concerns with long-term goals.

Options and information are especially important as we continue to manage transit systems in the age of COVID-19, which to date is impacting how many passengers use transit and how. New Jersey Transit is employing ArchTam’s Mobilitics^TM scenario planning tool as well as near real-time anonymized cell phone data to understand behavioral changes, shifts in travel patterns and technology advancements. Together with data analysis, this informs current and future service enabling adjustments around technology and pandemic-related factors and allows for informed budgetary decisions.

Managing resources

Effective transit management can be challenging in the best of times and is even more so during a global pandemic. Agency executive officers, currently focusing available resources on their short-term survival options, may be left with little in reserve for mid- and long-range recovery. It is vital that they move past this thinking as quickly as is feasible and aggressively pivot to comprehensive planning and development of mid- and long-term funding solutions, which I discussed in my previous blog, “Transit Funding in the Age of COVID-19: IT’s Time to Think Beyond the Stimulus.”

In the meantime, scenario planning can help transit agencies develop appropriate resource and budget allocations by providing them with information needed to make the decisions that will put their systems on firmer footing now and in the future. Even in a more typical, everyday scenario, funding and investing in transit electrification has great bearing in equity, climate change and resilience.

These efforts, which are now even more important to the future of transit, require that agencies pursue a paradigm shift toward innovation for new revenue streams including the advancement of vehicle electrification as an essential support. Agencies are investing in electric buses as a means of cutting greenhouse gas emissions as well as the development of new jobs for skilled workers who can advance the infrastructure needed to support this next wave. ArchTam has experts in place to help with the analysis by highlighting risks and tradeoffs to help balance immediate needs and long-term goals.

As the pandemic continues, ridership will continue to fluctuate, and transit agencies will be hard pressed to determine the appropriate short- and long-term investments and budget allocations for their respective systems. Transparency with riders, combined with adherence to disinfectant protocols and the use of scenario planning tools, can help ensure that they maintain the resources that support ridership in the present as well as in the years to come.

The post Transit Forecasting, Scenario Planning and Budgeting in the Age of COVID-19 appeared first on Blog.

One potential consideration is an increased focus on the transition to transit electrification. Advancing electrification can play a key role in developing new funding options while also improving transit system efficiency, bringing significant operational savings and environmental benefits to our communities.

Building the case for thriving transit systems

Healthy public transportation networks move people across urban areas and provide so much more than just transportation. Transit systems are intrinsically related to economic development, social equity and sustainability — all of which are vital to maintaining prosperous urban environments and communities. According to the American Public Transportation Association, there is a $4 return on investment for every $1 invested in transit, every $1 billion invested creates 50,000 jobs and a $10 million investment in public transit generates about $32 million in increased business sales and residential property values for homes located near public transit. According to a University of Massachusetts Amherst study, each $1 million invested in transit bus electrification will create 14 new jobs. In short, the hidden economic value of public transit could be up to $1.8 billion per city. Public transit, even in its traditional internal combustion form, produces less air pollution per passenger mile than a single driver car. Electrified vehicles can further reduce that rate.

Here are three ways to advance transit funding during the COVID-19 pandemic and why transit — particularly electrified transit — matters.

1. Build in equity, resiliency and sustainability
Incorporating elements that provide equity, sustainability and resiliency into your transit project can improve funding potential and broaden grant eligibility. These elements are key for new transit projects as their initial incorporation will eliminate retrofitting costs, reducing overall project expenditures. Developing projects with these elements also holds a financial incentive as they involve relatively new industries, such as grid adaptation, that will create jobs — a vital factor in this time of major city and state unemployment. Elements incorporating sustainability and resiliency can protect transit from the stresses of extreme weather and climate change while providing equity in the form of continued mobility access.

2. Play the long game, amp up electrification
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, many transit agencies across the U.S. had begun moving toward transit electrification, specifically by transitioning to electric buses. Despite the pandemic, these commitments remain unchanged. It’s estimated that by 2030 more than 25 percent of the United States’ bus fleets could be electric. Transit electrification may offer the potential for additional funding options while benefitting the communities that these systems serve. With day-to-day funding at issue, it may seem unrealistic to ask transit agencies to invest in electrification but investing in electrification creates jobs, advancing city and state economies and in the long term can generate significant savings for bus fueling and maintenance, helping with future transit financing. Electrification also helps with issues of social equity and sustainability by reducing greenhouse gas emissions related to climate change and public health, particularly in low-income neighborhoods where personal vehicles may be slower to convert but may house fleet routes or bus maintenance facilities. ArchTam’s expertise in cities, transportation, energy, sustainability and resiliency can increase the possibility of project funding and community improvement. We have worked with transportation agencies like the Fresno County Rural Transit Authority in California to model and forecast the future of electrification, identifying opportunities where policies that focus on bringing equitable change to underserved communities can be established.

3. Take a fresh look at legislation
With current means of funding transit proving unequal to the task, it’s time to change the measures that fund transit. Public-private partnerships are just one means of providing funding support. These kinds of partnerships could in the future enable technology and infrastructure companies to own and operate charging infrastructure for transit agencies, a model that has already been tested with charging infrastructure for private vehicles. These arrangements could also promote electrification by providing tax credits to the private sector whenever they make infrastructure investment improvements that advance electrification. ArchTam has the technical expertise to provide recommendation on policy, incentive and even utility tariff changes that can support and accelerate bus fleet electrification.

There are no easy solutions to the issues of transit funding in the age of COVID-19, but with historic, drastic issues cutting across capital and operations funding, doing nothing is not an option. Researching and making informed and well-thought-out decisions will protect transit and the communities that it serves while advancing city and state economies in a time of uncertainty and unemployment. Now is the time to act.

The post Transit Funding in the Age of COVID-19: It’s Time to Think Beyond Stimulus appeared first on Blog.

These grant awards offer the most predictable funding options for this unpredictable time. By now we all must recognize that we are living through a once-in-a century circumstance and must act accordingly to advance project funding.

We recommend looking at the broader aspects of your project and gauging whether you can use those to gain as many points of grant funding as possible — but as you do, be careful to avoid potential errors that may knock you out of the running. If you are applying for a grant for a public transport electrification project, for example, consider the potential to tie the grant to transforming a diesel engine fleet to one that is electrified and how that can enter into sustainability, social equity, resiliency and climate change requirements.

Producing effective grant applications is an art and a science. Understanding the process and delivering a successful funding application can be the differentiator in your ability to implement your capital project. But there are many potential application missteps that can take you out of the running.

We explain five preparation pitfalls and measures to help you avoid them.

1. Waiting for the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) before starting

Work should begin even before the NOFO is issued. Federal programs typically allot four to six weeks for grant application preparation, but that time goes quickly. Think ahead, reviewing and assembling potential application materials that will give you a head start when the NOFO is presented.

2. Failure to strategize

A coherent strategy will make the most of funding opportunities. Consider grant applications and programs as well as your specific project. Expand your funding opportunities by looking into a range of grant programs. Place each grant program on a calendar, consider how the deadlines align and what elements are required when for each one. Determine where parts of developed grants can be adjusted and repurposed for other programs. This improves efficiency and cuts application costs.

Next, examine the broader funding case. If your project spans borders, look beyond state or municipal boundaries to gather more partners. While aligning these partnerships can be challenging, they can greatly improve funding odds. Partnering with other states or municipalities adds senators, state representatives and congresspeople as well as stakeholders who can express the project’s significance for the communities it would serve.

3. A lackluster narrative

Your narrative tells the project’s story. Producing a compelling narrative can set your project apart by capturing its value to the community. While discussing traditional benefits is important, incorporating relevant attributes outside the customary points will help your project stand out. Think about the grant reviewer who combs through hundreds of applications — a unique angle can set your project apart.

Demonstrating passion for your project can resonate with reviewers even if they have never been to your part of the country. ArchTam’s experienced professionals are adept at developing grant applications and know how and when to emphasize your project’s unique aspects and value and adjust the economic analysis to capture benefits unique to your project. For example, ArchTam assisted the Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority in securing TIGER and Federal Railroad Administration grants totaling $75 million to renovate Minnesota’s historic St. Paul Union Depot in downtown St. Paul, transforming the rail station into an intermodal hub for Amtrak, light rail, commuter rail, local and regional buses, and the future Midwest high-speed rail network.

4. Dense or wordy applications

Narrative is important, but so is readability. Effective applications are eye-catching and easy to review. Avoid text-heavy and highly technical descriptions. Use simple words, where possible, to improve readability. Lay out the application graphically incorporating infographics, statistics and images that support your text. Conveying information in a digestible format enables the project story to shine through.

5. Not proofreading or fact-checking

Reviewers will look closely at your application. Miscalculating your match or errors on your benefit/cost analysis (BCA) spreadsheet will disqualify your project. Check your numbers and proofread your narrative to prevent costly mistakes. Likewise, reviewers will look at risk — issues that might arise if the project goes forward. Be sure that technical feasibility, cost estimates and contingency are accurate. And have important elements such as environmental impact studies, permitting and travel forecasting completed.

As an infrastructure consulting firm, ArchTam can deliver needed expertise in developing the BCA while also providing access to professionals who can complete these critical elements, significantly easing the grant application process. Turning to experts in developing the narrative and BCA, along with an attractive design and fully realized risk evaluations can secure funding for a project that will improve the community for years to come.

The post Five Pitfalls to Avoid When Seeking Grant Funding appeared first on Blog.