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Durham, NC - Advisory Services Panel
Durham, NC’s Hayti neighborhood, the historical location of many of Durham’s Black businesses, is facing increasing development pressure.
Glen Echo, MD - Advisory Services Panel
June 13, 2022
The Glenn Echo Parks Partnership for Arts and Culture (GEPP) is the steward of Glen Echo Park’s arts programs and facilities, including its historic buildings, in collaboration with Montgomery County and the National Park Service. The ULI Panel considered opportunities for the GEPP to strengthen their organization, partnerships, facilities, and financial future as a cultural asset to the Washington D.C. region.
Photo By ULI
The panel was chaired by Michael Stern, Principal, MAS Places, Jackson, Wyoming. They were joined by panelists Billy Grayson, Executive Vice President, Centers and Initiatives, Urban Land Institute, Washington, D.C.;Juanita Hardy,Founder and Managing Principal, Tiger Management Consulting Group, Silver Spring, Maryland; Aileen RG Horn, Director of Hospitality, KDG Architecture, Bethesda, Maryland; Paul Moyer, Principal, Jacobs Advancing Planning Group, Washington, D.C.; Jamison “Jamie” Weinbaum, Executive Vice President, MidCity, Washington, D.C.; Audrey Wennick, Director of Transportation, Metropolitan Planning Council, Chicago, Illinois. ULI staff: Kelsey Steffen and Michaela Illar.
Date: March 8-11, 2022
Location: Glen Echo, MD
Sponsor: The Glen Echo Parks Partnership for Arts and Culture and the JPB Foundation
Panel Chair: Michael Stern, MAS Places
As Glen Echo Park and the GEPP, recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 shut down, the organization has found itself at a crossroads when considering the futures of both the site and the organization. There is a need to consider new and/or additional spaces for current programming to continue to thrive as well as the desire to consider a park site and appropriate programming that can adjust to future needs of the region and the direction of arts organizations overall.
Specifically, GEPP asked the ULI panel the following questions:
- What types of activities will we need to attract new, diverse, and multi-generational audiences in the future?
- What targeted essential environmental strategies should we include in the future park masterplan for development to improve the environmental sustainability and resilience of the park infrastructure and building operations?
- What type of partnership structure would support a capital facility expansion campaign with multiple governmental and program partners and community stakeholders?
- What are good precedent examples of projects that densify an existing historic park setting with new buildings and landscape features?
- What core principles need to be implemented to create a vibrant destination that is essential for reinventing a memorable place?
Key recommendations from the panel include:
Rethink GEPP Organization and Board and relationship with Partners
It is time for a change and to rethink the makeup of the internal organization so that the organization can reach its desired goals for the park and its community. The GEPP staff is beyond capacity and there is a need for new blood on the GEPP Board to allow for new perspectives and new champions. The park itself needs to increase its audience base and diversify its offerings and opportunities and there is a need for updates to park and its facilities as they age. At the current moment there, the partnership between the park and its collaborators is not functioning effectively, limiting fundraising capacity, and the parks current revenue streams are not reliable or capable of generating the income needed for long-term fiscal sustainability.
Elevate the importance of the Park to same level as the Programs
There are opportunities to activate the park beyond the arts and culture programs that exist, to expand the audience and allow for users to experience the park in new and different ways. Although the arts programs are a significant aspect of the park, there needs to be other opportunities and reasons for people outside the existing arts community to come use and enjoy the park.
Grow visitation to expand the potential for new revenue streams
The park needs revenue to be sustainable and by growing visitation and thus growing the park community, new opportunities will emerge for revenue generation.
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