Nationally Renowned Panel of Land Use and Urban Planning Experts to Present Future Vision on May 1

For more information, contact: Robert Krueger at 202-624-7051

WASHINGTON (April 27, 2015) – Today a group of nationally renowned land use and urban planning experts begin a five-day process of evaluating the redevelopment potential of the Griffin Memorial Hospital site in Norman, Oklahoma. The advisory panel, convened by the Urban Land Institute (ULI), will help create a plan that sets the stage for future growth, determining which types of public investment and incentives will best catalyze private investment.

Conducted through ULI’s advisory services program, the panel is being sponsored by the City of Norman and the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS). The 8-member panel will spend the week examining the 240-acre situated in Ward 4 of the City. The ODMHSAS is seeking to redefine the site’s future operations and has asked ULI for advice on determining how the city can bring together public and private interests for creating a vibrant mixed-use development at the Griffin Memorial Hospital site. The land is currently owned by the State of Oklahoma, which must first sell the land in order to realize the goal of the new facilities and create the greatest overall value for ODMHSAS, the City of Norman, and the community at large.

ULI advisory services panels have offered recommendations for other large-scale hospital sites similar to the Griffin Memorial Hospital site. In 2002, an advisory services panel provided advice on redeveloping Saint Elizabeth’s Campus in Washington, D.C. In addition, ULI advisory panels helped Buffalo determine reuses of historic landmark hospital sites, convening panels for the H.H. Richardson Complex in 2007 and the Millard Fillmore Gates Circle Hospital in 2011.

This week’s panel will spend five days touring the subject study area as well as meeting with stakeholders and members of the local community. After carefully analyzing the area and interviewing up to 100 individuals, the panel will then spend two days framing their recommendations and drafting a report that will be presented to the public.

The advisory panel is chaired by Glenda Hood, founding partner of triSect, LLC in Orlando, Florida. Hood previously served as Florida’s Secretary of State and as the City of Orlando’s first female mayor. In addition to Hood, other panelists include: Dick Galehouse, principal emeritus, Sasaki Associates, Lexington, Massachusetts; James Lima, president, James Lima Planning + Development, New York, New York; Nancy T. Montoya, principal, TAA, New Orleans, Louisiana; John Orfield, principal, BOKA Powell, Dallas, Texas; Zane Segal, project director, NorthGulf ZSP, Houston, Texas; and Tamara Zahn, president, Zahn Associates, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Now in its 67th year, the ULI advisory services panel program assembles experts in the fields of real estate and land use planning to participate on panels worldwide, offering recommendations for complex planning and development projects, programs and policies. Panels have developed more than 600 studies for a broad range of land uses, ranging from waterfront properties to inner-city retail.

According to Thomas Eitler, vice president of ULI’s advisory services program, the strength of the program lies in ULI’s unique ability to draw on the substantial knowledge of its 34,000-plus members, including land developers, engineers, public officials, academics, lenders, architects, planners and urban designers. “The independent views of the panelists bring a fresh perspective to the land use challenge,” Eitler said. “The advisory services program is about offering creative, innovative approaches to community building.”

Past sponsors of ULI advisory services panels include: federal, state and local government agencies; regional councils of government; chambers of commerce; redevelopment authorities; private developers and property owners; community development corporations; lenders; historic preservation groups; non-profit community groups; environmental organizations; and economic development agencies.

NOTE TO REPORTERS AND EDITORS: The ULI panel’s recommendations will be presented at 8 a.m. on Friday, May 1 in the Council Chamber at the City of Norman Municipal Building located at 201 W. Gray. The event is open to the public.

About the Urban Land Institute
The Urban Land Institute (uli.org) is a nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the Institute has more than 34,000 members worldwide representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines.