RESOURCES

View the Searchable TAPs Library:  The library features over 200 TAPs from 25 different District Councils.  Search by year, District Council, panel topic, or location.

DESCRIPTION

This fee-based service provides the market-based expertise of ULI members to cities, developers, and other organizations that need objective analysis and advice on how to solve difficult development problems. Technical Assistance Panels (TAPs) are typically one-and-a-half-day sessions in which multidisciplinary teams of five to eight real estate development professionals tour the site under review, interview local stakeholders, and meet to develop recommendations that are presented publicly at the end of the session and in a follow-up report.

ROLE OF THE DISTRICT COUNCIL

Typically, a District Council TAP committee of four to eight members is responsible for marketing TAP services to local entities and recruiting a team of ULI members with expertise to serve on each TAP assignment. Staffers usually secure the final contract, work with the local entity to set up a site tour and stakeholder interviews, and serve as the liaison between the TAP members and the local entity. Staffers oversee the write-up of the final report, a service often provided by a contractor for $1,500 to $2,500.

BUDGET

District Councils usually provide TAPs for a fee, ranging from $3,000 to $18,000. The cost to conduct a TAP ranges from $2,000 to $6,000. The budget includes the cost of a dinner, light breakfast, and lunch for the TAP committee, the cost of the report writer, the cost of printing the report, and staff time. The local entity usually provides the transportation necessary to tour the site, prepares the briefing book, and provides the meeting space.

EXAMPLES OF LOCAL ENTITIES REQUIRING TAPS

Planning departments, mayor’s offices, economic development offices, regional transit authorities, housing agencies, and nonprofit real estate developers are examples of entities that have been the subject of TAPs in the past.

TIME FRAME

The TAP agenda takes place over a day-and-a-half program. Once a sponsor has signed a TAP contract, it takes a committee two to four months to make the logistical arrangements, find the appropriate panel members, and give the sponsor time to prepare the briefing book for the panel.