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WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 26, 2021) – A group of renowned urban planning and real estate experts representing the Urban Land Institute (ULI) will be making recommendations next week to the city of Norfolk, Virginia, on providing resilience and organizational/funding recommendations for the Elizabeth River Trail Foundation as it works to broaden and enhance its impact for Norfolk. The trail is about 10.5 miles (17 km) long and connects parks, neighborhoods, commercial centers, and the city’s iconic waterfront.

The ULI representatives will be conducting the program for the city of Norfolk July 26–29 through ULI’s virtual Advisory Services panel (vASP) offering. The panel is a multiday virtual program that is tailored to meet a community’s specific needs, bringing together real estate experts in different areas such as land use, urban renewal, and community growth. They will spend time interviewing local stakeholders, understanding the community’s needs, and delivering advice on how best to tackle the issue at hand. This panel supports the Institute’s ongoing work on access to parks and open space.

The panel is sponsored by the Elizabeth River Trail Foundation, and the panelists will provide strategic recommendations on the following:

• Sustainable funding models that are possible for trail operating and maintenance expenses;
• How coordination with the city of Norfolk can be improved for future trail projects and maintenance, as well as additions of programming or amenities, and planning for future trail extensions and connections;
• How coastal resilience and flood protection of the trail can be enhanced; and
• How the trail can become a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community asset to enhance neighborhood and economic resilience.

The panel will be led by Fernando Costa, assistant city manager of the city of Fort Worth, Texas. “We are delighted to bring the experience of our ULI members to Norfolk, through the virtual Advisory Services panel format,” he said. “Our panel will examine the social, economic, and environmental conditions along the Elizabeth River Trail; engage with a variety of stakeholders; and blend their insights with expertise, best practices, and successful models recommended by the ULI panelists. We will identify practical solutions, looking at options for enhancing resilience in an equitable and inclusive way.”

Costa will be joined on the panel by Ryan Bouma, principal, AECOM, Alexandria, Virginia; Rachael Griffith, senior trails and open space planner, Chester County Planning Committee, Philadelphia; Paul Moyer, principal, Jacobs, Arlington, Virginia; Rogelio Pardo, program director, Urban Movement Labs, Los Angeles, California and panel advisor Caleb Stratton, assistant business administrator and chief resiliency officer, Hoboken, New Jersey. ULI is a global, multidisciplinary real estate organization whose work is driven by more than 45,000 members dedicated to shaping the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide. Now in its 74th year, the ULI Advisory Services program assembles experts in the fields of real estate and land use to participate on panels worldwide, offering recommendations for complex planning and development projects, programs, and policies. Panels have developed more than 700 studies for a broad variety of land uses, ranging from economic revival to climate change adaptation.

According to Thomas Eitler, senior vice president of ULI’s Advisory Services program, the strength of the program lies in the Institute’s unique ability to draw upon the substantial knowledge of its 45,000-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 all 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; nonprofit community groups; environmental organizations; and economic development agencies.

Notes to Editors

About the Urban Land Institute

• The Urban Land Institute is a nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the Institute has more than 45,000 members worldwide representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines. For more information, please visit org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.