BD+C: How is the market for design services in Indianapolis these days? What’s in demand? How is business holding up?
Sanford E. Garner: We received a nice influx of ARRA money, mostly for transportation projects, but more than likely when that work is done, a lot of contractors are going to be wondering where they’re going to get work. The commercial office market is soft. The single-family housing market seems to be turning positive, and there are still a number of condo projects going to rental—the banks are not as desirous of financing condominiums.
We’re fortunate in being in the third phase of a capital improvement program for our consolidated schools system, so there’s a reasonable amount of work for K-12. Higher education seems to be opening up a bit in RFPs and projects. The area that we’re seeing a lot of work in is anything that is tax-credit related, such as tax-related low-income housing projects, even more so than mixed-income. That’s pretty strong.
BD+C: What’s about other building sectors in Indy?
SEG: We’ve finished the majority of our major public-based projects—a new basketball arena, the football stadium, a new convention center, and a new airport—and I don’t imagine we’ll have anything that large for a while. However, we are working on our county hospital [the new Wishard Hospital, with 315 in-patient and 200 outpatient beds, a 2,400-car parking garage, a 90-bed emergency department, a women’s health clinic, and a central energy plant, currently under construction and seeking LEED Silver certification, financed through a $754 million referendum in 2009]. There’s also a new FBI field office [a $39.8 million project northeast of the city] and some court buildings.
We’re starting to see a few more developer-led projects, in particular the North of South project, where Eli Lilly is working with a developer [Buckingham Companies] to develop housing for their employees [320 rental units]. It will also have a boutique hotel [from Dolce Hotels & Resorts], 40,000 sf of retail and parking, and a full-service Y [a new 75,000-sf facility].
BD+C: Your Fall Creek Place mixed-use housing project won awards from the NAHB, Professional Builder, the Urban Land Institute, and the American Planning Association. What lessons did you learn from it?
SEG: One of the lessons is that we need to address potential problems like gentrification early in the process. In the case of Fall Creek, 51% of the homeowners were 80% below area median income (AMI), with a five-year tax abatement. It was hugely successful—we sold out phase one in about eight months, but the AMI kept increasing, and you’re coming off a tax abatement in year six, just before the market crashed. So, for mixed-income projects like this, you might want to consider looking at a 10- to 15-year period. We tried to do a good job with gentrification going in, but any time you significantly increase the value of surrounding properties it’s going to increase property taxes. Having that kind of discussion early on was hugely important.
Another lesson is that private-sector development expertise is a must-have. We spent a lot of time trying to get the private sector involved. We succeeded in engaging several developers that were relative newcomers to this type of project, which meant having to do a lot of education.
We also learned that the greatest marketing tool is always visual impact. We had six prototype houses and two other projects from developers, all adjacent to historic buildings that were being rehabbed. We had a nice mass of redevelopment going on, and that lent confidence to the project.
The other thing that we did well in this case was maximizing public/private partnerships. The city leveraged its relationship with the utility companies to supply incentives, and we worked with the banks to provide pre-approved loans for a point or so below prime. Financial incentives like that are absolutely necessary for mixed-income projects.
BD+C: You spoke at your alma mater, Howard University, recently on “the profitability of diversity”? What did you mean by that phrase?
SEG: We are at the point where companies are realizing that it can be profitable to be diverse—in gender, race, religion, sexual orientation. In the design industry, the better your understanding of those individuals or cultures or religions, the better you’re going to be able to market to them.
There’s even the profitability of diversification in your company. Our firm started with architecture and added interiors, urban planning, furniture design, graphics and communications, and construction observation for flat work. Within a changing market, there is a benefit of being a generalist, but there’s also need for specificity within areas of our industry.
BD+C: As president, what are your objectives for the National Organization of Minority Architects?
SEG: 2012 will be our 40th anniversary. We are transitioning from a more socially based organization into more of a professional organization. We have operated more as a social organization, since many of our members are also AIA members. We are at the point where we are changing ourselves to purposely become more deliberate in what we do, running NOMA truly as a nonprofit, to leverage what we have as an organization.
I call my leadership platform “MECCA”—mentorship, education, community, collaboration, and authority. We’re looking to strengthen our foundation, to give more scholarships to minority students, provide more economic backing for our members, and strengthen our affiliate relationships.
I also want to increase our value proposition: What benefit does NOMA bring to our members, with so many of our people out of work?
Related Stories
| Nov 8, 2013
Can Big Data help building owners slash op-ex budgets?
Real estate services giant Jones Lang LaSalle set out to answer these questions when it partnered with Pacific Controls to develop IntelliCommand, a 24/7 real-time remote monitoring and control service for its commercial real estate owner clients.
| Nov 8, 2013
S+T buildings embrace 'no excuses' approach to green labs
Some science-design experts once believed high levels of sustainability would be possible only for low-intensity labs in temperate zones. But recent projects prove otherwise.
| Nov 8, 2013
Net-zero bellwether demonstrates extreme green, multifamily style
The 10-unit zHome in Issaquah Highlands, Wash., is the nation’s first net-zero multifamily project, as certified this year by the International Living Future Institute.
| Nov 8, 2013
Walkable solar pavement debuts at George Washington University
George Washington University worked with supplier Onyx Solar to design and install 100 sf of walkable solar pavement at its Virginia Science and Technology Campus in Ashburn, Va.
| Nov 6, 2013
PECI tests New Buildings Institute’s plug load energy use metrics at HQ
Earlier this year, PECI used the NBI metrics to assess plug load energy use at PECI headquarters in downtown Portland, Ore. The study, which informed an energy-saving campaign, resulted in an 18 percent kWh reduction of PECI’s plug load.
| Nov 5, 2013
Net-zero movement gaining traction in U.S. schools market
As more net-zero energy schools come online, school officials are asking: Is NZE a more logical approach for school districts than holistic green buildings?
| Nov 5, 2013
New IECC provision tightens historic building exemption
The International Energy Conservation Code has been revised to eliminate what has been seen as a blanket exemption for historic buildings.
| Nov 5, 2013
Living Building Challenge clarifies net-zero definitions and standards
The Living Building Challenge has released the Net Zero Energy Building Certification to provide clearer definitions regarding what net zero really means and how it is to be achieved.
| Nov 5, 2013
Oakland University’s Human Health Building first LEED Platinum university building in Michigan [slideshow]
Built on the former site of a parking lot and an untended natural wetland, the 160,260-sf, five-story, terra cotta-clad building features some of the industry’s most innovative, energy-efficient building systems and advanced sustainable design features.
| Nov 4, 2013
Architecture and engineering industry outlook remains positive on all major indicators
While still below pre-recession levels, all of the key indicators in the latest Quarterly Market Forecast (QMF) report from PSMJ Resources remain in positive territory.