Events

The Club engages in a number of tours throughout the Philadelphia area to understand the dynamics and process in achieving a project in today’s complex environment. Students of different backgrounds are each interested in different aspects of a project which make for lively engaging discussions. From the design elements, to financial and political hurdles, to opportunities for historic preservation, revitalization and community building, we are interested in it all.

A sampling of past events and those planned for the upcoming year include:

Future events: New York Tour, Baltimore tour, The Fillmore

 

Lunch and Learn with Andy Rachlin (upcoming)

Andy Rachlin is the Managing Director for Lending and Investment, Reinvestment Fund with local Philadelphia real estate experience. Andy also has numerous years of public sector experience in economic development.

 

Site Visit @ The Lofts (upcoming)

The Lofts, located at Sixteen Hundred is an adaptive reuse project with a unique history in Philadelphia!  PDREC has planned a tour to see the original brick walls, premium finishes and fixtures, exposed beams and columns, and 14 foot ceilings in a private tour of the brand new apartments.

 

Site Visit @ Paseo Verde

Rose Gray, developer for APM, presented and provided a tour of the model Transit Oriented Development and LEED Certified mixed-income housing, which took 19 financing sources to complete.

 

Site Visit with Steven Gendler @ Lincoln Square

Toured the new Philadelphia Lincoln Square development; a joint venture between Alterra and MIS Capital. The over 300,000 square foot development offers 322 rental apartments, a Target, Petsmart, Sprint store, and Sprouts grocer. The project has been named and promises to be one of Philadelphia’s premiere transit oriented, mixed use developments. 

 

Bill Witte – Talk & Lunch

PDREC hosted a private lunch chat with Bill Witte to learn about his unique experience as a City Planner and his role as a leading California developer. Mr. Witte is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Related California.  For the past 29 years, and since the founding of Related California, he has been responsible for the strategic direction of the company, overall management of the firm, pursuit of new development opportunities, and oversight of planning, financing and construction of a development portfolio of over 15,000 residential units, completed or under construction, totaling more than $6 billion in assets.

 

Philadelphia Rail Park Site Tour with Paul Levy

Toured Phase 1 of the Philadelphia Rail Park with a developer guide. The park currently consists of a ¼ mile stretch of elevated park that was recently developed into a free, public open space.

 

Guest Speaker Gary Wozniak, President and CEO of Recovery Park

After 30 years of operating start-up companies, consulting with businesses to maximize talent potential, and honing clients’ strengths to achieve success, Gary Wozniak harnessed these traits to bring an idea to life. RecoveryPark is Detroit’s cutting-edge solution that solves three problems: abandoned land, overlooked people, and a lack of accessible, well-paying jobs.