Summaries for: Investment
Prepare for UK NIMBY Government – big, radical, scary policies
By Nick Keable,Vice President, UK Operations, The Saint Consulting Group Assuming that the Tories do manage to come out of the General Election in control of the UK, and that is by no means certain at all, they have this week laid out their proposals for reform of the planning system. And it’s big. And radical. ...
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Cincinnati pols eye school funds to cover deficit on sports stadiums
By Steve Shepherd,Vice President for communications, The Saint Consulting GroupWhile folks in Arlington, Texas, bust their buttons with hometown pride over the billion-dollar football stadium they helped Jerry Jones build for his Dallas Cowboys, taxpayers in Hamilton County, Ohio, have a serious case of buyer’s remorse over their 1996 vote to fund new stadiums for ...
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What is Political Risk Management in Land Use?
By Ben Kelahan and Tom Ahern The Saint Consulting Group If you've ever invested millions or billions in capital to develop a project and watched it all disappear one night at the hands of a few elected officials who voted 'no,' stop reading. You know what political risk is and wish you had included it ...
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Did land use laws and planning controls help cause financial crisis?
By P. Michael Saint,
Chairman and CEO, The Saint Consulting Group
In his most recent book, “The Housing Boom and Bust,” economist Thomas Sowell argues that the current financial crisis was partly caused by politicians who were attempting to solve an “affordable housing” crisis, which did not really exist on a national basis.
Land use laws and attempts ...
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Cities miss out on transportation funds from economic stimulus
By Owen Eagan,
Senior Vice President for Transportation, The Saint Consulting Group
The New York Times recently reported that cities missed an opportunity on transportation funding due to politics. Specifically, the Times reported that despite the fact that two-thirds of the population lives in large metropolitan areas, these cities are seeing far less than two-thirds in transportation ...
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Recession offers landowners ways to add value to future development, but be careful
By Jesse McKnight
Executive Vice President, The Saint Consulting Group
Recession is a great time to go after development entitlements. Many landowners sit on properties that may have a higher value and better use. In addition, cities and counties are much more receptive to economic development. They need the tax revenue and may be less strident on ...
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Chrysler HQ looks so much like shopping mall: was this planned obsolescence?
By Steve Shepherd Vice President, Communications, The Saint Consulting Group In the satellite photo left, Chrysler’s world headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, bears striking resemblance to a shopping mall. It’s no coincidence, according to some accounts. An April 23 Business Week article about the value of Chrysler’s various assets in anticipation of its bankruptcy contained ...
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Capital markets re-think strategies to manage political risk in property investment
By Tom Ahern Senior Vice President, The Saint Consulting Group Go to a local zoning board meeting on any given Tuesday night and you are bound the see the following: lawyers, lots of lawyers, usually in suits and not exactly looking like the general citizenry of the town or hamlet. There will also be ...
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