#WPi - #ASLA - #The Dirt - The New Yorker’s Ten Most Positive Architectural Events of the Year

Check out The New Yorker’s Ten Most Positive Architectural Events of the Year!

#WPi - City of Conway receives the Municipal Association of South Carolina (MASC) 2009 Achievement Award

And the Winner is….The City of Conway receives the Municipal Association of South Carolina (MASC) 2009 Achievement Award. WPi is responsible for the Phase 1, 2 & 3 of the Revitalization Master Planning for the Conway Riverwalk & Downtown. The project also was a recipient of the 2001 Honor Award for Design, Tri-State Chapters ASLA. Click here for the all the details and a video! For more information contact Wood+Partners.

#WPi - Mark Baker, ASLA appointed to Mayor's Task Force for the Island's Future, Hilton Head Island, SC

Hilton Head mayor asks volunteer panel to draft a new future for the island

A team of local business people will map out Hilton Head Island's future as part of a new task force created by the mayor.

A 13-member committee, called the Mayor's Task Force for the Island's Future, will gather ideas from the town Planning Commission and the Town Council's annual goal-setting workshop last month to create a vision to guide the island, according to an announcement Tuesday by Mayor Tom Peeples.

Concern has grown over the past year about the future of the island's economy, now that it is close to build-out, and how the town will retain its natural resources and character.

"I think tourism is without a question going to be our mainstay, and the second part of our economy is retirement," said Peeples. "But we are at virtually the end of the road of construction and development because of physical constraints. What is that next engine for economic development?"

Peeples believes local business leaders will help find that new economic engine. Peeples called the task force members "visionaries" who have held leadership posts in a variety of fields, including arts, health care, education and development.

The members represent what Town Councilman Drew Laughlin called the "leaders of various elements of the community ... who have been the backbone of what has happened here."

David Ames, a developer who has lived on the island since 1973, will serve as chairman.

"I think that the mayor and the Town Council ... recognize the need to consider how to keep the island vibrant and prosperous," Ames said.

The mayor set a deadline of June 30 for the committee to create a vision and how to implement it.

The task force members will not be paid for their service.

"This is something you do out of a civic duty," said committee member Peter Kristian, general manager of Hilton Head Plantation Property Owners' Association.

The committee:

• David Ames, developer, will serve as task force chairman

• J.R. Richardson, chairman of town Architecture Review Board

• Joe Harden, founder of Harden Homes

• Gail Quick, former board member of Technical College of the Lowcountry

• David Tigges, attorney with McNair Law Firm

• Tom Barnwell, developer, former community organizer for Penn Center

• Mark Baker, senior vice president and co-owner of Wood+Partners landscape architecture firm

• Willis Shay, retired attorney

• Peter Kristian, general manager of Hilton Head Plantation Property Owners' Association

• Elizabeth Lamkin, executive director for external affairs with Tenet Healthcare Corp.'s Southern States office

• Marc Frey, CEO of Frey Media Holding Inc.

• Kumar Viswanathan, CEO of Asset Management Services

• Steve Birdwell, chief financial officer of Sea Pines Associates

Originally Posted on the Islandpacket.com
By LAURA NAHMIAS
lnahmias@islandpacket.com
843-706-8169
Published Tuesday, December 1, 2009

#WPi - #Pastimes Newsletter featuring Recreation and Planning News is now available!!

Hot off the press! WPi's Pastimes Newsletter featuring Recreation and Planning News was released today at the 2009 SCRPA/NCRPA Conference!! Check it out!!

#WPi Mark Baker, ASLA and Kyle Theodore, ASLA Present at 8th Annual Amenity Communities Marketing Summit

Mark Baker, ASLA, Partner & Kyle Theodore, ASLA, Principal of Wood+Partners, Inc. presented Reality Check & Planning Trends for Today’s Amenity Communities at the 8th Annual Amenity Communities Marketing Summit

This presentation included a review of new planning and design trends and techniques to enhance market position and compete in today’s market place. Amenity communities have changed forever and, perhaps for the better! Tomorrow’s buying market will be looking for more than the traditional golf course and amenity center. Sustainability, green building, open space, nature based recreation, wellness, pedestrian and vehicular connectivity and mixed-use village core areas in addition to golf courses and active family oriented pool amenities are just some of the facilities and planning principles that will be covered in this session. This session also took a look at re-planning techniques for distressed properties and explores options on how to reposition properties to respond to new realities. For more information please contact info@woodandpartners.com

#WPi to present 'Park Master Planning & Design Trends' at 2009 SCRPA/NCRPA in Winston Salem, NC

WPi will be attending the 2009 SCRPA/NCRPA Joint Conference located in Winston-Salem, NC. Please attend our “Park Master Planning & Design Trends” Session presented by Kyle Theodore, ASLA and David Malcolm, ASLA on Monday, November 16, 2009 from 3-4:15 PM.


This session will identify recreation planning principles that illustrate the How-to’s that build and strengthen your community and enhance sense of place. The session will include discussion points about designing larger recreation complexes that as civic spaces for communities. We look forward to seeing you there!

For more information please visit http://www.ncrpa.net/index.aspx?nid=60 or contact Wood+Partners, Inc via email at info@woodandpartners.com

#WPI + Tallahassee Urban Design Commission Walking Tour

City of Tallahassee Urban Design Commission chaired by Dave Malcolm of Wood+Partners, Inc. and members of the UDC and community recently attended a walking tour of Downtown Tallahassee. The tour highlighted key architectural projects recently completed. For pictures highlighting the tour please visit hypertexthttp://www.flickr.com/photos/woodandpartners/sets/72157622746860240/

#WPi - South Carolina Business Climate Ranks High

South Carolina moved up in Site Selection magazine's annual rankings of states with the top business climates for 2009.

South Carolina moved to sixth, from 10th last year, in the annual rankings determined by tracking new and expanded business activity and a survey of corporate site seekers. North Carolina topped the list for the fifth straight year.

When asking site seekers, "What are the top 10 state business climates, taking into consideration such factors as lack of red tape, financial assistance and government officials' cooperation?" South Carolina ranked fourth - a leap from 14th a year ago. Texas received the highest marks.

Reprinted from 'The State - South Carolina's Homepage' http://www.thestate.com/business/story/1010498.html

WPi + South Carolina State Ports Authority - Daniel Island

#Wood+Partners,Inc assists South Carolina State’s Port Authority on #DanielIsland

Wood+Partners, Inc (WPi) played a key role in assessing the site capacity and development potential for the South Carolina State Ports Authority's (SPA) 1,300 acre holding on Daniel Island. These studies were utilized in establishing land appraisals for this important site. The SPA will soon review proposals from real estate firms to assist with selling a significant portion of this property. Let WPi's professional staff assist you with asset evaluation and repositioning. For more information contact info@woodandpartners.com.

2009 ULI Fall Meeting & Urban Land Expo

Perry Wood is traveling to San Francisco, CA to attend the 2009 ULI Fall Meeting & Urban Land Expo. If you are unable to attend and would like to learn more about the presentations and findings stemming from the meeting please contact WPi at info@woodandpartners.com.

Highlights from the meeting will include panelist discussions during Thursday's ULI Stan Ross Real Estate Trends Conference include Ron Pressman, President & CEO, GE Capital Real Estate, Michael Fascitelli, CEO, Vornado Realty Trust; George Marcus, Chairman, Marcus & Millichap and Essex Property Trust; and Chuck Leitner, Global Head, RREEF Alternative Investments. Attendee's will also hear from Robert K. Ruggles, III, Principal, Price Waterhouse Coopers; Jonathan Miller, the principal author of Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2010; Constance Moore, President and Chief Executive Officer, BRE Properties, Inc.; and many other influential leaders in the industry. To learn more visit http://www.urbanlandexpo.org/

2009 Amenity Communities Marketing Summit

WPi will be attending the 2009 Amenity Communities Marketing Summit @ the Marriott Resort & Spa on Hilton Head Island from October 18 – October 20, 2009. Please come by our booth and/or attend our “Planning & Design Trends in Today’s Communities” Session presented by Mark Baker and Kyle Theodore on Tuesday – October 20, 2009 from 11-12:15 pm. See you there!

Reburbia - A Suburban Design Competition...

From www.re-burbia.com - Announcing the winners from Reburbia: A Suburban Design Competition - The competition called for design solutions that would address the problems that plague present-day suburbia by envisioning different scenarios for the future. Proposals tackled McMansions, big box stores, strip malls, parking lots and more with design fixes ranging from community agriculture and algae-based biofuels to transplanted tract developments and zeppelin-based transit. The competition drew 400 entries from more than a dozen countries, and while it was quite a challenge to narrow them down to twenty finalists, culling that list into just 4...http://www.re-burbia.com/

Thanks Sustainable Tallahassee + Green Drinks

Thanks to our friends at Sustainable Tallahassee + Green Drinks for allowing WPi to present the ASLA Sustainable Sites Initiative this evening! Great questions and follow-up conversations.

WPi + Sustainable Sites + Green Drinks

WPi to present ASLA Sustainable Sites Initiative at Green Drinks tonight in Tallahassee, FL - Join us at WaterWorks @ 6:00PM!