We’re problem solvers
for cities.
HR&A is committed to helping our clients create vital places, build equitable and resilient communities, and improve people’s lives.
Impact
In affordable housing transactions to help tackle the housing crisis across the country.
Projects delivered last year across diverse cities, addressing housing affordability, infrastructure, inclusive economic development, and more.
With decades of experience, we collaborate with diverse clients to create innovative solutions, advance equitable growth, and shape thriving communities.
Cities across the globe impacted by projects that enhance urban living and economic opportunities.
HR&A is supporting program design and implementation for Amazon’s Housing Fund, a $2 billion commitment to preserve existing housing and create inclusive housing developments through below-market loans and grants to developers, public agencies, and organizations. HR&A led negotiation and underwriting efforts for over 9,000 new affordable homes in the Washington DC area and will continue to support Amazon with their additional commitment of $1.4 billion.
Starting the morning after Sara Innamorato was elected as the first female County Executive in Allegheny County, HR&A provided intensive daily project management and strategic guidance to her transition and helped create an Action Plan to guide her Administration. We delivered the largest community engagement initiative in County history, capturing input from nearly 19,000 residents and translating their priorities into 91 concrete actions released on her 100th day in office.
HR&A supported the Mayor's Office of Climate and Environmental Justice and the Office of the Comptroller to develop Public Solar NYC, the city's first public solar program for low-to-moderate income residents. Our comprehensive feasibility analysis, program design, and grant application support helped secure $250 million in federal funding, establishing a transformative solar program that addresses equity barriers in NYC's clean energy transition.
HR&A worked with the City of Dallas and stakeholders to craft an Economic Development Policy and Incentives Policy to proactively address disparities in economic opportunity through policy, public investment, and partnership. As advisors, analysts, subject matter experts, and external capacity, HR&A helped ensure that the implementation of the policy would provide measurable impacts and improvements to businesses and communities across Dallas.
HR&A led an interdisciplinary team to develop a transformative vision and implementation strategy for Prince George’s County’s Blue Line Corridor, a 6-mile stretch along Central Avenue in Maryland. This comprehensive plan has already secured over $450M in state funding and bonding capacity for priority capital projects including a youth sports fieldhouse, amphitheater, central library and cultural center, market hall, and multimodal infrastructure while establishing a replicable model for place-based economic development countywide.
On behalf of SPUR and ULI San Francisco, HR&A Advisors partnered with Gensler to analyze the economic feasibility of converting vacant downtown office buildings into residential units. This first-of-its-kind study in San Francisco -- ultimately incorporated into SPUR’s October 2023 “From Workspace to Homebase” report -- provided stakeholders with actionable insights into the financial challenges and policy interventions necessary for successful conversions that could address both downtown vacancy and the city’s housing shortage.
HR&A serves as lead strategic advisor and program manager to the ConnectALL office of the Empire State Development Corporation, supporting the investment of more than $1.5 billion to close New York's digital divide. Our comprehensive support spans organizational development, stakeholder engagement, data analytics, program design, and federal grant compliance, advancing the mission of universal internet access throughout the state.
HR&A has guided Vanderbilt University since 2023 in its efforts to catalyze Nashville's innovation economy. Through real estate strategy, market and feasibility analysis, developer partnership selection, and project management support, we are helping Vanderbilt to transform approximately 40 acres of underutilized campus land into a dynamic mixed-use neighborhood with cutting-edge spaces for innovation. In addition, we supported the creation of the Nashville Innovation Alliance to strengthen cross-sector partnerships, accelerate research commercialization, and grow talent pipelines to cement the region’s role as a national hub for innovation and entrepreneurship.
Spotlight
Cities are always in motion. For the past 50 years, HR&A has been part of that motion, working as problem solvers — helping cities unlock investment, advance opportunity, and invigorate places of every size. Cities today face a new set of defining challenges. How do we restore trust in government? Make cities affordable for everyone? […]
Financial inclusion—access to high-quality, low-cost, user-friendly financial services—is a fundamental building block of economic stability. Yet today, 62 million Americans are unbanked or underbanked, a figure equivalent to twice the population of Texas. The consequences are significant: lack of access to traditional banking often forces households to rely on expensive or predatory financial services, costing […]
Congratulations to the City of Austin, LifeWorks Austin, Travis County, and the many partners behind today’s release of Dismantling the Foster Care to Homelessness Pipeline in Austin, Texas—a landmark 10-point plan to create 2,000 new housing opportunities for young people in response to a significant increase in youth homelessness in Austin over the past five […]
Rural healthcare in America is at a pivotal moment. Earlier this year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services launched the multibillion-dollar Rural Health Transformation Program — one of the most significant federal investments in rural care delivery in decades. In a new Route Fifty op-ed, Principal Shawn Daugherty argues that its success depends on something often overlooked: reliable, affordable high-speed broadband.
This blog post was originally issued by Waypoint Blog. The Equitable Transit-Oriented Development (ETOD) Study, released this week, is the culmination of a multi-year effort to establish a framework for the equitable development of Austin’s growing transit network. As Project Connect is moving forward with Phase 1 Austin Light Rail development, CapMetro and the City […]
Today, those same institutions are under pressure from every direction. Public funding remains uncertain. Enrollment costs are rising. Land values around many campuses are climbing faster than HBCUs can capitalize on them. In cities across the country, the neighborhoods HBCUs helped stabilize and shape are now targets of speculative development. That presents both financial and cultural uncertainty. Without intention, we risk watching history repeat itself as Black institutions are surrounded, displaced, or disconnected from the communities they were built to serve.
“We know parks are valuable assets that have a major return on investment, and the strongest park systems take a multifaceted approach to funding. This PNA offers a roadmap to funding the city’s park system that will help address current needs and improve our parks in the years to come.” HR&A Advisors Managing Partner […]
We recently celebrated 10 years since opening our Texas office, so we sat down with Managing Partner Aaron Abelson to reflect on HR&A’s impact across the Lone Star State. Can you share a bit about HR&A’s history in Texas? I joined HR&A in 2013 in New York, right when the firm’s work in Texas […]
NJ TRANSIT, led by its CEO Kris Kolluri, agency leadership, and state and local officials, unveiled The LAND Plan: Leveraging Assets for Non-Farebox Dollars—a first-of-its-kind strategy to generate long-term, sustainable revenue from NJ TRANSIT’s extensive real estate portfolio. HR&A Advisors, in collaboration with Arup, is honored to have supported NJ TRANSIT in developing this comprehensive plan, […]
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