2024 Past Events

MONTHLY LUNCHEON: DISMANTLING PRESERVATION’S CULTURE OF PRECIOUSNESS

MONTHLY LUNCHEON: MISSING MIDDLE: MAKING ATAINABLE HOUSING ATTAINABLE 

This discussion explored innovative strategies for constructing diverse housing options, focusing on non-subsidized solutions for middle-class buyers. This expert group shared the challenges that developers face with cost-effective building techniques, policy frameworks, and community engagement methods. There is growing need for affordable, quality housing and fostering public-private partnerships – making it happen comes with challenges.

MONTHLY LUNCHEON: 2024 REAL ESTATE ECONOMIC FORECAST

This is the event everyone looks forward to! It is the annual real estate and economic kickoff to the new year with Mary Ludgin and Emi Adachi, Co-Heads of Global Research for Heitman. They will share insights on the capital markets and economic predictions impacting real estate in 2024. We’ll also reflect on how some of the 2023 predictions turned out.

Always inspiring and informative, we welcome back the LAI Chicago Region’s very own economic experts for a look into the future of our markets.

2023 Past Events

HOLIDAY PARTY

NEW MEMBER INITIATION & AWARDS BANQUET

City Winery, Chicago
October 18, 2023
6 pm – 9 pm

View Banquet Photos Here

Rachael Aziz, AICP – All Together | Timnetra Burruss, JD – Cook County Board of Review | Jonathan Dennis – Urban Street Group, LLC | Sara Disney Haufe, PE, PTOE – Sam Schwartz | Jack Eskin, AICP – HNTB Corporation | Katherine C. Jahnke Dale, DLS Piper LLP | Melanie Jefferies. PMP, DASM – Milhouse Development & Milhouse Engineering & Construction | Tania Kadakia – Wrought Iron Partners | Katie Lambert, AIA – OKW Architects | Daniel Montalbano – ATG Real Estate Development | Nicholas Pryor, AICP, AIA – SCB | Jeff Richman – RGG Law Group | Trina Sandschafer, AIA, LEED AP – Kahler Slater | Stephen R.  Schuster, JD – Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella, P.C. | Kyle Smith – ICF | Erik Varela – Illinois International Port District | Juan M. Villafane, AIA, LEED AP BD+C – Krueck Sexton Partners | Brett Weidl, PLA, ASLE, LEED AP – MKSK | Sarah Wilson – Uptown United and Uptown Chamber of Commerce | Curtis Witek, AICP – Cook County Government | Skyler York – City of Michigan City, Indiana

Congratulations to Award Winners:

Marisa Novara – HARRY F. CHADDICK DISTINGUISHED PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD
Brad White – DORIS B. AND MARSHALL M. HOLLEB COMMUNITY IMPACT AWARD
Richard Wilson – LAI INTERNATIONAL MEMBER OF THE YEAR

MONTHLY LUNCHEON: A VISION FOR EQUITABLE DOWNTOWN GROWTH

AN EQUITABLE PATH FORWARD: THE DISCUSSION CONTINUES

2023 DAY OF SERVICE: THE GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY

POP UP NETWORKING EVENT

MONTHLY LUNCHEON: AN EQUITABLE PATH FORWARD PANEL DISCUSSION

CHAUTAUQUA: EXPLORING REGIONAL CONNECTIONS

Friday, June 16, 2023

12 Speakers + 3 Cities + 3 Tours + 3 Programs + 1 Happy Hour = ONE INCREDIBLE DAY

About the Program: Learn how Northwest Indiana’s economic future is built upon its natural beauty, transportation, industry, and proximity to Chicago.

The full-day BUS TOUR includes stops in Hammond, Gary, and Michigan City and features a dozen all-star regional guest speakers. Hear how rail and data infrastructure will accelerate the connection of regional assets while growing population, jobs, and industry. See how catalytic investment spurs adaptive reuse, TOD housing, and mega-developments.

MONTHLY LUNCHEON: CATALYZING ECONOMIC GROWTH THROUGH TACTICAL URBANISM

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

About the Program: In June 2020, at the height of the pandemic, and in the wake of civil unrest, a group of architects, planners, and designers came together with the goal of helping communities on the city’s South and West sides re-open during challenging times. The result was two public interventions – 75th Street Boardwalk and POPCourts!. The success of these two projects led to the Public Outdoor Plazas (POP) Program, and ten more plazas, which sought to activate vacant lots on commercial corridors through Tactical Urbanism.

Tactical Urbanism (n): An approach to neighborhood building that uses short-term, low cost, and scalable interventions to catalyze long-term change.

The Mayor’s Office and Department of Planning and Development (DPD) are developing the next iteration of the POP Program with a focus on vacant storefronts. The goal is to use the same Tactical Urbanism strategies to catalyze economic growth along these corridors.

The success of the POP Program and its expansion suggest that tactical urbanism could be employed in other realms as well, with positive social and economic impact. Those possibilities include other neighborhoods in Chicago, communities across the country, and public and private institutions.

Speakers:

• Mary O’Connor, Deputy Commissioner, City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development
• Ernie Wong, Principal & President, Site Design Group, Ltd.
• Katanya Raby, Vice President, Planning & Development, Far South Community Development Corp.
• Alan Barker, Principal, Lamar Johnson Collaborative (Moderator)

SALON: AN EQUITABLE PATH FORWARD

Wednesday, April 19, 2023

About the Program: Past land use policies helped create the widespread inequities we see today. Practices such as redlining, exclusionary zoning laws, and urban renewal policies resulted in segregation, displacement, and disinvestment. How should our industry grapple with this legacy? To what extent do current beliefs continue to undermine the well-being and economic opportunity of marginalized communities? How can Lambda Alpha be a catalyst for industry change?

A curated conversation about these questions and hear perspectives from a variety of member disciplines on how our industry can uproot the past, design a more equitable path forward, and accelerate change for a better future.

MONTHLY LUNCHEON: INNOVATION DRIVING REGIONAL ECONOMIC GROWTH

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Speakers: 

• Kate Waimey Timmerman, CEO, Chicago Quantum Exchange
• Michael Fassnacht, President & CEO World Business Chicago
• Christian Beaudoin, Managing Director, Research & Strategy, JLL

About the Program: A dynamic panel discussion exploring opportunities to improve our region’s global competitiveness through partnerships and collaboration.

At the beginning of 2023, the City of Chicago, Cook County, and six Chicago metropolitan counties joined to announce the first-ever regional and multi-jurisdictional partnership for economic development: The Greater Chicagoland Economic Partnership. By working together, the goal is to elevate Chicago’s global competitiveness while ensuring robust, equitable economic growth by leveraging the region’s collective assets: talent, infrastructure, industry, and innovation.

Quantum technology is one such example of innovation driving regional growth. Illinois receives 40% of all federal dollars for this technology and boasts four of the nation’s top ten quantum centers. Chicago has the country’s largest quantum network and an ecosystem to support the industry’s growth. By using fundamentally different technology than conventional computers, quantum provides computing power a trillion times more powerful than supercomputers – and will upend entire industries such as finance, healthcare, and cybersecurity.

MONTHLY LUNCHEON: DISCOVERY PARTNERS INSTITUTE AND THE 78

Wednesday, February 18, 2023

Speakers:

• William Jackson, Executive DPI Director
• Charlie Trotier, Senior Associate, Related Midwest

About the Program: Hear about an exciting generational opportunity to create a new mixed-use neighborhood called The 78.

Join us for a conversation about creating a vibrant new community and fostering a talent pipeline focused on equitable economic development. Bill Jackson, Executive Director of Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) and Charlie Trotier, Senior Associate, Related Midwest, will lead a presentation and discussion about this transformational innovation district.

DPI is a University of Illinois system-led advanced research and innovation center and will be an anchor of a 62-acre redevelopment along the Chicago River.

MONTHLY LUNCHEON: 2023 CAPITAL MARKET INSIGHT, REAL ESTATE AND ECONOMIC FORECAST

Wednesday, January 18, 2023

Speaker: Mary Ludgin, Managing Director, Head of Global Research, Heitman

About the Program: Please join us at the annual real estate and economic kickoff to the new year with Mary Ludgin, Managing Director, Head of Global Research for Heitman. She will share her capital market insights, property market conditions, and economic predictions for 2023. We’ll also take a quick look back how some of her 2022 predictions turned out. Always inspiring and informing, we welcome back Ely Chapter’s very own economic expert for a look into the future of our markets.

2022 Past Events

HOLIDAY PARTY

Wednesday, December 14, 2022

MONTHLY LUNCHEON: EXPLORATION OF CHICAGO’S CONNECTED COMMUNITIES ORDINANCE

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

Speakers: 

• Mariah DiGrino, Partner at DLA Piper
• Marisa Novara, Commissioner of the Department of Housing

About the Program: Join LAI Ely Chapter members and guests for an engaging conversation centered on the City of Chicago’s newly adopted eTOD Connected Communities Ordinance. Land use attorney Mariah DiGrino will lead an in-depth discussion with Commissioner Marisa Novara, the esteemed City of Chicago’s Department of Housing Commissioner, on the impetus for the ordinance’s creation and how it aims to expand investment, fostering an equitable economy across Chicago.

NEW MEMBER INITIATION & AWARDS BANQUET

Wednesday, October 19, 2022

About the Program: Join Lambda Alpha International’s Ely Chapter for the initiation banquet of the 2022 member class and annual awards presentation.

CHAUTAUQUA: QUALITY OF LIFE INFRASTRUCTURE – REDEFINING NEIGHBORHOOD INVESTMENT 

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

Speakers:

• Dr. David Ansell, Senior Vice President for Community Health Equity at Rush University Medial Center
• Paul Robinson, Deputy Head of Programs at Chicago CRED
• Jamie Simone, Deputy Commissioner for Strategic Initiatives at the Chicago Department of Transportation

About the Program: A sense of safety, practical physical and mental health care, healthy food access, quality education, living wage jobs, affordable housing, and multi-modal mobility options are all foundational to thriving communities. But not all communities are created nor sustained equally. The year’s Chautauqua event will take a closer look at health, safety and wellness inequities, new or improved approaches to address those inequities, and what should be considered in designing the built environment.

LAI ELY CHICAGO SERVICE DAY

Saturday, August 13, 2022

Service Description: Help the LAI Ely Chapter assist the National Public Housing Museum with its garlic harvest.  Both members and non-members are welcome to join us on this day, and are encouraged to bring family and friends to help.

This event will take place in the Taylor Street Farms.  Please make sure to bring your own gardening gloves and wear appropriate clothing.

MONTHLY LUNCHEON: REDEFINING THE POST-PANDEMIC WORKPLACE

Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Speakers:

• Tim Malican, Director of Talent at Vivid Seats
• Kent Swanson, Executive Vice President at Riverside Investment and Development
• Christina Brown, Principal & Interior Designer at Eastlake Studio

About the Program: Many organizations are adopting flexible and hybrid work strategies that have the potential for a transformational impact on commercial real estate. Learn about these new dynamics from experienced professionals including a human resources leader, office developer, and workplace designer.

POP-UP NETWORKING EVENT

Thursday, June 30, 2022

About the Program: The emergence of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) is becoming quite the rage in the corners and coasts of the United States. Developed by public-private partnerships, as well as the planning of new Vertiport and electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) facilities. While many states and metropolitan areas have been at the forefront of developing plans and standards for the arrival of AAM, the Chicago area has yet to see the official arrival of these eVTOL facilities.

Founding Principal Scott Goodman of Farpoint Development and Ward 4 Alderman Sophia King will discuss the vision for the project in terms of physical, social and economic impacts and the path forward for implementation.