Peter E Smirniotopoulos | The George Washington University (original) (raw)

Articles by Peter E Smirniotopoulos

LinkedIn Pulse, 2017

Historic preservation, and the cultural importance of preserving our ever-dwindling stock of icon... more Historic preservation, and the cultural importance of preserving our ever-dwindling stock of iconic, landmark buildings in the United States (rather than treating them as disposable place-holders for the next building fashion of the day), should be a civic priority. As a native of Washington, D.C., perhaps I am overly sensitized to the cultural and historic importance of our rich fabric of iconic, older buildings.

Not the least of the many good reasons for favoring historic preservation is that, like fine art, music, and literature, architectural styles convey important information regarding centuries of human beings contributing to the creation of the current built environment. These buildings are snapshots, if you will, about what was going on in the world at the time these architectural styles were first being expressed, now memorialized in the remaining buildings emblematic of their respective styles.

This reverence for historic buildings and their preservation must be extended to examples of Brutalist architecture. Even if you don't personally care for it.

LinkedIn Pulse, 2017

Architecturally Significant and Culturally Important Manhattan Buildings, Exemplary of the Intern... more Architecturally Significant and Culturally Important Manhattan Buildings,
Exemplary of the International Style of Architecture, May Be Imperilled By the Proliferation of SuperTalls in New York City.

In addition to the context of the 1915 Equitable Building, and the threats its massing and lack of setbacks posed to New Yorkers' perceived rights to light, air, and views, a new controversy surrounding supertalls may be quietly brewing in the Big Apple: Development pressure from seemingly successful supertalls.

While it may be far too early to make an objective assessment of their financial success at this nascent stage, the pressures "hyper-scrapers" are placing on land values may already be threatening some of Manhattan's most-iconic and beloved historic buildings. Specifically, the two buildings that now appear to be in greatest jeopardy of being displaced, due to their lack of financial viability when compared with the exponentially greater FAR's of super-talls, are the landmarked Lever House, located at 390 Madison Avenue, and Seagram Building, located at 375 Park Avenue, respectively.

LinkedIn Pulse, 2016

Much like the uproar over the proposed Equitable Building at 120 Broadway in Lower Manhattan, com... more Much like the uproar over the proposed Equitable Building at 120 Broadway in Lower Manhattan, completed in 1915--publication of the plans for which so troubled and outraged New Yorkers that it eventually let to the passage of the city's 1916 Zoning Resolution (the first formal codification of zoning in the United States)--will the emergence of New York City's latest crop of supertalls (aka "hyper-scrapers") lead to new land use battles over light, air, and views--and against foreboding building shadows cast over Central Park--or will the city's appetite for an ever-greater tax base drown out the ghosts of the 1915 Equitable Building?

Beware the Bright, Shiny Object: Why Investors, and Others, Should Be VERY Wary of Adam Neumann's Newest CRE Venture, Flow., 2023

Adam Neumann, the co-founder of failed coworking company WeWork, recently unveiled his latest res... more Adam Neumann, the co-founder of failed coworking company WeWork, recently unveiled his latest residential real estate start-up, Flow. As covered in a Fast Company article published on February 8th, Neumann's recent revelations about this new CRE start-up are not revelatory at all. Substantially underwritten by A16Z, a venture capital firm founded by Andreessen Horowitz in 2009 in Silicon Valley, at present Neumann's latest venture, at least as he's presented it, is aspirational, at best, with very few, if any details, about what it will be doing or how investors will be compensated.

LinkedIn Pulse, 2017

As humbling as it is to admit publicly, even in my own classroom Albert Einstein’s words seem to ... more As humbling as it is to admit publicly, even in my own classroom Albert Einstein’s words seem to carry more weight with students than my own. So, imagine my chagrin in learning that one of my favorite quotes, which I had attributed to the father of modern physics and creator of the Theory of Relativity, was never actually uttered by him. Understand, I invoked the below, supposedly Einsteinian quote with great frequency and fervor with my students, to convey the depth of understanding of complex issues--
think the "synthetic collateralized debt obligations" or, simply "synthetic CDO's" that ultimately cratered U.S. financial markets in the Fall of 2008--to which they should, and must, aspire in my courses:

"If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough."

DAVID vs. GOLIATH: How the Replacement of a Commercial Real Estate Agent’s Common Law Duty of Undivided Loyalty with Washington State’s More-Limited, Statutory Obligations Advantages Landlords to the Detriment of Commercial Tenants, 2019

This article examines the common law duties an agent owes its principal; the legislative history,... more This article examines the common law duties an agent owes its principal; the legislative history, and subsequent interpretation by the courts of Wash. Rev. Code §18.86 (which, in 1996, replaced Washington's common law duties agents owe to their principals, with a statutory licensing and regulatory framework for real estate brokers and agents); and argues that the best—and only adequate—way to fully and properly protect commercial tenants from unfair advantages enjoyed by landlords and their brokers is to prohibit altogether the practice of dual agency in commercial real estate transactions.

This article updates, and applies to the Greater Seattle marketplace, a November 2014 research study report that made a number of key observations about the existence of adverse legal and transactional consequences from conflicts of interest in the representation of commercial tenants by full-service brokerage firms engaged in the commercial real estate services (CRES) sector actively engaged in the practice of "dual-agency." That report, published by the Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis (CREUA) at The George Washington University School of Business in Washington, D.C., also offered a series of key recommendations for mitigating or eliminating entirely these adverse consequences.

The necessity for the article's update of the 2014 research study is that further industry consolidation on a national, regional, and Greater Seattle area basis, combined with a fevered Seattle marketplace for commercial real estate development and leasing, have further exacerbated the negative consequences for tenants seeking independent, objective, and professional representation in commercial real estate transactions. These forces have greatly increased the prospect that, in a dual agency scenario, the "tenant representative" may be acting in the best interests of the landlord, as well as in their own self-interest as an undisclosed principal. Even in cases where the tenant representative discloses the existence of a conflict where their firm is a principal in the transaction, the tenant may not be adequately equipped with the knowledge necessary to understand the significance and consequence of the self-dealing present in these transactions.

This article is also needed because, in the intervening years since the report's November 2014 publication, the CRES sector has not taken any substantive steps, in the form of industry self-regulation or otherwise, to address, much less ameliorate, these legal issues and the attendant, adverse, transactional consequences they portend for commercial tenants. Moreover, over the same period: (i) there has been increasing consolidation among the five (5) largest CRES full-service brokerage firms (i.e., collectively they represent a larger share of the market for leasing commercial property than was the case in 2014, when the research study was conducted) and (ii) those firms have gained traction in numerous domestic commercial property markets by taking equity positions in a substantial amount of commercial space available for lease in major markets, transforming these firms from mere landlord brokers to landlords themselves.

One might conclude that I simply enjoy torturing my students in this way. And while I admit that ... more One might conclude that I simply enjoy torturing my students in this way. And while I admit that pushing my students outside their respective comfort zones is, in this way, intentional (and admit further I enjoy watching them squirm uncomfortably, desperately trying to find their inner da Vinci, as this is an in class exercise), the primary goal is neither to humiliate nor demean my students: It is to get their brains to work in ways they normally do not.

"The General Services Administration (GSA), which handles all real property matters for the feder... more "The General Services Administration (GSA), which handles all real property matters for the federal government, has demonstrated two very different approaches to the redevelopment of two of Washington, D.C.'s most-iconic, historic buildings: The Old Post Office Pavilion and The J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building, located within a few blocks of each other on "America's Main Street," Pennsylvania Avenue. Although, on its face, the GSA's approach to each building may appear to be the same--engage the private sector in an open competition to propose redevelopment solutions--in reality they have been diametrically opposed, with one requiring the preservation of the existing building (the Old Post Office Pavilion of "OPOP") and one inviting the demolition of the existing building (the Brutalist FBI HQ building)."

On August 25, 2016, John (Jay) Ellison, PhD, Dean of Students at The College of the University of... more On August 25, 2016, John (Jay) Ellison, PhD, Dean of Students
at The College of the University of Chicago, sent out a letter to the incoming Class of 2020 regarding the critical importance of free speech and academic freedom on campus.Those who are easily satisfied getting their information about what's going on in the United States and the world through sound-bites from the mainstream media have been largely unaware that Dean Ellison's letter enclosed Academic Freedom and the Modern University: The Experience of the University of Chicago, a 54-page monograph by John W. Boyer, Chicago's Martin A. Ryerson Distinguished Service Professor in History and Dean of The College. Dean Ellison's letter also provided a link to some of the sources upon which Professor Boyer relied in writing his monograph: https://freeexpression.uchicago.edu/.

Urban Land, 2001

It seems a fool's errand for designers and developers to endeavor to imbue a place with "authenti... more It seems a fool's errand for designers and developers to endeavor to imbue a place with "authenticity." A place is either authentic or it's not. Yet perhaps no other phrase best-characterizing new development projects than "place-making."

This essay for Urban Land (Mach 2001) explores the concept of "place-making," and whether places that grow organically are the only ones that may lay claim to "authenticity." This article received ULI's inaugural Apgar Award (May 2002) as being most-representative expression of ULI's mission in the year it was published in Urban Land magazine.

Feature boxes in this article were authored by Prof. Richard Florida (Carnegie Mellon), Prof. Michael Pyatok (U. of Washington), and Henry Beer, at the request of Prof. Smirniotopoulos

In a knowledge-based economy, colleges and universities will be the factories of the 21st century... more In a knowledge-based economy, colleges and universities will be the factories of the 21st century. They are the primary source of "knowledge workers"-the smart, creative, and skilled people forming the foundation of successful companies. Given the increasing importance of colleges and universities to the fiscal health of the United States and to its future role in the global economy, it is time for academic institutions to consider ending their reliance on campus designs derived from medieval times. Colleges and universities also should be better integrated into the cities and towns where they are located, rather than remain largely isolated and aloof.
To be sustainable and to continue to be relevant, academic institutions need to evolve and adapt-as they already have in a number of aspects. Yet, the ivory tower mystique of higher education for the most part has preserved the isolationist underpinnings of campus planning and design. As a consequence, many colleges and Universities—and their students and faculty—continue to be disconnected from the outside world. The traditional tensions between a college or university and the jurisdiction where it is located have intensified as real estate development outside the campus walls and the costs associated with growth have continued almost unabated. However, rather than view their respective interests as being intertwined—as they, indeed, often are—most academic institutions and their municipal hosts continue to compete with one another, often constraining each other's potential.

Papers by Peter E Smirniotopoulos

Routledge eBooks, Nov 18, 2016

Innovating the Built Environment for a Post-COVID-19 World It would seem an act of academic malpr... more Innovating the Built Environment for a Post-COVID-19 World It would seem an act of academic malpractice to teach a course titled Innovating the Built Environment: How the Law Responds to Disruptive Change, and host an all-day symposium as an integral part of that course, and not endeavor to address the most-disruptive thing to happen to the built environment in more than 100 years: The coronavirus pandemic. This "disruption" to real estate is the proverbial elephant in the room. Hopefully, it will maintain a minimum six-foot distance from others as we address how it impacts the four Special Topics addressed above. What should/will our built environment look like in a post-COVID-19 world? This Session 6 discussion begins with two special guests as Featured Speakers, and then brings back a few of the panelists from earlier sessions, to discuss how today's Special Topics may be fundamentally altered to prepare for a post-COVID-19 world.

Searching for the majority of marketed publication or reading resource worldwide? We provide them... more Searching for the majority of marketed publication or reading resource worldwide? We provide them done in format type as word, txt, kindle, pdf, zip, rar and also ppt. among them is this professional real estate law fundamentals for the development process that has actually been composed by Still confused ways to get it? Well, simply check out online or download by signing up in our site right here. Click them. GO TO THE TECHNICAL WRITING FOR AN EXPANDED TYPE OF THIS REAL ESTATE LAW FUNDAMENTALS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, ALONG WITH A CORRECTLY FORMATTED VERSION OF THE INSTANCE MANUAL PAGE ABOVE.

Seattle University Law Review, 2019

As the fastest-growing urban area in the United States-and due to its emerging national influence... more As the fastest-growing urban area in the United States-and due to its emerging national influence in commercial real estate development and leasing through transformational transactions such as Amazon's recently completed national HQ2 search-the City of Seattle and related Washington State laws addressing the use of dual agency in commercial transactions present a unique backdrop for examining the findings and recommendations from a 2014 commercial real estate conflicts of interest research study and attendant report, described below, more than four years after its publication. In November 2014, a published research study report made a number of key observations about the existence of adverse legal and transactional consequences from conflicts of interest in the representation of commercial tenants by full-service brokerage firms engaged in the commercial real estate services (CRES) sector actively engaged in the practice of "dual agency." That report, published by the Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis (CREUA) at The George Washington University School of Business in Washington, D.C., also offered a series * Professor Smirniotopoulos would like to acknowledge the contribution of Hughes Marino, LLC, which provided funding for some of the legal research and analysis undertaken in support of this Article. 2019] David v. Goliath 171  Accountability to the principal. However, in Washington State, the legislature in 1996 replaced the common law duties agents owe to principals under state common lawsuch as the duty of undivided loyalty-with a statutory scheme that, at best, causes confusion about the duties an agent owes its principal, 4 particularly in the context of a dual agency representation of the tenant and the landlord in the same transaction.

Co-working pioneer WeWork, a wholly owned subsidiary of The We Company, grew meteorically through... more Co-working pioneer WeWork, a wholly owned subsidiary of The We Company, grew meteorically through an extremely aggressive building and master-lease acquisition strategy over the past several years. Substantial, early stage funding from SoftBank, a Japan-based high-tech venture capital investment bank, reinforced WeWork's unicorn status. But was WeWork's business model truly unique, bringing with it the promise of a very profitable real estate operating company in the future? Or was it the company's early stage, venture capital-fueled meteoric growth-without a solid business plan for how that growth and market dominance might translate to a financially stable and profitable operating entity over the long run-that made it the shiny red firetruck in the toy store window that attracted investor attention?

TALES OF NEW YORK: What the Empire State Building, 1 Wall Street, and the Flatiron Building Say About the Future of Cities, 2023

What is the future of cities in a post-pandemic world? This paper seeks to address that question ... more What is the future of cities in a post-pandemic world? This paper seeks to address that question through an examination of developments impacting three of New York City's most-iconic commercial buildings--with related discussions about two others--before, during, and after the March 11, 2020, WHO declaration of a worldwide pandemic.

Between February 28 and March 6, 2023, three seemingly unrelated articles appeared in the trade press—two in The Real Deal; the third on Globe St.—that may portend the state of the commercial real estate market, not just for New York City but for the United States as a whole, as well as the future of cities more-broadly. Those articles offer a microcosm of the forces begun during and following the onset of COVID-19—declared a “global pandemic” by the World Health Organization more than three years ago—that have called into question the very nature and value of cities in contemporary society.

LinkedIn Pulse, 2017

This reverence for historic buildings and their preservation must be extended to examples of Brutalist architecture. Even if you don't personally care for it.

LinkedIn Pulse, 2017

LinkedIn Pulse, 2016

Beware the Bright, Shiny Object: Why Investors, and Others, Should Be VERY Wary of Adam Neumann's Newest CRE Venture, Flow., 2023

LinkedIn Pulse, 2017

"If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough."

Urban Land, 2001

Feature boxes in this article were authored by Prof. Richard Florida (Carnegie Mellon), Prof. Michael Pyatok (U. of Washington), and Henry Beer, at the request of Prof. Smirniotopoulos

Routledge eBooks, Nov 18, 2016

Seattle University Law Review, 2019

TALES OF NEW YORK: What the Empire State Building, 1 Wall Street, and the Flatiron Building Say About the Future of Cities, 2023

Jane Jacobs, Oscar Newman, and the Perceptions and Realities of Public Safety, 2023

This paper endeavors to answer the following questions presented by Jane Jacobs' concept of "eyes... more This paper endeavors to answer the following questions presented by Jane Jacobs' concept of "eyes on the street" when juxtaposed against Oscar Newman's concept of "defensible space":

• What are the differences between “defensible space” and “eyes on the street?”
• Do these concepts generally complement or conflict with one another?
• Is Jacobs’ “eyes on the street” applicable only to free-market neighborhoods and public spaces, such as the streets and front stoops of Jacobs’ beloved Greenwich Village, or could the concept be of equal relevance to the successful redevelopment of public housing projects into viable, mixed-income communities?
• Similarly, could the concept of “defensible space” have equal applicability to the transformation of struggling urban areas not directly impacted by the presence of large public housing projects, sometimes referred to as “transitional neighborhoods”?

This five-day, ULI Advisory Services Panel, chaired by Professor Smirniotopoulos (who, in that ca... more This five-day, ULI Advisory Services Panel, chaired by Professor Smirniotopoulos (who, in that capacity, also served as editor of the final report), was commissioned to advise the City of Birmingham, Alabama, on its strategy for developing a master plan for the City's downtown, focusing on how best to "build a vibrant and thriving city center." Questions posed to the Panel in undertaking this study are detailed on page 8 of the Report.

"Real Estate as a Strategic Corporate Asset" is excerpted from Professor Smirniotopoulos' 2014 re... more "Real Estate as a Strategic Corporate Asset" is excerpted from Professor Smirniotopoulos' 2014 research study and report, "Conflicts of Interest in Commercial Real Estate Transactions:
Who Represents the Tenant?"

Viewing corporate operations from an asset management and financial analysis perspective, the acquisition of new facilities—including the location or relocation of headquarters, regional, and district offices, and warehouse and production facilities—are now commonly viewed strategically. A particular office location may have a substantial, positive impact on a company’s brand. For example, it may be imperative for a federal lobbying firm to locate its headquarters in the District of Columbia, the home of the federal government, versus the surrounding Maryland or Virginia suburbs. However, for a high-tech company the cost and other differentials, as well as greater proximity to universities with relevant graduate programs and research centers may make the suburbs of D.C. a much more strategic decision.

This study seeks to identify the potential conflicts of interest inherent in real estate transact... more This study seeks to identify the potential conflicts of interest inherent in real estate transactions between a commercial tenant and a prospective landlord; evaluate the legal, regulatory, and industry mechanisms in place to protect the interests of commercial tenants through professional representation in these transactions; and where necessary, make recommendations for how such tenant protections might be strengthened to assure an arm’s length transaction between the parties, thereby optimizing the functioning of the commercial real estate marketplace.

This is an Executive Summary of the November 2014 research study report, “Conflicts of Interest i... more This is an Executive Summary of the November 2014 research study report, “Conflicts of Interest in Commercial Real Estate Transactions: Who Represents the Tenant?”

The research study was undertaken by the Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis (CREUA), at The George Washington University School of Business (GWSB), under the direction of two GWSB professors: Project Director Christopher B. Leinberger and Research Director, Principal Author, and Project Manager Peter E. Smirniotopoulos. The research study sought to identify the potential conflicts of interest inherent in real estate transactions between a commercial tenant and a prospective landlord; evaluate the legal, regulatory, and industry mechanisms in place to protect the interests of commercial tenants through professional representation in these transactions; and where necessary, make recommendations for how such tenant protections might be strengthened to assure an arm’s length transaction between the parties, thereby optimizing the functioning of the commercial real estate marketplace.

Agenda, Schedule, and Speakers for Seattle U Law's SITIE Symposium, JUN 22nd, 2019

This day-long learning event is an outgrowth of and integral to Professor Smirniotopoulos’ new Se... more This day-long learning event is an outgrowth of and integral to Professor Smirniotopoulos’ new SeattleU Law course, “Innovating the Built Environment: How the Law Responds to Disruptive Change.” This course is one of four, four-week courses offered throughout the month of June in the School of Law. In addition to the “Immersion Course: Lawyering for Entrepreneurship and Innovation,” held from May 28th through June 1st, these four courses comprise Seattle U Law’s inaugural Summer Institute on Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (SITIE, pronounced “city”).

In order to expose his ITBE students to as broad a range as possible of subject matter experts and ideas, Professor Smirniotopoulos has organized, with the kind assistance of SeattleU Law's Associate Dean of Planning and Strategic Initiatives, Steven Bender, the SITIE Symposium to focus on the subject matter of his "Innovating the Built Environment" course, by opening four, seminal topics up for discussion among his students, all SITIE students and faculty, the larger Seattle U Law community, and aligned professionals and interested stakeholders throughout Greater Seattle.

The Agenda, Schedule, and Speakers document offers a detailed look at how the SITIE Symposium has been organized, the topics to be discussed, and the SME's who've been gathered to undertake a public dialogue on these important issues.

George Mason University (GMU) can't inspire students toward greater academic achievement if they ... more George Mason University (GMU) can't inspire students toward greater academic achievement if they don’t get enough sleep. Nap Rooms are the answer. But how will the benefits be tracked and demonstrated over time? An interdisciplinary approach is required.

As part of a Development Team working on Micro Project innovations for the built environment on GMU’s Fairfax Campus, a group students in Prof. Smirniotopoulos' Real Estate Development course (FNAN-454-001) are developing a Nap Room Prototype to be installed in as many as three (3) locations on the Fairfax Campus. The Nap Room Prototypes are intended to test the viability and potential benefits of giving sleep-deprived GMU students, approximately 70% of whom do not occupy student housing on campus (and, consequently, are relegated to napping in their cars, study areas, and during class), the opportunity to take 20-40 minute naps between classes, to help them make it through what are often twelve and fifteen-hour days.

In order to fully test this concept, a longitudinal test of performance improvements among Nap Room users needs to be developed and administered.

50:50 by 2050 is a proposal to house at least half of the 19,516 enrolled, full-time students on ... more 50:50 by 2050 is a proposal to house at least half of the 19,516 enrolled, full-time students on the Fairfax Campus of George Mason University by the year 2050. Taking into account a Fall 2014 residential population of 6,023 students, that would require adding approximately 3,735 residential students based on the 2014-2015 academic year, plus another 5,000 new students contemplated in the Strategic Plan, which proposes adding 10,000 new students by 2024. By embracing an urban planning model for designing and developing the Fairfax Campus, and creating a self-sustaining, urban environment providing a comprehensive, holistic, 24/7 live/learn/work/play environment for GMU students, faculty, administration, visitors, and guests, the University will achieve substantial reductions in air pollution and stress associated with attracting a primarily commuter population, and will also realize significant gains in the overall health, well-being, and learning achievements within the University community. 50:50 by 2050 will be anchored by University City, a densely developed mixed use, master-planned project in the current location of surface parking located in Lot K and Lot J (see map to right). University City will be completely car-free with all parking being provided below-grade, thereby promoting walkability.

Assignment No. 1: Five Easy Points, 2017

I have two student exercises--the "Memory Map" and "Five Easy Points"--that I've employed in both... more I have two student exercises--the "Memory Map" and "Five Easy Points"--that I've employed in both my graduate and undergraduate courses, going back to 2000 when I introduced the "Memory Map" exercise to my Urban Regeneration students in Johns Hopkins University's Real Estate Program. I really enjoy both exercises; my students have enjoyed them, as well; and I've found the work product submitted in response to these assignments much more revealing of their respective aspirations and learning goals.

I haven't always had the luxury of employing these in every course: For a few of my graduate courses I haven't been able to use either exercise, in order to leave room in the syllabus, and time during the course, to focus on more substantive instruction and assessment. While not originally intended for this purpose, in this moment of concern about academic integrity, adherence--or lack thereof--to student honor codes, and dealing with student use and misuse of AI tools like ChatGPT, each of these exercises, if administered properly, may prove to be very reliable and resilient assessment tools. The lessons to be learned in that regard may be transferable to more-substantive assessments.

"Five Easy Points":

Learning can come from many places, many sources, and many things.

Opening students' minds to the possibility that there are many valuable lessons to be learned from seemingly unlikely places is arguably the first step toward genuine intellectual curiosity. This assignment challenges students to think broadly, flexibly, and creatively. For this approach to learning to be effective, however, students must be willing to challenge themselves.

I named this assignment “Five Easy Points” because this should be the five easiest points my students will ever earn in one of my courses. This assignment is intended as my opportunity to assess each student's critical thinking skills, as well as their facility with expressing themselves in writing, without the added stress of having their substantive knowledge from the course content being tested so early in the semester or term. This is one of only two assignments in any of my courses where students get to express, in writing, something that’s completely self-referential; I won't ever tell a student, in response to this assignment, that their personal opinion or interpretation is “wrong” or require any independent substantiation for that opinion. I simply want to know what they think.

Having said that, earning five out of the five available points for the "Five Easy Points" assignment does require that student work product reflect some level of independent thought and intellectual rigour. As students are advised in the assignment, “Five Easy Points” is NOT an invitation to submit three pages of “whatever.” It is, nonetheless, intended as an "icebreaker" of sorts, to help each student feel a little more comfortable and confident about expressing themselves, and their thought processes, in written form. It also allows for some critical, follow-up dialogue with each student about what each submitted.

Lucky's Market Redevelopment Proposal, FINAL REPORT, 2020

NB: Academia.edu does not allow me to upload student papers to my page without showing my name as... more NB: Academia.edu does not allow me to upload student papers to my page without showing my name as an Author or Co-Author. The three students whose names are provided in the Paper Title are the Co-Authors of this Final Report. As their Professor in Fundamentals of Real Estate Development, URP 596, in the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning/Rackham Graduate School Graduate Certificate in Real Estate program at the University of Michigan, I provided guidance and editorial input throughout a collaborative process with these Project Team members.

This Project Proposal grew out of a midterm paper submitted in URP 596 by John Daniels, initially proposing this redevelopment project. Mr. Daniels' work was one of five papers in the course selected by his peers for a Project Team project, and then became the basis for his Project Team's specific work in developing this Final Report.

This Final Report presents a comprehensive proposal for the redevelopment of a ~ 3-acre site with ~31,000 sq. ft. of existing improvements formerly housing a grocery store (Lucky's Market, a subsidiary of Kroger), located due south of the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, MI, with an integrated mix of new, community serving uses including residential, food service, and food retail/community gathering space.

2021 Research Statement, Prof. Peter Smirniotopoulos, 2021

Updated Research Statement for 2021, including a focus on new research topics that emerged during... more Updated Research Statement for 2021, including a focus on new research topics that emerged during 2020 as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic.

Dealing with the multifaceted impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, particularly on teaching, urban planning and design, and the Future of Cities, as well as the social, economic, and political turmoil in the run-up to the 2020 General Election in the United States, and its aftermath, has very much impacted my Research Statement for 2021. A number of new topics have been added as a consequence, making the prioritization among the totality of research topics presented below that much more challenging. Consequently, this Research Statement for 2021 has been developed as an Addendum of sorts to prior Research Statements, in that the new topics have been added in a stand-alone section, followed by the running list of research topics, with some modifications made to the extent my thinking about those carry over subjects has evolved during 2020.

NB: This is the Final Report submitted by Maria Rios Martinez in "Innovating the Built Environmen... more NB: This is the Final Report submitted by Maria Rios Martinez in "Innovating the Built Environment: How the Law Responds to Disruptive Change," a two-credit course that was part of the Seattle University School of Law's June 2020 Summer Institute for Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (SITIE2020). Because academia.edu will not allow me to upload student papers to my page without showing me as an author, I appear as such. While I employ a very collaborative approach in working with all of my students, and provided guidance and input to Maria throughout this course, from project conception through to the Final Report, this document is the intellectual property of this student.

This project will focus on how the Portland metropolitan area dealt with the following issues and constraints: 1) land use constraints, 2) potential takings issues, 3) local and regional governance issues, 4) capital and operating expenditures, 5) maintenance responsibilities, and 6) potential liability issues. From the Case Study of the Portland metropolitan area, this project will examine what lessons from Portland may be applied to the creation of a potential Seattle Greenway.

Ultimately, it is the intention of this project to demonstrate how such a regional system, like the one in the Portland metropolitan area (and like the Atlanta BeltLine Case Study developed for this course), can be applied to Seattle in support of creating a Seattle Greenway connecting neighborhoods with employment centers and recreation amenities, encouraging and increasing non-motorized forms of transit.

NB: This is the Final Report submitted by Dana Carlisle in "Innovating the Built Environment: How... more NB: This is the Final Report submitted by Dana Carlisle in "Innovating the Built Environment: How the Law Responds to Disruptive Change," a two-credit course that was part of the Seattle University School of Law's June 2020 Summer Institute for Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (SITIE2020). Because academia.edu will not allow me to upload student papers to my page without showing me as an author, I appear as such. While I employ a very collaborative approach in working with all of my students, and provided guidance and input to Dana throughout this course, from project conception through to the Final Report, this document is the intellectual property of this student.

The research presented in this Final Report explores the intersection between high-capacity transit and development, that intersection being Transit Oriented Development, or TOD. The Final Report covers the advent of TOD, TOD public policy, and how TODs contribute to regional equity using TOD case studies from Sound Transit, the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority operating in Snohomish, King and Pierce Counties. The Final Report concludes with a discussion about metrics that can be used for equitable TOD.

How the Law Might Better Support Building Innovations. Modular Construction: An opportunity to build faster, cheaper, better., 2020

- This project investigates modular construction as a means to innovate the current industry. The... more - This project investigates modular construction as a means to innovate the current industry. The traditional method, stick-framing, is costly and inefficient, requiring that every step of the construction process be sequential, building off the last.

- Modular buildings are constructed 50% quicker than stick-framed buildings and save as much as 20% from the total budget.

- Modular construction uses sustainable materials, is safer, and is more accessible to younger workers. How can municipalities incentivize this innovative way to build?

NB: This is the Final Report submitted by Devin Pearsall in "Innovating the Built Environment: How the Law Responds to Disruptive Change," in the Seattle University School of Law's June 2020 Summer Institute for Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (SITIE2020). Because academia.edu will not allow me to upload student papers to my page without showing me as an author, I appear as such. While I employ a very collaborative approach in working with all of my students, and provided guidance and input to Devin throughout this course, from project conception through to the Final Report, this document reflects her intellectual property exclusively.

A Crisis of Our Own Design: Zoning ordinances, housing needs, and nowhere left to build, 2020

This project offers a Case Study on municipalities that have changed their single-family dwelling... more This project offers a Case Study on municipalities that have changed their single-family dwelling (SFD) zoning ordinances to allow the development of multifamily dwellings (MFD) either through a complete zoning change, variances, or other limited allowance, as a means toward increasing the production of affordable housing. The purpose of this Case Study is to quantify, if possible, the impact of these changes on affordable housing. The Case Study addresses four municipalities--Austin, TX; Everett, WA; Minneapolis, MN; Portland, OR--that have implemented such zoning and land-use regulation or policy changes and four--Jersey City, NJ; Denver, CO; Providence, RI; San Francisco, CA--that have denied making such proposed changes.

NB: This is the Final Report submitted by Jessica Kros in "Innovating the Built Environment: How the Law Responds to Disruptive Change," in the Seattle University School of Law's June 2020 Summer Institute for Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (SITIE2020). Because academia.edu will not allow me to upload student papers to my page without showing me as an author, I appear as such. While I employ a very collaborative approach in working with all of my students, and provided guidance and input to Jessica throughout this course, from project conception through to the Final Report, this document reflects her intellectual property exclusively.

"Innovating the Built Environment: How the Law Responds to Disruptive Change" was one of four ele... more "Innovating the Built Environment: How the Law Responds to Disruptive Change" was one of four elective courses available to law students attending SeattleU Law's inaugural Summer Institute for Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (SITIE, pronounced "city") in June 2019. Professor Smirniotopoulos has been invited back to the Second Annual Summer Institute (SITIE 2020) to reprise his "Innovating the Built Environment" course.

This PRELIMINARY DRAFT of the course's four Special Topics provides students and others with a sneak preview of what the ITBE course will cover next June:

• TOPIC #1: “When Worlds Collide: How an 86-Year Old Federal Law (The Securities Act of 1933) Exposed the Flaws in WeWork’s “Innovative Business Model”

• TOPIC #2: “Is there Still a Place in Seattle for the Single-Family Detached Housing Typology, Given the Acute Need for Affordable Housing?”

• TOPIC #3 “Convenience vs. Privacy: Do PropTech Innovations in Multifamily Communities Require Tenants to Give Up Too Much Personal Information?”

• TOPIC #4 “The Proper Role of Government: Does the Ambitious Quayside Smart Cities Experiment Give Alphabet, Google, and Sidewalk Labs Too Much Autonomy in the Community Planning Process?”

Preliminary Agenda, Schedule, and Speakers for Seattle U Law's SITIE Symposium, 2019

This day-long learning event is an outgrowth of and integral to Professor Smirniotopoulos’ course... more This day-long learning event is an outgrowth of and integral to Professor Smirniotopoulos’ course, “Innovating the Built Environment: How the Law Responds to Disruptive Change,” one of four, four-week courses offered throughout the month of June, in addition to the “Immersion Course: Lawyering for Entrepreneurship and Innovation” scheduled for May 28th through June 1st, which together comprise Seattle U Law’s inaugural Summer Institute for Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (SITIE, pronounced “city”). The SITIE curriculum contemplates that each of these four courses have eight hours of instruction on one weekend day or divided over the course of a Saturday and Sunday on the same weekend. Given the nature of the subject matter for “Innovating the Built Environment,” using the all-day Saturday class for this Symposium offers the opportunity to expand the perspectives to which students in the course are exposed, by opening up the discussion to all SITIE students and faculty, to the larger Seattle U Law community, and to aligned professionals and interested stakeholders throughout Greater Seattle.

Agenda, Schedule, and Speakers for SITIE Symposium: How the Law Responds to Disruptive Change, 2019

This day-long learning event is an outgrowth of and integral to Professor Smirniotopoulos’ course... more This day-long learning event is an outgrowth of and integral to Professor Smirniotopoulos’ course, “Innovating the Built Environment: How the Law Responds to Disruptive Change,” one of four, four-week courses offered throughout the month of June, in addition to the “Immersion Course: Lawyering for Entrepreneurship and Innovation” scheduled for May 28th through June 1st, which together comprise Seattle U Law’s inaugural Summer Institute for Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (SITIE, pronounced “city”). The SITIE curriculum contemplates that each of these four courses have eight hours of instruction on one weekend day or divided over the course of a Saturday and Sunday on the same weekend. Given the nature of the subject matter for “Innovating the Built Environment,” creating this Symposium offers the opportunity to expand the perspectives to which students in the course are exposed, by opening up the discussion to all SITIE students and faculty, to the larger Seattle U Law community, and to aligned professionals and interested stakeholders throughout Greater Seattle.

SESSION 1: CREW Seattle Presentation on Opportunity Zones
SESSION 2: Pros and Cons of Upzoning
SESSION 3: Data Privacy and Smart Cities: Are the Trade-Offs Worth It?
SESSION 4: Pay-to-Play: Should Government Pay for Economic Development (and, if so, How)?

“Innovating the Built Environment: How the Law Responds to Disruptive Change” Preliminary Course Description and Outline, 2019

When it comes to innovation, “the law” has always been a lagging indicator of change, to borrow a... more When it comes to innovation, “the law” has always been a lagging indicator of change, to borrow a phrase from economics. This is perhaps no truer than in the realm of real estate law, which has remarkable breadth as an area of academic study and a pervasive impact upon every aspect of real estate development, financing, occupancy, and property management. More often than not, the law appears in the form of a stick rather than a carrot, being used as a cudgel to beat down innovations challenging the status quo.

This intensive, four-week, two-credit course explores the intersection between ongoing and much-needed innovation and entrepreneurship, on the one hand, and the legal regime impacting the built environment and how it operates, on the other hand. During the first two weeks of class, Students will be exposed to both The Development Process™, which forms the basis and learning framework for Professor Smirniotopoulos’ real estate law textbook, as well as to four, specific examples of how the clash of these two forces manifests itself (and, more importantly, how their differences are reconciled, eventually). In this regard, Innovating the Built Environment: How the Law Responds to Disruptive Change might be viewed as a Special Topics course in real estate law. However, it is much more than that: Through the exploration of these four Special Topics, presented in the context of The Development Process™, students will gain a deeper general understanding of and appreciation for how real estate law generally impacts the creation, financing, operation, and—most importantly—evolution of the built environment in an urban context.

"Innovating the Built Environment: How the Law Responds to Disruptive Change" Introductory Presentation, 03.12.19, 2019

"Innovating the Built Environment: How the Law Responds to Disruptive Change" is one of five cour... more "Innovating the Built Environment: How the Law Responds to Disruptive Change" is one of five courses being offered by the Seattle University School of Law in its inaugural Summer Institute for Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (SITIE, pronounced "city"). This document offers a summary of Professor Smirniotopoulos' "Innovating the Built Environment" course, providing students with a preview of what will be covered in this innovative course and program.

In early 2001, Professor Peter Smirniotopoulos, a faculty member in the Johns Hopkins University ... more In early 2001, Professor Peter Smirniotopoulos, a faculty member in the Johns Hopkins University Real Estate Program, felt compelled to research and write about “The Meaning of Place” as an academic countermeasure to an emerging trend toward “Placemaking” he viewed as overly formulaic; a paint-by-numbers approach to creating new communities, town centers and quasi-public venues that relied more on nostalgia and derivative replication than on research, substance or analysis. The result of that quest resulted in the publication of Professor Smirniotopoulos’ Spring 2001 essay for Urban Land magazine ﴾Vol. 60, No. 3, March 2001﴿, “The Meaning of Place,” which received the Urban Land Institute’s inaugural Apgar Urban Land Award (then simply named “the Apgar Award”) in 2002. This course is an extension of that essay, building on Professor Smirniotopoulos's research, writings, and professional work since its publication.

Learning can come from many places, many sources, and many things. Opening your mind to the possi... more Learning can come from many places, many sources, and many things. Opening your mind to the possibility that there are many valuable lessons to be learned from seemingly unlikely places is arguably the first step toward genuine intellectual curiosity. Students in this course will be challenged to think broadly, flexibly, and creatively. For this approach to learning to be effective, students have to be willing to challenge themselves.

I am fortunate to have had broad range of professional endeavors in which I’ve engaged over the p... more I am fortunate to have had broad range of professional endeavors in which I’ve engaged over the past 35 years. Additionally, as a function of my intellectual curiosity, commitment to lifelong learning, and a deep-seated need to share ideas and promote engagement on important topics, I have a comprehensive list of subjects in which my interest is sufficiently robust that any one subject among my stated research interests may, from time-to-time, become the subject of my teaching, publishing in popular media outlets, and/or formal research and publication endeavors.

My Research Statement is broken down into two sections: Completed and Pending Research and Research Interests.

My teaching philosophy is best described both by reference to how I organize and manage my curren... more My teaching philosophy is best described both by reference to how I organize and manage my current courses and by the subject matter, scope, and nature of courses I am currently developing for the 2017-2018 Academic Year. In this latter regard, interested students, faculty colleagues, and faculty and administrators at other higher education institutions are invited to review the most-recent draft Course Description for The Meaning of Place, which is emblematic of my teaching philosophy. The organization and management of my current courses is summarized in this statement.

Real Estate Law: Fundamentals for The Development Process takes a pragmatic, transactional approa... more Real Estate Law: Fundamentals for The Development Process takes a pragmatic, transactional approach to real property law in an urban context, with an emphasis on walkable urban places (sometimes referred to herein as “WalkUPs”). This course—taught in an immersive, interactive classroom environment—offers students an overview of the manner in which legal issues arise in the course of the:
o selection,
o acquisition,
o development,
o financing,
o ownership, and
o management of real estate;

• the nature of those legal issues; and

• how they may best be identified and addressed.

Real Estate Law: Fundamentals for The Development Process utilizes The Development Process as the framework for teaching Finance majors about how a broad range of laws impact, directly and indirectly, a variety of urban real estate transactions and issues, while also addressing the use of a variety of legal agreements to govern particular relationships between the various parties involved in real estate development and finance transactions, and the management of operating properties.

Students in this course will learn about a variety of traditional and non-traditional mechanisms ... more Students in this course will learn about a variety of traditional and non-traditional mechanisms for funding for the development or acquisition of real estate projects, including investments in real estate projects by real estate investment trusts (REITs) and private equity (PE) firms, as well as the emerging and alternative real estate financing techniques, such as crowdfunding. In addition to learning the necessary analytical and methodological approaches to evaluating and funding real estate projects, this course offers a module in real estate financial modelling, which is viewed as one of the most-valued career skills for entry level and above positions in the real estate industry.

This course provides a survey of the real estate sector of the US economy from the perspective of... more This course provides a survey of the real estate sector of the US economy from the perspective of financial economics. The course will focus on the development of an understanding of factors that influence values of real estate assets. This understanding can be applied to make decisions about developing, acquiring, financing, owning, leasing, managing, and/or disposing of real estate assets. Given the significance of real estate assets to owners, lenders, and users, these decisions have important consequences for individuals, firms, and the economy. The course will also examine the roles and effects of institutional features of real estate markets, including those related to property rights and other legal aspects, financing, and government policies.

Unlike existing textbooks written for law students on specific subjects affecting real estate tra... more Unlike existing textbooks written for law students on specific subjects affecting real estate transactions, Real Estate Law: Fundamentals for The Development Process uses “The Development Process” as a framework for understanding how the U.S. legal system regulates, facilitates, and generally impacts real estate transactions and their outcomes.

This book not only addresses the nature of specific legal issues directly
relating to real estate transactions but also how those issues may best be identified and addressed in advance. This book breaks down the myriad of laws influencing the selection, acquisition, development, financing, ownership, and management of real estate, and presents them in context.

This document, available for download, contains the following sections from Real Estate Law: Fundamentals for The Development Process:

Real Estate Law (textbook introduction)
[Peer Reviews]
[Dedication Page]
Table of Contents
Detailed Table of Contents
[Table of] Figures
[Listing of] Tables
Foreword

I am Adjunct Professor of Real Estate and Urbanism at The George Washington University School of ... more I am Adjunct Professor of Real Estate and Urbanism at The George Washington University School of Business in Washington, D.C., and the George Mason University School of Business in Fairfax, Virginia. I teach a variety of 300 and 400-level courses at George Mason on real estate development and finance and teach my real estate law course in the Real Estate concentration in GW’s MBA program. I have taught in real estate graduate programs in the Washington, D.C. Metro Area since joining the Real Estate Program faculty at Johns Hopkins University in 1999. I have also taught professional development and executive education workshops, led multi-day professional training programs, and spoken at industry conferences since 1985. I have published extensively on The Huffington Post, the New Geography, and LinkedIn Pulse, as well as in a variety of professional journals and industry periodicals like Urban Land, on a broad range of topics in commercial real estate development and finance, urbanism, and housing and education policy.

The purpose of this textbook is to teach real estate law not as some amalgamation of abstract, st... more The purpose of this textbook is to teach real estate law not as some amalgamation of abstract, static legal concepts but, instead, to teach real estate law within the context of the dynamics of real estate development and finance, through a framework I have developed and refer to throughout the book as The Development Process. What is presented in this textbook is not what is taught in most American law schools, with curricula offering a range of individual, albeit related, topics, such as Real Property Law, Contracts, Federal Taxation, and Environmental Law, among others, that provide little context for law students as to how these disciplines intersect with and impact The Development Process.

Rather than offering in-depth discussions of law school subjects such as “servitudes” and “estates in land” in Real Property Law or “fraud in the inducement” in Contracts, this textbook instead offers a much broader treatment of real estate law as an overarching discipline impacting and driving the development and financing of real estate projects. This is done with considerable intention, to facilitate an understanding of the true breadth of the subject matter by graduate students seeking a master’s degree in real estate development and finance or an MBA with a concentration in real estate (to whom this textbook is specifically targeted), as well as to assist the real estate executive or professional in gaining a more comprehensive understanding of how real estate law impacts their endeavors.

Neither real estate development nor The Development Process is ever about just one thing: Real estate development is always about a thousand different things, big and small, occurring simultaneously; some within the developer’s control but many occurring independently of the developer and its project. Part of the allure, as well as the challenge, of real estate development—as a process and as a profession—is the need to keep a number of balls in the air at the same time, always knowing where each ball is and to where it is heading next. In this respect, real estate development and finance can be one of the most-rewarding—and most-maddening—professional endeavors one may pursue.

This book chapter will examine the various factors that triggered the Greek Financial Crisis and ... more This book chapter will examine the various factors that triggered the Greek Financial Crisis and its attendant consequences for world financial markets, including: long-term structural deficit borrowing after World War II; the implications of joining the Eurozone and converting the Country’s currency from the Drachma to the Euro; a series of restructurings of the Greek debt; the unsustainable financial burden associated with providing the infrastructure, venues, and security measures necessary to host the 2004 Athens Olympics; the initial IMF bailout of the international creditors and bondholders; and the subsequent bailouts necessary to prevent Greece from defaulting on the bailout loans themselves, in order to avoid a threatened withdrawal of Greece from the EU and the Eurozone, dubbed “Grexit.” Each of these factors will be examined with a specific focus on their respective impacts, short-term and in the long run, on world financial markets. The projected consequences and magnitude of a potential Grexit will be compared to those of the U.K.’s Brexit vote on June 23, 2016. The book chapter will conclude with a discussion of the Greek economy moving forward over the next 20-30 years from the present day.

Real Estate Law: Fundamentals for The Development Process

IN NOVEMBER 1941, David Tishman's two sons were on top of the world. Both were recent Ivy League ... more IN NOVEMBER 1941, David Tishman's two sons were on top of the world. Both were recent Ivy League college graduates, newly married, with bright career prospects in the family company. i Bob was lanky and thoughtful; Alan, two years his junior, was similarly tall but broader and more outgoing, a born salesman. While working, Alan was taking accounting and law courses at New York University, as his father had done thirty years earlier. Bob had just finished a law course at Columbia. " You don't have to get a law degree, " Alan remembers his father advising, even though David had one. " Just take enough courses to know when to hire a lawyer. " ii [Emphasis added.] To paraphrase the David Tishman quote, above, you don't have to have a law degree, you just need to know enough about real estate law to know when to hire a lawyer.

This is, arguably, the foundational theme of Real Estate Law: Fundamentals for The Development Process. However, even someone with a law degree but who has not been exposed to real estate law as a professional discipline, will benefit from what's presented in this textbook.

This document reflects the most-recent draft of the Foreword for Real Estate Law: Fundamentals for The Development Process, due out in early November from Routledge.

Updated curriculum vitae of Professor Peter Smirniotopoulos

Curriculum vitae, 2022

Professor Smirniotopoulos joined the Real Estate Program Faculty at Johns Hopkins University in 1... more Professor Smirniotopoulos joined the Real Estate Program Faculty at Johns Hopkins University in 1999, where from that August until May 2004, he taught a range of graduate courses on residential development and finance, housing policy, and urban regeneration. Since that time, Professor Smirniotopoulos has taught graduate courses in real estate development and finance at some of the Nation’s premier programs, including Georgetown University’s Master’s Program in Real Estate (Georgetown MPRE); the Real Estate Concentration in The George Washington University’s MBA Program (GWMBA); and, more-recently, the Seattle University School of Law’s Summer Institute for Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (SeattleU SITIE) in AY 2018—2019 and 2019—2020, and the Graduate Certificate in Real Estate Program at the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and Rackham Graduate School, at the University of Mighigan (AY 2019—2020 and 2020—2021). Professor Smirniotopoulos also taught upper-level Finance courses at the George Mason University School of Business (GMUSB) from AY 2014-2015 through 2017-2018.

Curriculum Vitae, JAN 2021, Prof. Peter Smirniotopoulos, 2021

Curriculum Vitae, JAN 2021, Prof. Peter Smirniotopoulos

A nationally recognized development strategist, urban theorist, educator, and award-winning autho... more A nationally recognized development strategist, urban theorist, educator, and award-winning author, Peter Smirniotopoulos is based in the Washington, D.C. area. He has over 36 years of hands-on experience in corporate finance, deal structuring, and transactional analysis; public finance and other government funding sources and strategies; public outreach, advocacy, strategic thinking, and organizational analysis; and the full range of project development, planning, design, and financing for large-scale residential, mixed-use, mixed-income, and affordable and workforce housing projects.

In addition to his professional accomplishments, Mr. Smirniotopoulos is Adjunct Professor of Real Estate and Urbanism in the Finance Department of the School of Business at George Mason University, and previously served on the faculties of his alma mater, Georgetown University (2011--2013), as well as Johns Hopkins University (1999—2004) and the MBA program at The George Washington University (2013—2018), respectively.