2021

Return on Environment: The Economic Impact of Protected Open Space in Mercer County, New Jersey

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Mercer County New Jersey’s emphasis on land preservation began over 30 years ago, resulting in a multitude of preserved parks and open spaces that reflect the diversity of Mercer County’s natural features. Protected open space provides substantial economic, environmental, and health benefits to surrounding communities, but these benefits are often overlooked or undervalued in policy debates and investment decisions. A better understanding of these benefits can demonstrate how protected open space contributes to economic development and fiscal stability and reverses the common misconception that conserved undeveloped land is non-productive and non-revenue producing.

Econsult Solutions quantified the economic impacts of open space and the benefits realized through environmental protection.

Using standard input-output modeling techniques and multipliers, ESI translated open space and environmental protection investments into the commensurate impacts on the Mercer County and New Jersey economies. We estimated the ramifications of this composition of economic activity on annual and life-time benefits to tax revenues to the County and the State We also demonstrated the array a benefits through a series of case studies that profile county parks and public spaces and highlight the return on environment as quantified in economic terms.

The results of the analyses and the case studies were reported in a digital-friendly document, and an executive summary ready to distribute to county decision makers. Additionally, Econsult Solutions distilled the report into a presentation of findings for county planning officials to use in public meetings.

2022 Strategic Agenda

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At ESI, we pride ourselves in being the go-to consulting firm for a wide range of industries, clients, and situations where the key question is, “what is happening now?” We add value by providing a data-informed, street-smart, and nuanced response to that question, to help people make sense of the world and move things forward.

We are at a momentous time, brought about by an unprecedented pandemic that has turned everything upside down, but also driven by longer-term trends that are coming to a head, such as economic structural shifts, technological disruption, climate uncertainty, and pushback against systemic injustices. In response, the key questions of the moment are not just “what is happening now?”, but also “ what is happening next?”, “what should happen next?”, and “how do we get there?”

ESI Center for the Future of Cities was launched to tackle just those questions. We are eager to study what works and what’s next in cities around the US and the world, and also to create and drive what works and what’s next. We look forward to saying more in this space about work models, research projects, and priority areas, but for now here’s a teaser for three cross-cutting topics we’ll be exploring in blog posts this month that presage engagements we’ll be launching in 2022.

Rethinking quality of place

During the pandemic, we have learned that we need to think about the interactions between where we live, where we work, and where we relax and recharge. We are seeing shifts in the value propositions for communities and community assets, and we need to better understand how we will assess future investment and strategic decisions to create vibrant, thriving communities.

A new approach to inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems

Between the disruption of the pandemic and the focus on racial justice spurred by the George Floyd murder and resulting civil unrest, we have seen smaller minority businesses disproportionately impacted. We are seeing a renewed focus on what it takes to support an economy that rewards, supports, and celebrates diverse entrepreneurs, and we look forward to working with those seeking to create new economic opportunities that lead to a more inclusive economy.

Redefining smart and connected communities

The pandemic has demonstrated that technology can be both a lifeline and a barrier for local governments and residents, and that we still have a long way to go to connect our technological advances to real change in how cities and communities operate and function. What we know is that being a smart city is not just fancy gizmos, gadgets, and algorithms, but it is about how you integrate tech with policy, strategy and finance to create new systems, solve big problems and support more competitive communities of all sizes.

Most of all, we have learned over the past two years the interconnectedness of cities and communities, and how creative approaches in response to crises can lead to major advances in how we live, work and play. At ESI, this is the fun part – working with great partners to understand the changes and impacts we are seeing in our communities and taking that knowledge to look ahead and develop new strategies and approaches to our most pressing challenges. Connect with us to learn more about our thinking, and to share your thoughts and ideas about what you are seeing and how we could partner. Despite all the challenges we have faced and that still remain, we are excited about the future of cities, and we look forward to sharing more with you in the coming weeks and months.

 

Steve Wray, Senior Vice President & Principal | wray@econsultsolutions.com

Steve Wray is a senior vice president and principal at Econsult Solutions. He leads the work of the firm’s principals and senior staff in developing new partnerships, expanding and building on existing practice areas, and integrating the firm’s strengths in economic analysis and thought leadership.

The Potential Economic Impact of the Redevelopment of the PES Refinery

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Project Background

The Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) refinery in south Philadelphia had fallen to disuse. Hilco Redevelopment Partners developed plans for redevelopment of the brownfield, and enlisted Econsult Solutions to conduct an economic impact analysis of their projected reuse of the land for a mixed-use e-commerce and logistics center park. Repurposing the land is of great interest to create jobs, and keep in productive use a large tract of land with good access. 

Econsult Solutions analyzed impacts of upfront economic activity and ongoing operations. 

ESI analyzed the potential economic impact of both the upfront economic activity generated by the redevelopment of the site and its ongoing operations. We concluded that the proposed redevelopment would make a significant impact within the Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, by reactivating a significant center of employment and economic activities in the region. In addition, we also framed these impacts on the surrounding community, including contributions directly to the community and for local programming. 

Using standard input-output modeling techniques and multipliers, ESI translated construction investments into the commensurate impacts on the Philadelphia and Pennsylvania economies. We estimated the ramifications of this composition of economic activity on one-time and annual boosts to tax revenues to the City and the Commonwealth. 

2021 in Review

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This past year was tremendous for Econsult Solutions. In 2020 we pledged to make a difference through our work and in 2021 we were honored to have been in the inaugural class of Philadelphia Foundation’s Civic 50 Greater Philadelphia. We launched our new thought leadership initiative, ESI Center for the Future of Cities, and CIOReview named us Most Promising Smart City Solutions Provider. We have completed work that was global in scope, but also regional-based and community-focused, offering insights and policy recommendations during this time of heightened importance as organizations manage through the pandemic. We are pleased to share with you some of the highlights of 2021.

Community Continually Informs What We Do

Being among the organizations named to Philadelphia Foundation’s Civic 50 Greater Philadelphia, recognizing the region’s most community-minded businesses this year, is at once an acknowledgement of our firm’s past efforts and a clarion call that we are on the right track in our on-going commitment to making a difference through our work. As our enterprise evolves, we will continue to strive to effect positive change through our multi-disciplinary thought leadership initiatives.

Our Practice Areas

In 2020 we reaffirmed the practice areas within which we primarily provide consulting services. Rather than these being silos, these sectors have both crystalized our strengths and illuminated connections between economy and community, serving to keep us fresh and well-rounded.

Economic Development

The Economic, Health, and Environmental Benefits of Completing the Capital Trails Network  Trails provide a trifecta of benefits for regions: health, environmental, and economic. We quantified and documented these benefits for the Capital Trails Coalition as they prepared to launch a campaign for support to complete the Capital Trails Network. When complete, the Capital Trails Network will interconnect the greater Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area with a safe, equitably accessible trail system for active transportation that will enhance the environment and improve property values.

The Economic Impact of Agriculture in Pennsylvania: 2021 Update Substantial disruptors have shaped the Pennsylvania Agriculture Industry in recent years; we analyzed them and forecast trends. Engaged by Team Pennsylvania having completed an economic impact study of the industry in 2018, in the update we accounted for the 2019 Pennsylvania Farm Bill, the affects of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the continued impacts that climate change is having on agricultural production. We dove into the sub-sectors making up the Commonwealth’s agriculture economy, and prepared recommendations on how to leverage strengths and take advantage of industry-supporting trends.

Equity and Inclusion

Philadelphia Office of Equal Opportunity Availability Study   To help the City of Philadelphia measure its goals for M/WBE contracting, we worked with Milligan Associates to estimate the availability of minority-owned businesses for City contracts. We employed a custom census approach in order to reach businesses directly and develop a better understanding of the current small business landscape. We also considered if discrimination exists that constrains the number or capacity of such businesses. We accomplished this by evaluating the business formation rate, analyzing access to capital, and through interviews which provided the anecdotal evidence needed to round-out our evaluation.

Government and Public Policy

Constraints on New Hampshire’s Workforce Recovery   As New Hampshire accelerates its economic recovery in the early wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, ESI with NCCP provided insights into the key factors that impact workforce return to work. Our research, which started in 2019 to measure the economic implications of benefit “cliffs”, pivoted to capture the impacts that the pandemic additionally wrought on New Hampshire’s workforce. We incorporated the availability of employment as it shifted, impacting industries and communities. We evaluated the affect of the availability of childcare on employment. And, we modeled the benefit cliffs that challenge the state’s household. We provided our client with an interactive data tool allowing sorting and comparisons across jurisdictions.

Litigation Support

ESI’s Litigation Support experts remained busy this past year, providing expert reports, economic analyses, and expert testimony.

Real Estate

Sharswood III LIHTC  We completed a market analysis and housing needs assessment for the 2021 low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) application for Pennrose-Hunt Companies proposed third phase of their multiyear redevelopment project which is set to provide 217 safe, high quality, affordable housing units in a growing neighborhood of the City of Philadelphia.

Thought Leadership

Montgomery County Recovery Planning  We worked with government leaders in Montgomery County, PA helping them move forward with actionable economic strategies to emerge from the pandemic. We utilized public and private datasets to assess the pre-COVID and current economic conditions of the County. The analysis served as an important baseline to determine future recovery strategies.

Transportation and Infrastructure

 USDOT RAISE Grant Application for Wilmington, DE Riverfront Transportation  We were instrumental in the award of $17 million from USDOT’s highly competitive Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program to the City of Wilmington. We also assisted Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority in their award of $15 million for trolley station upgrades.

Universities and Hospitals

Our report for Knoxville College, A Plan to Thrive, A Pledge to Keep: How Knoxville College Will Positively Impact Economy, Community, and Society as it Grows, is an assessment produced for the college that went beyond the economic metrics to speak to the broader import of the College’s growth aspirations.

Strategic Initiatives

ESI Center for the Future of Cities was launched following the publication of ESI’s third global, evidence-based research initiative, Smart City Solutions for a Riskier World, a deep dive survey, analysis, and inquiry of the innovative technologies, solutions, and business models that city leaders can use to ready for the next disruption. ESI also provided research and analysis for Cognizant’s Jobs of the Future Index.

Being recognized in 2021 as CIOReview’s Most Promising Smart City Solution Provider is an honor as we set out sights on developing a series of thought leadership initiatives within the ESI Center for the Future of Cities during 2022. Look for more on this during the month of January.

U.S.-China Policy Research  Architectural Design Competition for Chengdu Future Science and Technology City ESI and ANBOUND teamed up with Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, SWA Group, and Arup to participate in the Architectural Design Competition for The Future Science and Technology City of Chengdu Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, organized by The Reform and Planning Administration Bureau of Chengdu Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, and Chengdu Hi-tech Investment Group Co., Ltd. The competition received more than 100 entrants from all over the world. Our team was shortlisted and won third place in the final round of competition.

This list touches on some of the highlights. A perusal of the Our Impact section of the Econsult Solutions website will show the breadth and depth of the work we complete for our clients. We are looking forward to a busy and fulfilling 2022!

2022 State of North Broad

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The North Broad Renaissance (NBR), in partnership with ESI, released its 2022 State of North Broad report that highlights efforts to spur stronger and more inclusive growth along the North Broad Street corridor. The report comes ahead of the Annual State of North Broad fundraiser that achieved record-breaking fundraising of more than $100,000 that the NBR will reinvest back into the corridor. In addition, the report highlights development in growth in areas of population, employment, and development, and also features opportunities to ensure that the efforts being made in these areas are equitable and inclusive.

Market Analysis of Phase 3 of the Sharswood Blumberg Housing Redevelopment

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The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) and Hunt-Pennrose Sharswood, LLC  are redeveloping housing units in the Sharswood Choice Neighborhood of Philadelphia. Phase 3 of the multi-year redevelopment project brings 217 safe, high quality, affordable housing units to a neighborhood with conveniences and access to public transit. As part of the redevelopment process, Hunt-Pennrose Sharswood, LLC retained ESI to complete a market study and housing needs assessment that examines how the redevelopment meets the unique opportunities and addresses challenges as laid out in PHA’s Choice Neighborhood mission to leverage the city’s population resurgence with the subsequent capital investment in new residential, office, retail, and recreation development.