As White + Burke put together the first-ever Vermont Development Conference, a common question has been: for whom is this intended? This event is designed to keep the development community up-to-speed on the latest trends, regulations, and best practices. We also see it as a rich opportunity to bring together the vast network of people who make development happen in the state.
So who is “the development community”?
We see the private sector development community in two rings. One ring is comprised of the developers and property owners and the professionals who support them. These industry professionals include engineers, architects, attorneys, bankers, landscape architects, environmental experts, and the like. The other ring of the development community is comprised of business owners whose businesses occupy the spaces being developed and whose needs so greatly shape the development landscape.
We’re excited about the potential for this conference to further unify the broad development community by:
• Sharing collective intelligence to universally become stronger as teams
• Creating synergies among like-minded people and aligned strategies
• Understanding value in our different and disparate roles
• Learning when to call on peers as experts in project trouble-shooting
• And improving individual project value by expanding the specialists on a team, providing additional collaborative value for clients.
In essence: for us, by us. The first year of this conference intends to achieve these goals and then some. But only time — and you, fellow professionals — will tell. In other words, ask me after it’s over!
By: Stephanie Clarke