SAN FRANCISCO—Wouldn't it be convenient if someone had clear, intelligent answers to most of your CRE-related questions? Problem solved. Nina J. Gruen, a.k.a. Ms. Real Estate, a.k.a. the principal sociologist overseeing market research and analysis at Gruen Gruen + Associates, is here to answer readers' questions.
Dear Ms. Real Estate,
Copia is a handsome building, on a beautiful site, amid verdant and productive gardens serving Napa chefs—burdened by a killer debt. It is for sale: http://url.ie/uc8t. Conflicts among community groups, politicians, and developers seem irreconcilable. So far, most ideas put forward for the property are as poorly conceived and impractical as the initial vision for the property as a "center for wine, food, and the arts." A single developer, with deep pockets, and a vision backed by research (such as by GG+A) might find a use for the property that could succeed, and add a star to Napa's crown. How might that be brought about? Are there models elsewhere?
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Nina J. Gruen
Nina J.Gruen has been the Principal Sociologist in charge of market research and analysis at Gruen Gruen + Associates (GG+A) since co-founding the firm in 1970. Ms. Gruen applies the analytical techniques of the social sciences to estimating the demand for real estate and to understanding the culture of the groups who determine the success of development, planning, and public policy decisions. She is a pioneer in synthesizing the results of behavioral research with quantitative time-series data to forecast market reactions. Market and community attitude evaluations and programming studies led by Nina Gruen have resulted in the development and redevelopment of many retail, office, industrial, visitor, and residential projects, varying in scale from a single building to large single- and mixed-use projects.
