coUrbanize Launches 10 Engagement Platforms for Development Projects During Third Quarter

Community Feedback Influences Approvals for Clients Southline and Quartz District During Same Period

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- coUrbanize, a technology company that powers community engagement in development and planning, has wrapped up an eventful third quarter, during which it launched 10 dedicated websites for development projects located in the U.S. and Canada. One of them is a second project for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority: the transformation of Five Points Station.

Other notable milestones during the quarter included unanimous approval for Lane Partners' Southline Development from the City Council of South San Francisco and zoning approval from the Prince William County Commission for The Quartz District in Woodbridge, Virginia.

Community engagement played a critical role in the entitlements process that led to each approval. Lane Partners used coUrbanize to solicit feedback from residents of South San Francisco and San Bruno. The nearly 300 resulting comments and opinions influenced project plans and impressed city council members. According to Marcus Gilmour, principal at Lane Partners, one council member stated that the outreach was the best the council had ever seen. Changes that resulted from the feedback include the addition of a play area for kids, along with improvements to bike and pedestrian connectivity. 

In the case of The Quartz District, community members expressed a desire for a grocery store within the development, which led to the addition of a Whole Foods as an anchor retail tenant. Open space and amenities such as access to grocers are a common request from residents who live near client developments, says Karin Brandt, CEO and founder of coUrbanize.

Brandt expects to see similar requests on the forums of the 10 newly launched websites, along with requests for affordable housing and public transit options, both of which are popular among commenters across coUrbanize websites, and which earned high marks from respondents to coUrbanize's recent survey on attitudes toward real estate development. She also anticipates that the community feedback will affect the scope and design of the developments.

As she notes: "Savvy developers understand that community engagement is not only the right thing to do, but also the wise thing to do: When residents meaningfully participate in planning and entitlements, projects are approved more rapidly and are poised to succeed."

coUrbanize gives people a way to share their feedback and have a voice in a development or public planning process without having to go to a meeting - by simply posting a comment online or texting in their ideas -- and having a two-way dialogue with the project team. More than 500 development and real estate teams have used coUrbanize to scale public outreach in a more inclusive way, have more productive conversations with the community, and ultimately build critical support for their projects. For more information, please visit www.courbanize.com.

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SOURCE CoUrbanize, Inc.