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Today’s developers are casting bigger nets in adopting a broader range of experts and personalities from diverse backgrounds and experience levels to collaborate on best practices, innovations, teaming and idea creation. Overall, developers are eagerly looking at ways to combine new skills with tried and true knowledge in efforts to better understand what it means to be a 21st century developer. What worked 30 years ago is not guaranteed to work today, which is why developers are faced with the decision to adapt for future viability or become relics of Arizona’s development history. DEFINING THE 21ST CENTURY DEVELOPER Where and what developers are building has changed as well as how they are building it. New innovations, technologies and trends are disrupting the industry every day. Navigating what those means to you and your business is the only way to remain successful. Tim Brislin, vice president at Harvard Investments, says, the 21st century developer can’t solely rely on what worked in the past, which is 92 | May-June 2017
SEVENTH STREET MIXED-USE PROJECT: The first of its kind in the area, Opus is developing a trendy mixed-use enclave on the edge of Arizona State University in Tempe, featuring two high-rise apartment towers, walk-up city homes and flats wrapping the first four stories of the tower, all connected to 31,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.
why he identified a few other skills needed to be successful in today’s development world. First, developers need to re-learn the acquisition processes of their buyers for both commercial and residential projects. He explains, “What was once a 30-page purchase and development agreement is now 300-plus pages and contemplates every contingency imaginable.” Secondly, precision is needed in developer’s acquisition and execution, he says, because it's costly to be wrong and there isn’t enough market demand to smooth over a subpar deal. Lastly, developers need to utilize all the new research and data that’s available to better understand their markets, sectors and target demographics. For Todd Chester, principal at WDP Partners, that means 21st century developers “need to be able to quickly
adapt to changes brought about by technology” like how brick and mortar retail is being forced to adapt to e-commerce retail. Brandon Dillingham, director of Arizona development at Hines, says, “The shift over time for 21st century developers have been the ability to implement long-term strategies to penetrate and expand into multiple markets/cities, allowing for better risk mitigation against changes in both macro and micro economic cycles.” In turn, this attracts capital on both the equity and debt side of the business because the developer is seen as a predictable partner in executing its investment goals. This is increasingly important especially because developers face greater challenges today as a result of elevated land prices and unrealistic seller expectations, adds Dillingham.