Robert Proffitt, Metropolis Group Inc.

Name & Title: Robert Proffitt R.A. A.I.A, Director of Operations

Company Name: Metropolis Group Inc.

What emerging trends will drive investment and development in 2017?

The trend away from globalization that started with Brexit and followed by the election of Donald Trump will continue. This week’s constitutional vote in Italy is an example of this.

In the U.S. this means that the trend will be America first. In a large scale this will manifest in investment in America by American companies. In a smaller scale this will become apparent in investing in small companies that manufacture and sell goods locally. We see this in the distilling of whisky in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and converting factories into hydroponic farms in Newark, N.J.

Places like Brooklyn will be emulated by long forgotten cities of the Midwest such as Akron, Toledo, Detroit, Buffalo and Cleveland.

Locally, The Bronx will continue to get attention from developers with a focus on the nostalgia for graffiti and rap culture of the late 70’s.

In this coming year we will also see the redefinition of what manufacturing is by the NYC Planning Commission.

Realizing that what used to take 20,000 or 50,000 s/f and causes noise/air pollution, can now be produced by a handful of workers, a 3D printer and a few hundred s/f.

The coming year and the future is bright. It’s a wonderful time to be alive.

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