Ones To Watch: Innovators In Commercial Real Estate: Jason Cooper, P.G., H2M architects + engineers

Innovation Highlight:

For seven years, Phipps Houses and my team worked to remediate a brownfield site in Far Rockaway and help transform it into Rockaway Village, an affordable, 1,700-unit mixed-use housing development. Our project achieved Track 1 Unrestricted Use, New York State’s most stringent brownfield cleanup standard, which was a significant professional accomplishment for me. The Far Rockaway community greatly needs new affordable housing, and I’m proud to have contributed through innovative environmental services.

Industry Outlook:

New York State has made a big push to grow its affordable housing stock, especially in New York City. The particular need for more environmentally friendly multifamily housing opens the door to new brownfield redevelopment opportunities for savvy developers. Abating environmental hazards and assisting developers in creating sustainable communities with a lower carbon footprint has created new niches for environmental professionals, particularly those with the regulatory knowledge to help developers meet specific state requirements.