As sea level rise, coastal storms, flooding, erosion, and subsidence increasingly threaten our coastal communities, many land use professionals have been innovating solutions. In this webinar, speakers from design, engineering, and finance backgrounds will feature case studies of coastal resilience strategies in real estate and land use.
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As climate-related events become more frequent and more costly, resilience has evolved from an environmental aspiration into a financial imperative.
For developers, investors, lenders, insurers, and public officials, the question is no longer whether to build resiliently—it is how quickly resilient design can become the new standard.
Few places illustrate this transformation better than Babcock Ranch in southwest Florida.
Often recognized as America’s first solar-powered town, Babcock Ranch is much more than a sustainability success story. It is a real-world demonstration that resilient planning, thoughtful engineering, and environmental stewardship can protect lives, preserve property values, and create stronger long-term investment returns.
The stakes could not be higher.
Nearly 80 percent of Florida’s 22 million residents live within 10 miles of the coastline, making the state one of the world’s most climate-exposed real estate markets. Hurricanes continue to increase both in frequency and financial impact. Hurricane Ian alone caused an estimated $84 billion in damages, making it one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.
As existing infrastructure ages and population growth accelerates across coastal regions, communities can no longer afford to rebuild using yesterday’s standards.
They must design for tomorrow’s realities.
Expected to house more than 50,000 residents at full buildout, Babcock Ranch has attracted worldwide attention not simply because of its approximately 800-acre solar energy installation, but because of how it performed when tested under real-world conditions.
When Hurricane Ian struck southwest Florida in September 2022 with sustained winds exceeding 100 miles per hour, the community emerged largely intact. Homes experienced minimal damage, underground utilities remained operational, residents were able to shelter safely in place, and the town even provided refuge for neighboring communities affected by the storm.
That level of performance was no accident.
It resulted from decades of intentional planning.
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit Babcock Ranch alongside Amanda Staerker, one of the project’s early land planners. Walking the community reinforced an important lesson: resilience is not created by a single technology or building material. It is the product of thousands of interconnected planning decisions.
From the outset, the development incorporated Florida Green Building standards, underground utility infrastructure, native landscaping, extensive stormwater management, preserved wetlands, and a master plan that works with the natural environment rather than against it.
Perhaps most importantly, Babcock Ranch demonstrates that sustainability and economics are not competing objectives.
They reinforce one another.
Resilient communities experience less physical damage, shorter business interruptions, lower long-term maintenance costs, greater insurance confidence, stronger investor interest, and higher long-term asset values. For developers, resilience is increasingly becoming one of the strongest drivers of financial performance.
As Syd Kitson, CEO of Babcock Ranch, observed in a recent Urban Land Institute article:
“Storm safety was absolutely at the top of our list… How could we convince people they could shelter in place? We knew if we did it right from the beginning, we could prove they could.”
That philosophy offers valuable lessons well beyond Florida.
Across the Caribbean, coastal communities face many of the same challenges: stronger storms, rising insurance costs, aging infrastructure, and growing demand for sustainable development. The principles demonstrated at Babcock Ranch—working with natural systems, preserving ecological assets, investing in resilient infrastructure, and planning for long-term adaptation—are directly applicable throughout the region.
At AG&T, we believe the future of real estate development lies at the intersection of resilience, sustainability, hospitality, and sound economics.
Building resilient communities is no longer simply about reducing environmental impact.
It is about protecting investments, strengthening local economies, preserving communities, and creating places capable of thriving for generations.
Resilience is no longer a feature.
It is the foundation of responsible development.
The Governor of Puerto Rico Pedro Pierluisi made the historic announcement at The Puerto Rico Symposium in Miami that Puerto Rico was officially out of bankruptcy. The message was well received by over 250 industry leaders from both the public and private sectors. The event was organized by The Urban Land Institute South East Florida / Caribbean and The Puerto Rico Builders Association.
The Symposium was kicked-off by Scott McLaren, President ULI SE Florida / Caribbean. Scott spoke about the longstanding relationship and collaboration between ULI and the Puerto Rico Builders Association. He highlighted the work on the ULI National Advisory Services Panel on social, economic, and physical resilience in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. https://seflorida.uli.org/toa-baja-puerto-rico-panel/
Scott Maclaren finished his remarks by recognizing Vanessa de Mari, the new President of the Puerto Rico Builders Association and the first women president in the organization’s 70 year history. The Symposium was dedicated to this historic accomplishment. In attendance were some of Puerto Rico’s top government leaders. This included the Honorable Pedro Pierluisi, Governor of Puerto Rico, Manuel Laboy, COR3 Executive Director, Maretzie Diaz, Deputy Director PR Housing Department CDBG-DR, Natalia I. Zequeira, Commissioner of Financial Institutions, and in attendance, the Secretary of Housing of Puerto Rico, William Rodríguez Rodríguez. The keynote address by the Honorable Pedro Pierluisi, Governor of Puerto Rico’s highlighted the island’s economic accomplishments, the end of Puerto Rico’s population exodus, and the conclusion of the bankruptcy which was officially announced the day of the Symposium.
In the private sector, Ricardo Alvarez-Diaz, CEO, Alvarez-Diaz & Villalon discussed some of progress of the island’s rebuilding after the 2017 hurricanes Irma and Maria. The reconstruction of the island was a constant theme throughout the day with specific examples of over 900 started projects.
The first panel, “Why Puerto Rico: Stories of Success, was a testament to the resiliency of the development community. Moderated by Andrew Carlson, SVP Country Manager, of JLL the discussion highlighted the historic growth of the island’s hospitality sector with the construction and/or renovation of over 3,000 new room keys from El Conquistador, Grand Reserve (formerly known as Coco Beach), Sheraton, AC , and many others. The panel included Federico Sanchez, President & CEO, Interlink Group.
Dan Kodsi, CEO, Royal Palm Companies, Rafael E. Rojo, President & CEO, VRM Companies. Also in attendance was Brad Dean, CEO, Discover Puerto Rico who highlighted the island’s impressive tourism growth (ADR and occupancy rates) during the Covid 19 pandemic and new expansion of tourism throughout all U.S. feeder markets.
As Puerto Rico seeks to build back its tourism and other industries, the financial sector will invariably play a major role. One of the goals of the Puerto Rico Symposium was to facilitate the conversation of growth in both traditional banking as well as new Fintech, IFEs, and other debt/equity players. Natalia I. Zequeira, Commissioner of Financial Institutions, explained the ease of regulations and process for new financial institutions as Puerto Rico shares many of the same regulations of the U.S. states on the mainland. Ms. Zequeira also mentioned that International Financial Entities (IFE) can now participate in special opportunity projects.
https://www.investpr.org/key-sectors/finance-and-insurance/
Michael McDonnell, Executive Vice President, First Bank, that recently re-opened its construction division, was bullish on the island’s economic prospects and announced that the Puerto Rico will achieve positive economic growth (GDP) this year– something it has not done in over a decade. Banesco USA announced the U.S. Department of the Treasury, will invest more than $8.7 billion through ECIP in institutions across the country – Banesco USA is the only bank recipient located in Florida or Puerto Rico.
Over the last few years, we have all hear about the 80 billion dollars of relief aid that has been allocated to Puerto Rico and is coming. In the “Myth versus Reality panel: Federal Funding Opportunities on The Island,” moderator Ella Woger Nieves of Invest Puerto Rico helped lift-up the proverbial transparency veil. Manuel Laboy, the COR3 Executive Director spoke with detailed facts of the funding by agency with FEMA authorizing 5 billion for temporary work, 21 Billion for 9,000 permanent projects and 800 that are currently under construction today. He also discussed the next wave of over 900 projects that are currently under engineering and design. Much of this work will be channeled through CDBG-DR and the PR Housing Department. Maretzie Diaz, the Deputy Director PR Housing Department, explained the process for companies wanting to participate in the island’s rebuilding of housing and infrastructure. Mahdu Beriwal, Owner/founder of EIM provided first-hand knowledge of the rebuilding work in Puerto Rico.
Keynote Speaker Pamela Pautenade, Ex. Deputy Secretary of HUD, was also on hand to share her experiences about the collaboration with the Puerto Rico Builders Association during the 2017 hurricanes crisis. In a moving conversation with Ricardo Alvarez-Diaz, Mrs. Pautenade explained the dedication of the island’s public and private sectors and dispelled any rumors about misuse of relief funds.
Puerto Rico, like much of the Caribbean is in the process of bouncing back from the Covid 19 pandemic. Adam Greenfader, who chairs the ULI Caribbean Council had a high level sit down conversation with keynote Speaker Andrew Farkas, CEO Island Capital Group. The conversation was focused on social equity and specifically what role the financial sector has in supporting the region with a particular focus on sustainability, ESG, and helping economic migrants return back to their island homes.
In the last few years Puerto Rico has become known as blockchain capital of the world. While thousands of tech savvy individuals have moved to the island to take advantage of federal tax incentives they have inadvertently created a new economic driver for the Puerto Rico.
In our “Fintech & Financial Innovation panel in Puerto Rico, Moderator Nathan Whigham, Founder & President, EN Capital discussed the growth of this huge industry. Rodrick Miller, CEO, Invest Puerto Rico, explained what his group is doing to change the paradigm in Puerto Rico from selling tax incentives to focusing on the island’s quality of labor, education system, and proficiency in bio science and other innovations. Stephen Inglis, CEO, Importal explained his new portal to monetize tax credits and Yael Tamar, CEO & Co-founder, SolidBlock explained how her company is integrating real estate and blockchain.
After a marathon day of conversation it was amazing to see the room still full for our last panel “Growth Industries and Tax Incentives” moderated by Carla Campos and an all-star team including Jorge Ruiz Montilla, McConnel Valdez, Francisco Luis, of Kevane Grant Thornton and Rogelio “Roy” Carrasquillo, of the Carrasquillo Law Group. In this panel, specific programs like the Tourism Tax Incentive were explained in detail and there was robust conversation regarding how these incentives have created new jobs in manufacturing, life sciences, construction, and agro-science.
On behalf of all of us at the Puerto Rico Builders Association and The Urban Land Institute SE Florida/ Caribbean, thank you to all of the people and sponsors that made The Puerto Rico Symposium possible. We are all hopeful that together both the public and private sector can create long lasting sustainable economic growth.
For more information about investing in Puerto Rico visit our web site or contact us.
Excerpts from the 2020 ULI | Heitman Report.
ULI partnered with Heitman, a global real estate investment management firm, to assess the potential impacts of climate change on the long-term viability of real estate assets. Derived from a series of interviews with leading institutional investors, investment managers, investment consultants and others, the report provides members with an inside look at how real estate investors are factoring climate risk into their investment decision-making and management processes.
See full report at : https://knowledge.uli.org/en/Reports/Research%20Reports/2020/-/media/b81db4bbc77845f7834f24b0e974dd7a.ashx
ULI publishes this updated report amid a global pandemic and economic uncertainty. For many, it may feel as if the priority of addressing climate change is dissipating as we face the immediate challenge of COVID-19. Although it is still too early to draw conclusions about the long-term implications of COVID-19 for our cities and the real estate industry, such a wide-scale humanitarian crisis throws the connections between environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues and our economies into sharper focus.
However, just as the coronavirus has exposed many weaknesses, it has also shown us that we have the ability to adapt and change our behaviors quickly and radically.
Globally, most major economic hubs are in coastal, river delta, or other high-risk areas. These locations present many advantages, relating to connectivity, trade, quality of life and placemaking. These cities house more than half the global population, with much higher percentages of residents in some regions. About 80 percent of U.S. residents live in cities, for example, 39 percent of the European Union population lives in metro areas with 1 million or more inhabitants.
In 2020 (as of October 7), there have been 16 weather/climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each to affect the United States. These events included 1 drought event, 11 severe storm events, 3 tropical cyclone events, and 1 wildfire event. Overall, these events resulted in the deaths of 188 people and had significant economic effects on the areas impacted. The 1980–2019 annual average is 6.6 events (CPI-adjusted); the annual average for the most recent 5 years (2015–2019) is 13.8 events (CPI-adjusted).
Many of the most economically powerful coastal cities face significant climate risk. However, these cities offer some of the most attractive investment environments, meaning that the risk is worth the return. “We have a dilemma that some of the most attractive markets are also markets that are affected more by weather-related risks,” noted one real estate investment manager. However, a few investors indicated that they are beginning to suspend acquisitions or take steps to reduce their real estate footprint in city markets where they harbor climate-risk concerns. The phases after a big disaster, according to one interviewee, were to see the market buoyed up by subsidies and insurance, followed by rebuilding and speculative demand. This short-term “sugar high” of disaster support, insurance claims, and opportunistic investment likely masks underlying negative and fiscal impacts that could be exacerbated by future climate-related events (or other shocks).
The research found a number of misleading correlations, such as flooding having a positive impact on cash solvency and fiscal health, and hurricanes increasing budget solvency. However, the current model of contingencies will not be sustainable with the expected increase in the frequency and intensity of climate change impacts, as well as slow-moving stresses such as sea-level rise, which further exaggerate the effect of peak events. In other words, a weather-related event has not yet adequately “shocked” the system of contingencies as to break it. However, the COVID-19 crisis may prove to be the ultimate shock to the system that breaks it. What happens when that “extreme event” is no longer a geographically or temporally discrete event?
“There are three big mechanisms through which costs are likely to increase going forward: one is insurance, [and] the second area is . . . tax rates and the third is cost of financing as banks start to cost the added risk.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, made headlines in January 2020 when Larry Fink, the firm’s CEO, stated in his annual letter on corporate governance that “climate change has become a defining factor in companies’ long-term prospects,” and “we are on the edge of a fundamental reshaping of finance.” The BlackRock announcement signified an increasing industry prioritization of climate change mitigation, or efforts to prevent or reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Most interviewees also expressed overall uncertainty about future insurance prices and the likely market impacts of shifting insurance policy. In an extreme scenario, some investors envisioned a future in which properties could not qualify for insurance at all and therefore became ineligible for loans. The annual insurance pricing structure can underpredict risk for longer hold periods, as well as for the underpinning infrastructure. The approach also assumes the long-term availability of underwriting capabilities, in terms of the affordability and availability of products. If sites are unable to obtain insurance, they will not be eligible for loans, leading to major potential valuation consequences.
Long-term focus: In lay terms, catastrophe models simulate “thousands of versions of next year,” not “thousands of successive years.”
All agreed that valuation is currently lagging behind recognition of climate risk and anticipate this changing in the near future. Valuation does not incorporate climate risks because it is “backward-looking”. Models typically do not allow a user to modify future climate conditions, and there are no established best practices to apply insights from climate science to catastrophic hazard risk modeling. Valuation has become more urgent for investors considering longer time horizons. Some investors have also informally discussed properties having “expiration dates” after which they may no longer be safe or suitable for residential or business use without extensive investment in surrounding infrastructure.
Anticipating steep declines in building value because of climate impacts runs counter to how buildings are currently valued. In the current model, value is derived from the residual value of the land and structure, plus discounted cash flows over time that drive net present value and cap rates. However, if dramatic changes lead the value of the structure and land to approach zero, cap rates would change significantly, with a steep decrease in value after purchase, and would need to be offset with increased cash flow and profitability to maintain net present value.
Several discussed efforts to design risk mitigation strategies for vulnerable assets and price these costs into deals. Some also spoke about resilient design as presenting opportunities to differentiate assets and enhance value. For example, one interviewee said they were exploring opportunities to create a “resilience zone” for entire neighborhoods.
Parametric insurance, where insurance payouts are linked to when predefined event parameters such as extreme weather events are met or exceeded, is an emerging option. Industry leaders note that parametric insurance may become more widespread, but it is not an appropriate solution for all scenarios. The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) is one example of a regional fund. #heitman
AG&T is committed to being part of the climate solution. AG&T joined over a thousand leaders from local governments, businesses, universities, and other institutions across the country as part of the “America Is All In” joint statement. To learn more click here.
About Luis Fortuño
Luis G. Fortuño is the former Governor of Puerto Rico (2009–2013) and one of the island’s leading voices on economic development, manufacturing, and public policy. Prior to serving as governor, he was Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner in the U.S. Congress, where he advocated for the island’s economic and federal priorities. Today, he is a partner at Steptoe LLP, advising multinational corporations, investors, and governments on public policy, international trade, infrastructure, energy, and economic development.
Throughout his career, Governor Fortuño has been a strong advocate for strengthening Puerto Rico’s role as a strategic manufacturing hub for the United States. His deep understanding of government policy, international business, and economic competitiveness offers valuable insight into how Puerto Rico can leverage its world-class pharmaceutical industry, highly skilled workforce, and U.S. legal framework to support the reshoring of critical manufacturing and build a more resilient American supply chain.
Luis Fortuño, partner at Steptoe and Johnson (Governor of Puerto Rico 2009-2013),
For decades, manufacturers optimized production by moving operations to lower-cost jurisdictions around the world. The pandemic exposed the vulnerabilities of that model. Shortages of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, personal protective equipment, semiconductors, and other critical products demonstrated that efficiency alone could no longer be the primary objective. Resilience had become equally important.
Today, reshoring and nearshoring have become central components of U.S. industrial policy.
One question remains especially relevant:
That question was the focus of a conversation between Luis Fortuño, former Governor of Puerto Rico (2009–2013) and Partner at Steptoe LLP, and Adam Greenfader, Chairman of AG&T. Their discussion explored Puerto Rico’s unique position within the United States and why the island remains one of America’s most important strategic manufacturing platforms.
Puerto Rico’s manufacturing story began long before COVID-19.
Beginning with Operation Bootstrap in the late 1940s, Puerto Rico became one of the United States’ premier manufacturing hubs. Over the following decades, the island attracted many of the world’s leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing companies.
At its peak, Puerto Rico produced a significant share of the pharmaceuticals consumed in the United States and became home to one of the highest concentrations of pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities anywhere in the world.
That industrial base continues to represent one of Puerto Rico’s greatest competitive advantages.
First, the island already has an extensive network of FDA-approved manufacturing facilities, many of which can be expanded or modernized far more quickly than constructing entirely new plants.
Second, Puerto Rico has a highly skilled workforce with decades of experience in highly regulated industries including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, life sciences, aerospace, and medical devices.
Third, the island’s universities—particularly the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (RUM)—continue to produce outstanding engineers, scientists, and technology professionals who support many of the world’s leading manufacturers.
Combined with Puerto Rico’s status as a U.S. jurisdiction, these assets create a compelling environment for advanced manufacturing.
The conversation also examined the factors that contributed to Puerto Rico’s manufacturing decline.
The expiration of Section 936, increased global competition, the implementation of NAFTA, and aggressive incentive programs offered by countries such as Ireland, Singapore, and China all encouraged manufacturers to relocate production.
At the same time, Puerto Rico faced economic recession, rising energy costs, fiscal challenges, and the devastating impacts of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
Despite these setbacks, the island retained one of its greatest strengths—its manufacturing ecosystem.
The pandemic fundamentally altered how companies evaluate supply chains.
Today, resilience, geographic diversification, national security, and supply chain reliability have become strategic priorities.
Puerto Rico is uniquely positioned to benefit from these trends.
Rather than rebuilding manufacturing capacity from the ground up, many companies have the opportunity to leverage an existing industrial base supported by experienced workers, established infrastructure, and decades of operational expertise.
The discussion also addressed the importance of public policy in supporting Puerto Rico’s manufacturing future.
At the time, bipartisan legislation introduced by Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón, together with members of Congress, sought to strengthen America’s critical supply chains while recognizing Puerto Rico’s strategic role in national manufacturing.
Although specific legislation has evolved over time, the broader objective remains unchanged: strengthening domestic manufacturing capacity while reducing dependence on distant supply chains for essential products.
Viewed today, many of the observations made during this conversation proved remarkably accurate.
Reshoring has become a central objective of U.S. industrial policy.
Supply chain resilience now influences corporate site selection decisions.
Federal investment in advanced manufacturing has accelerated, and Puerto Rico continues to attract new interest from pharmaceutical, life sciences, medical technology, and advanced manufacturing companies seeking to expand production within the United States.
The conversation serves as an important reminder that Puerto Rico’s manufacturing potential did not begin with COVID-19—it simply became impossible to ignore.
For more than three decades, AG&T has worked at the intersection of economic development, real estate, infrastructure, hospitality, and industrial investment throughout Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
Our conversations with policymakers, industry leaders, investors, and manufacturers have consistently reinforced one conclusion: Puerto Rico’s future will be built upon a diversified economy. Puerto Rico is uniquely positioned not only to participate in America’s manufacturing renaissance, but to help lead it.
AS PUBLISHED IN HOTEL BUSINESS BY ABBY ELYSSA ON
PONCE, PUERTO RICO—Ponce Paradise—a 900-acre resort, healthcare village and marina located here—is giving guests all the conveniences and amenities of mixed-use, but with a twist.
Adam Greenfader, managing partner, AG&T, the development firm behind Ponce Paradise, said, “There is a trend in hospitality development for travelers searching for a destination that offers a wellness package or amenities.”
Conceptualized by LandDesign and Winstanley Architects & Planners along with AG&T, the teams consulted engineering and aquatic architecture professionals to make the vision a reality, bringing together a mixed-use development and a wellness destination.
“Economies of scale seem to indicate mixed-use projects will be getting larger. The live-work-play concept is really taking hold as more people want to be in the center of it all,” Greenfader said.
Ponce Hospital and Wellness City
Still in its early design and community involvement phase, Ponce Paradise will comprise a hotel and spa, wellness community, farm-to-table agricultural setup, a micro-grid, residential neighborhoods, a town square and a university medical center, with a total investment of approximately $1 billion.
Specifically, the 166-acre Wellness City will have research, university and care facilities, which will include a branded hospital, rehabilitation centers, outpatient, recovery rooms, assisted living facilities, nursing home, short-term residential units and condominiums. The wellness lagoon will have restaurants and retail, and a plaza will be home to a worship center, park and entertainment venue.
The development will not only promote health and wellness but sustainability as well. About 60% of the site is untouched and will remain in its natural state, according to the Puerto Rico Conservation Easement Law. Additionally, the developed area has acres of green space, waterways and parks.
“Wellness tourism has been estimated as a $563 billion industry in 2018,” Greenfader said. “Puerto Rico is ideally situated to capture a large part of this market due to its central location, airlift and cruise traffic, U.S. medical doctors and great infrastructure.
“There are many medical treatments that can be done in Puerto Rico for a fraction of the cost—and you get to enjoy an amazing Caribbean vacation experience,” he added.
There are, of course, some challenges. “Less than 7% of Puerto Rico’s GDP is tourism based. For a Caribbean island with great beaches, people and infrastructure, this in incredibly low. The city of Ponce, in particular, has a convention center, port and airport that are highly underutilized,” Greenfader said, highlighting the project’s necessity.
He said the first challenge is to get the Municipality of Ponce and the Fiscal Board controlled by the U.S. Congress to fully use its assets. The second challenge—which is common in any large mixed-use project—is to provide the right combination of uses.
“The last challenge is financing,” he said. “In Puerto Rico, there are $20 billion of Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Relief. We trust some of that will be allocated to critical projects such as Ponce Paradise.”
Following meetings with the municipality, major medical associations, cruise lines and community leaders—each with their own concerns—Greenfader is confident that they will be able to address each group while also honoring Ponce’s natural surroundings.
Master Plan for Wellness City and Hospital
“Our job as project sponsors is to balance the concerns of each group with the stewardship of the environment,” he said. “The project must make economic sense but also be a valuable contributor to the local region, protecting and enhancing natural assets.”
Greenfader said that as hospitality as a whole faces its own challenges, differentiators like mixed-use developments are gaining more momentum.
“Airbnb and other disruptors have proven that the market is changing and that guests are seeking new experiences. Budget allocations, the desire to be together in large groups and ease of booking a reservation are just a few reasons the hotel industry is adding more residential units,” he said.
According to Greenfader, residential space generates revenue that can assist with the financing capital stack, while also creating a rental pool of additional units for the high seasons.
Ponce Paradise plans to offer three residential options: single-family homes, smaller vacation rentals and affordable “shotgun-style” housing, all with their own facilities and security.
Its attention to health, however, is the real differentiator, with nature serving as both the basis for its design and Ponce Paradise’s mantra.
“Everyone realizes that wellness is holistic; we don’t just treat the physical but the whole mind, body and spirit,” Greenfader said. “Doctors know that a patient’s success rate is often a result of a positive mental attitude. A cold, sterile room doesn’t necessarily lend itself to great health. Great architecture, beautiful landscaping, water vistas, amazing smells, community, etc., can make the difference between success and failure in a person’s treatment.”
Wellness extends far beyond simple offerings here. “Doing yoga with goats may not prove to have ‘legs,’ but resort wellness has just begun to take off. The reasons are simple: Industrialized nations are getting older, people are living longer, and with two billion new tourists coming from India and China, there are many more potential people for this market niche,” he said. “Some experts say the wellness resort industry is expected to double within the next 20 years and become a $1-trillion industry.”
The sustainability factor is also attracting hoteliers, especially in an area that’s been struck by natural disasters.
“Developers are starting to realize that a weather-related crisis can have a devastating effect on operational risk,” he said. “If a hotel cannot withstand hurricane-force winds, floods and mold, then it will suffer huge downtimes and repairs. In fact, hotels may not ever come back online at all.”
Greenfader said that hotel buyers are now evaluating their portfolios for climate risk and realizing that initially spending 15-20% more in construction costs to make a project resilient and sustainable makes good business sense.
“Developers also realize that if they can stay open during a crisis, their occupancy will be 100% or more,” Greenfader said. “During a relief and rebuilding period, hotels host thousands of relief workers, insurance adjusters and other critical workers. It’s a win-win to be resilient and sustainable.”
This couldn’t be more clear than at the current time, when Puerto Rico is beginning to recover from a series of earthquakes, which Greenfader noted had hit the south particularly hard—especially structures built before 1990, when codes were updated to bolster construction for seismic activity.
“The earthquake reaffirms that a project like Ponce Paradise needs to build a resilient infrastructure into its master plan and be forward-looking in its design,” he said. HB
It has become one of the defining economic and development challenges of the 21st century. For island nations throughout the Caribbean, climate adaptation influences everything from infrastructure investment and insurance costs to tourism, housing, transportation, energy, and long-term economic competitiveness.
Recognizing these challenges, Adam Greenfader with the Urban Land Institute (ULI) convened an international Climate Resilience Roundtable in the Netherlands, bringing together planners, architects, engineers, financial institutions, developers, investors, and public-sector leaders to explore how some of the world’s most climate-resilient communities can help shape the future of Caribbean development.
The discussion was particularly timely following the devastating impacts of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 and Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas in 2019. These events highlighted the urgent need to move beyond disaster recovery and begin designing communities capable of withstanding the increasing impacts of climate change.
Few countries understand the relationship between water and urban development better than the Netherlands.
Rather than viewing resilience as an additional cost, the Dutch approach recognizes it as a long-term investment—one that protects communities, reduces future losses, and creates stronger, more valuable places to live and invest.
As Caribbean nations confront rising sea levels, stronger storms, coastal erosion, and aging infrastructure, these lessons have become increasingly relevant.
Representing the Caribbean perspective, Adam Greenfader, then Chair of the ULI Southeast Florida/Caribbean Council and Chairman of AG&T, shared lessons learned from the ULI Advisory Services Panel for the Municipality of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico.
The multidisciplinary panel examined how one of Puerto Rico’s most vulnerable municipalities could rebuild after Hurricane Maria while improving long-term resilience, strengthening economic opportunity, and reducing future climate risks.
Rather than focusing solely on reconstruction, the discussion emphasized creating communities that are stronger than those that existed before the storm.
This philosophy—often described as “building back better”—has since become a guiding principle for resilient development worldwide.
Joining the discussion was Henk Ovink, the Netherlands’ Special Envoy for International Water Affairs and one of the world’s foremost experts on climate adaptation and water management. Mr. Ovink discussed how climate resilience requires integrated thinking across government, infrastructure, finance, urban planning, and community engagement.
His work through initiatives such as Rebuild by Design, the Global Center on Adaptation, and Water as Leverage has demonstrated that resilience is most successful when architects, engineers, investors, policymakers, scientists, and local communities collaborate from the earliest stages of planning.
One of the most important themes of the roundtable was the distinction between recovery and regeneration.
Recovery seeks to restore what existed before.
Regeneration asks a more ambitious question:
How can we rebuild communities that are stronger, safer, more sustainable, and better prepared for future generations?
That philosophy extends far beyond engineering.
It includes resilient housing, renewable energy, modern infrastructure, nature-based solutions, flood management, resilient tourism, environmental restoration, and economic diversification.
Increasingly, these principles are also influencing investment decisions.
Since this discussion took place, climate resilience has become one of the most important considerations in global real estate and infrastructure investment.
Institutional investors now routinely evaluate climate risk alongside traditional financial metrics.
Insurance markets increasingly reward resilient design.
Hotels, resorts, airports, ports, hospitals, and mixed-use developments are incorporating resilience into their planning from the earliest stages.
For the Caribbean, resilience is no longer simply about protecting communities.
It has become a competitive advantage.
Destinations that invest in resilient infrastructure, sustainable development, renewable energy, and climate adaptation will be better positioned to attract tourism, institutional capital, and long-term economic growth.
For more than three decades, AG&T has viewed resilience as an essential component of responsible development throughout the Caribbean.
Whether advising hospitality projects, master-planned communities, infrastructure initiatives, or economic development strategies, we believe resilience should not be treated as a regulatory requirement or a marketing slogan.
It is an investment strategy. Projects that are thoughtfully designed to withstand climate risk, reduce operating costs, protect natural systems, and enhance community well-being create stronger long-term value for investors, residents, and governments alike.
The conversations held in the Netherlands reinforced an important principle that continues to guide our work today: The Caribbean has the opportunity not simply to recover from climate change—but to become a global leader in resilient, regenerative development.
By combining local knowledge with international best practices, we can create island communities that are stronger, more sustainable, and more prosperous for generations to come.
Some of the works discussed:
The Weekly Journal Staff 6-4-19
Gov. Ricardo Rosselló announced that Gran Meliá Hotel was bought by Monarch Alternative Capital in partnership with Royal Palm Companies and Ambridge Hospitality. Together they will rebrand and relaunch the hotel as the Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve. The governor announced that the developers are contemplating a 10-year master plan. This will include six hotels in the Grand Reserve (Coco Beach) peninsula in Río Grande, of which three are expected to be opening by 2022. “Transactions such as these that are happening now validate that our commitment to tourism is a successful one, and there is a positive environment for investment,” Rosselló said at the 41st International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference by New York University (NYU). The governor added, “we have managed to streamline processes to grant tax benefits and permits, which proves that this administration maintains a bureaucratic battle so that the private sector may have better investment opportunities.”
New Project
The Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve Resort will have five new restaurants and will create roughly 200 new jobs. The average rate is expected to fluctuate by $300 per night. During his presentation, Rosselló revealed blueprints and mockups for the property. He stressed that Puerto Rico’s “fertile and positive” environment for investments in the hotel industry. The Hyatt Regency Coco Beach Resort is part of a $120 million deal made possible through an agreement with the Puerto Rico Tourism Co. (PRTC), which granted tax credits conforming to the P.R. Tourism Development Act (Act No. 74-2010). Of the total investment, $100 million correspond to development costs to elevate the property to Hyatt’s luxury standards. The PRTC has been working on this business deal along investors for several months. PRTC Executive Director Carla Campos assures that Tourism is focused on increasing the island’s hotel inventory in the short term, emphasizing Puerto Rico’s “competitive and incomparable” investment advantages.
After damages caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017, Monarch Alternative Capital, which already had interests in the peninsula, seized the opportunity to acquire the Gran Meliá Resort, with 486 rooms, 135 bedroom units, and 14 more terrain acres. In order to proceed with the transaction, Monarch made a conjoint agreement with Royal Palm Companies and Ambridge Hospitality. According to Campos, this project makes part of a “long-term master plan” that seeks to add 2,500 new rooms to the island’s hotel inventory and 1,500 new jobs. “This will result in a total investment of roughly $1.5 billion, when the six hotels are finished,” she added. Both the governor and the PRTC executive director stressed Puerto Rico’s strategic position as a connector between the United States and Latin America and the island’s structural reforms, which they claim positions Puerto Rico as the most competitive U.S. jurisdiction for hotel investment.
The officials also highlighted the investment tools that provide a combination of tax benefits at state level, in addition to the competitive advantage of being almost entirely eligible for certain benefits and exemptions under the Opportunity Zones incentive as included in the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
For more information on Caribbean hospitality projects, contact AG&T.
In 2018, less than a year after Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated Puerto Rico, the headlines focused almost exclusively on destruction, migration, and uncertainty.
At AG&T, we saw something different. While acknowledging the immense humanitarian and economic challenges facing the island, we believed Puerto Rico was entering a period of profound transformation. The combination of federal reconstruction funding, economic reform, tax incentives, private investment, and long-overdue infrastructure modernization created the foundation for what could become one of the island’s most significant economic renaissances in decades.
Several of the themes discussed in the interview have proven remarkably accurate. Puerto Rico experienced one of the largest reconstruction efforts in modern U.S. history, supported by tens of billions of dollars in federal investment for housing, infrastructure, utilities, schools, healthcare facilities, and resilience projects.
The discussion also anticipated the growing importance of Puerto Rico’s tax incentive programs, Opportunity Zones, and the island’s role as a gateway between the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
At the same time, many of the challenges identified remain part of Puerto Rico’s ongoing conversation, including housing affordability, infrastructure modernization, energy resilience, insurance costs, population dynamics, and creating economic growth that benefits all Puerto Ricans.
For more than three decades, AG&T has believed that Puerto Rico’s future extends far beyond disaster recovery. The island possesses exceptional long-term advantages, including its strategic location, U.S. legal and financial framework, highly educated bilingual workforce, manufacturing base, expanding hospitality sector, and unique tax and investment incentives.
Our work has consistently focused on helping connect these strengths with responsible private investment while promoting resilient, sustainable, and inclusive economic development.
The interview below captures an important moment in Puerto Rico’s history when rebuilding was just beginning and the island’s future remained uncertain.
The following article originally appeared in Bisnow South Florida and is reproduced here with permission/summary for historical context.
By Deirdra Funcheon as Published in Bisnow South Florida
Puerto Rico has been desperate for aid that has been too slow and insufficient following hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. But a few on the island say the attention followed might ultimately be a net positive for the commonwealth. “The bottom line is that Puerto Rico in the next two to three years is expected to see strong growth — 3 to 3.5% of GDP,” said Adam Greenfader, principal of Miami-based AG&T Development and Advisory Services. “It hasn’t had growth in 12 years. A depression is defined as negative economic growth for three quarters, so for all intents and purposes, Puerto Rico has been in a depression for 12 years.”
Greenfader married into a family that facilitates Section 8 housing throughout Puerto Rico. He then became a developer there himself. Currently, he serves as the liaison to the Puerto Rico Builders’ Association and the chair of the Urban Land Institute’s Caribbean Council. Greenfader points out that while last summer’s hurricanes devastated the commonwealth, jobs had already been scarce for more than a decade as the government faced a crippling debt crisis, owing $123B and declaring bankruptcy last spring. Though an estimated 150,000 Puerto Ricans fled to the U.S. mainland after the hurricanes, between 60,000 and 70,000 residents had already been leaving each year of the crisis. Puerto Rico’s current population is about 3.5 million, down from a peak of about 4 million, Greenfader said.
Turnaround efforts began years ago. Reforms enacted in 2012 enticed businesses and high net worth individuals to relocate to Puerto Rico by taxing corporate profits at a flat 4% and eliminating taxes on dividends, interest and capital gains for anyone who resided at least half the year in Puerto Rico. For anyone selling a company or large amounts of stock, these measures could result in saving millions of dollars on taxes. Famously, Putnam Bridge Funding CEO Nicholas Prouty invested more than $100M and relocated his family. Billionaire John Paulson bought several hotels. Michael E. Tennenbaum founded Caribbean Capital & Consultancy Corp. Goldman Sachs and various hedge funds moved in and bought distressed mortgages for pennies on the dollar.
Greenfader said that about 1000 high net worth individuals moved to the island, and about 200 are coming each year. Cottage industries sprung up to cater to these ultra-wealthy. Then last year’s hurricanes blew through, knocking out power and killing 64 people directly and 4,645 in total, according to Harvard University. Though the U.S. government responded painfully slowly, $18B in aid has been approved from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and billions more are expected, Greenfader said.
Recovery is slow, but happening. Tesla built a solar array to power a children’s hospital. Doctors are being offered tax incentives to stay in Puerto Rico. Private insurance companies have started to pay claims, so 60% of hotels are now operational, Greenfader said. He believes that when the economy improves, exiles will move back.
Publicity around the hurricanes certainly brought attention to the commonwealth. Immediately after the hurricanes, only about half of Americans knew that Puerto Rico was part of the United States; that number has since risen to 76%. Following the disaster, dozens of cryptocurrency entrepreneurs relocated to San Juan to buy hundreds of thousands of acres of land, take advantage of the tax structure and set up a “crypto utopia.” Greenfader suggested there is more opportunity for economic recovery: Puerto Rico’s tourism industry makes up only 6.5% of gross domestic product, whereas on many Caribbean islands, that figure is 50% or more. That is by design, he said; in the 1950s and ’60s, laws were structured to keep out the Mafiosos who ran Cuba. It could be increased substantially.
Furthermore, the island has long had a mishmash system of collecting property taxes, partly because so many homes are built informally or illegally — “People get a paycheck, buy [a] few beers, invite their friends and family over to build a wall at a time,” Greenfader said — and partly because the tax code hasn’t been revised since 1950s. “A property worth a million dollars might pay no more than $2K, $3K in taxes for a year,” Greenfader said. A better system of collecting taxes could be implemented to make the government more solvent. Although he is optimistic, Greenfader acknowledged the challenges.
While Puerto Rico is a diverse society, where rich and poor have long mixed freely, the influx of people taking advantage of the tax breaks is “adding an upper class the island never had before,” he said, and there has been some blowback. Workaday employees are facing pension cuts and austerity measures as Puerto Rico grapples with its debt. Currently, according to Democracy Now, 55,000 residents are in foreclosure and the government is turning to privatization as the solution for economic woes, which will enrich investors but hurt the working class. In a Bloomberg article Monday about the search for someone to buy the country’s beleaguered electric company, which goes so far as to ask potential buyers how they would like to be regulated, a Puerto Rico resident said, “We are tired of people coming here to get rich and take advantage of us.” Some grass-roots organizations have taken shape to resist Wall Street — forces that author Naomi Klein explores in a new book, “The Battle for Paradise: Puerto Rico Takes On the Disaster Capitalists.”
Greenfader noted that insurance premiums will likely continue to rise, and the Jones Act, a shipping law that requires goods to stop in a mainland port, makes commodities expensive. Whatever economic policies prevail, at least new construction on the island should be more resilient. Greenfader said builders already adhere to codes that mirror Miami-Dade’s, which were made stronger after Hurricane Andrew in 1992. They use reinforced concrete and no wood. Going forward, he said, there is a commitment to using more sustainable designs, particularly in the energy space, such as solar power arrays and micro electric grids. Today, about 10,000 customers in Puerto Rico who lost electricity after last year’s hurricanes are still without power.
Sustainability has long been a buzzword within the design community, and hoteliers in particular have been latching onto the idea of the past number of years. Not only is it a response to an increased awareness of climate change and the impact we as humans, especially those working in one aspect of the construction industry, have on the planet, but it is also a response to client demand, with more and more guests desiring sustainable tourism as a requirement in their holidays. An annual competition run by hotel consultancy firm the John Hardy Group called Radical Innovation Award takes submissions for innovative hotel designs that reimagine the hospitality experience, and this year’s entries and winners point to a significant upswing in sustainable hospitality that could well be the future of the industry.
The award has singled out a number of visionary projects as finalists, but many of the entries proposed radical ideas that threw out the rulebook of hospitality design. A common theme was that of sustainability, both in an environmentally friendly sense, but also in a cultural sense, where local culture and art is celebrated and promoted. This also points to recent trends in hospitality where local experiences are being sought by guests wishing to engage more with the place and people they are visiting.
Green or garden hotels were a big feature of a number of entries. Canadian firm Arno Matis Architecture proposed a project entitled the “Vertical Micro-Climate Hotel”, whose concept is to make the outdoor areas of hotels located in the harsh climates of North America habitable all year round. One of the features of this hotel was the use of heliostat technology, a mirroring system which reflects sun back into certain parts of the building as required so as to make them habitable even in colder weather conditions. EoA’s submission involved suspending hotel facilities from a treetop by using a system of cables to hold rooms in tent-form above a trampoline-like platform, giving the hotel a very small footprint above the forest floor and re-orientating the guest’s field of vision to that from the tree canopy. A Dutch architecture student submitted a project that he had built in his mother’s back garden which connects guests to nature while allowing them to sleep in a sustainably built and naturally ventilated structure.
The culturally sustainable aspect came in the form of the currently-operational Play Design Hotel in Taiwan, which champions local artists and designers by installing their creations into hotel rooms and encouraging guest to interact with them. The idea came about after the developer noticed a lot of his artist friends were having to go abroad to showcase their designs, and he thought that it would be better to not only exhibit the work locally in hotels so that international guests could see them, but also to cultivate an environment of design engagement within the hotels themselves. “I want people to experience the culture of this country and played a lot with the idea of using the hotel as a portal for people who want to learn about Taiwanese design, a space that is furnished with all of these local designers’ work. So, their work is not only shown but so it’s experienced. Design isn’t something you only put in a museum or gallery. It should be used. It’s for your everyday use,” says hotelier Ting-Han Chen.
Article by Hospitality.net.
