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As part of a multi-year project, AREA worked with the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) and the City of Philadelphia to develop a rental housing database and an associated hedonic pricing model for use by PHA staff in determining appropriate rents for specific units using Housing Choice (formerly Section 8) certificates and vouchers.
We identified 34 housing submarkets within the city and collected data on over 1,500 rental units—including rents, size, building/unit type and condition, and neighborhood characteristics—for input into the database. AREA's annual updates will keep the database current.
City of Chicago Rezoning – Chicago, Illinois
Chicago's zoning ordinance was written in 1923 and comprehensively revised in 1957. Almost 45 years later, the City decided to review and update the ordinance once again.
To this end, AREA worked with Duncan Associates to assess issues and policy options affecting housing, commercial/retail/industrial, central business district, transportation, and open-space regulations.
Focusing on housing development and market trends, AREA examined neighborhoods with expanded populations and geographic areas where zoning limits have been lowered in recent years.
Impact of Cerro Grande Fire on Housing Values – Los Alamos, New Mexico
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) retained AREA to assess  the impact of the May 2000 Cerro Grande fire on residential property values in Los Alamos.
After thoroughly examining housing prices before and after the fire, interviewing residents, and performing an extensive statistical analysis of the data, AREA found that home prices had escalated immediately after the fire and continued on an upward trend thereafter. There was no indication that the fire had caused a permanent diminution of housing values.
Environmental Impact Statement – Chicago, Illinois
Working with Envirodyne Engineers, Inc., AREA assisted the General Services Administration with preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement for a planned 600,000-square-foot federal office building in downtown Chicago.
AREA's role was to assess the proposed building's effects on employment in downtown Chicago and to compare the impacts of alternative development sites on the downtown office and retail markets.
Central Area Circulator – Chicago, Illinois
Working with Stein & Company, AREA assessed the potential economic and development impacts of a proposed light-rail circulator in downtown Chicago and wrote portions of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
To gauge the degree to which downtown offices were dependent on convenient access, we designed and implemented an intercept survey of 2,000+ downtown office workers regarding their propensity to make midday shopping trips on the proposed circulator.
We also supervised a nationwide survey of convention planners to learn whether the circulator would enhance Chicago's ability to draw large conventions.
Market Study and Impact Analysis for a Planned Outlet Mall – Lake County, Illinois
Western Development Corporation retained AREA to analyze market demand for a 1.8-million-square-foot super-regional outlet mall in Gurnee, Illinois.
AREA assessed the economic impact that a newly constructed mall of this type and size would have on existing retail establishments in the northeastern Illinois/southeastern Wisconsin area. A key finding was that a new outlet mall in Lake County could capture some of the Illinois dollars that were "leaking" to Wisconsin.
Other selected analyses:
- Analysis of the economic impacts of Chicago's three airports, performed as part of a team headed by National Economic Research Associates (NERA).
- Study of the economic impact of the air cargo industry on Chicago's regional economy.
- Fiscal impact analysis of a proposed land-based casino development in Chicago, conducted for the facility's three planned owners: Circus Circus Enterprises, Inc., Hilton Hotels Corporation, and Caesar's World, Inc.
- Analysis of the economic impacts of a planned Chicago Transit Authority bus garage on the surrounding neighborhood.
- Analysis of energy markets for a proposed solid waste resource-recovery facility in Chicago.
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