2025 Columbia GSAPP Real Estate Conference

Please join GSAPP for the 2025 Elevating Cities; Actioning Real Estate Conference.

Please join Columbia GSAPP for the 2025 Real Estate Development Conference on Elevating Cities; Actioning Real Estate on September 19, 2025, at the Mandarin Oriental, New York City.

The conference will feature influential voices in development, urban planning, investment, architecture, and policy — and demonstrate the dynamic influence of real estate development on shaping the future of cities. Highlights will include how innovative design, sustainable growth strategies, and equitable development practices are transforming cities into more livable, resilient, and connected communities. Through a series of thought-provoking panel discussions, the conference will examine how cities are adapting to complex challenges and what’s required to build urban environments that are smarter, more inclusive, and resilient for the future.

7:30am
Registration and Networking Breakfast

8:25-8:35am
Welcome
Dean Andrés Jaque

Framing the Conversation
Adam Lubinsky ’01 M.Arch
Principal, WXY, Associate Professor of Professional Practice,
Interim Director, Columbia GSAPP MSRED Program

8:40-9:10am, Keynote
Maria Torres-Springer
Senior Fellow, Ford Foundation & Former First Deputy Mayor of New York City

9:15-10:00am, Building Affordability, Building Futures: Housing for Cities of Opportunity
Cecily King ‘15 MSRED/Faculty
Founder, Kipling Development & Associate Professor Columbia MSRED

Jonathan Rose
President, Jonathan Rose Companies LLC

Howard Slatkin ‘00 MSUP
Executive Director, Citizens Housing and Planning Council

Anna Kodé, Moderator
Reporter, The New York Times

10:00-10:10am Break

10:15-10:55am, The PENN District: Redefining the 21st Century Central Business District
Barry Langer ‘02 MSRED
Executive Vice President - Development and Co-Head of Real Estate, Vornado Realty Trust

Claire Weisz
Founding Partner & Principal, WXY

Tom Wright ‘95 MSUP
President & CEO at Regional Planning Association (RPA)

Tiffany Lau ‘09 MSRED, Moderator
Founder & Principal of A P A R T Companies,
and Senior Principal, Strategic Placemaking, Hongkong Land

11:00-11:30am, New York State of Mind
Melissa Román Burch
Chief Operating Officer, NYCEDC

11:35-12:15pm, Postcards from the Edges? Perspectives from New Centers of Development
Sonny Kalsi
Co-Chief Executive Officer at BGO

Nitin Motwani ‘04 MSRED
Managing Partner, Merrimac Ventures
Managing Partner, Miami Worldcenter

Mark Van Zandt, Moderator
Managing Director, Co-Head of Real Estate, King Street

12:15-1:15pm Lunch

1:15-1:55pm City Stewards in Dialogue
GT Bynum
Former Mayor, City of Tulsa

Steven Fulop ‘06 SIPA
Mayor, Jersey City

Brian Loughlin ‘02 M.Arch, Moderator
Principal, Magnusson Architecture and Planning

2:00-2:40pm Extreme Weather: Navigating Climate Crisis and Political Headwinds in Development
Tommy Craig ‘82 MBA
Senior Managing Director, Hines

JP Flaherty ‘07 MSUP/MBA
Managing Director, Global Head of Sustainability and Building Technologies, Tishman Speyer

Clare Newman ‘07 MSUP
President and CEO, Trust for Governors Island

James von Klemperer
President of Kohn Pedersen Fox

Kate Ascher, Moderator
Milstein Professor of Urban Development

2:45-3:30 Real Estate Leadership in a Changing World
Larissa Belova ‘09 MSRED
Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager in the US Direct Real Estate
UBS Asset Management

Jon Kully ‘02 M.Arch
Managing Partner, LEFT LANE

Alexander Smith
Managing Partner, Regal Ventures

Christopher Munsell ‘16 MSRED, Moderator
Glascock Associate Professor of Professional Practice of Real Estate Development Finance

3:30pm Closing Remarks

Award Presentation

2025 Award for Commitment to the MS Real Estate Development Program
John Lyons ’17 MSRED

2025 Award for Global Leadership in Real Estate and Citymaking
Nitin Motwani ’04 MSRED & Dev Motwani ’06 MSRED

The Conference is supported by the Columbia University GSAPP MSRED Program and the GSAPP Office of Alumni and Development.