Building Vibrant Cities: MaryAnne Gilmartin’s Insights for Developers, Investors and Policy Makers

Welcome back to the Thesis Driven Leader Series! In this episode, Thesis Driven editor and host Brad Hargreaves is speaking with one of the preeminent developers of our generation, MaryAnne Gilmartin. She’s known for building Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, Atlantic Yards, and the New York Times building, to name a few. And she’s now expanding beyond New York City to develop the Baltimore Peninsula - a 177 acre project which includes 14 million square feet of new development and 40 acres of publicly accessible open space.

In this interview, you’ll hear about the exciting details of her emerging new development on the Baltimore Peninsula as well as why this project is an excellent model for urban spaces - from the details of the master plan to the urban geography to the role of placemaking to the motivations of each stakeholder. 

MaryAnne and Brad also discuss the current development environment in New York City. MaryAnne shares her thoughts about the policies and politics that have added headwinds to new housing construction and what the city and state need to do to dig out of the housing crisis. She also shares why she’s optimistic about the city and many New York politicians and why, ultimately, she’d still bet on NYC over any other city in the world.

This interview will be inspiring to any lovers of great real estate projects and development. MaryAnne has a wealth of insights on what it takes to thrive (and survive) as a developer and what key elements make a project valuable and promising. She has a palpable passion for cities and creativity and vision for the future of the built world.

Excited to see you on the next episode of the Thesis Driven Leader Series - till then, check out the Thesis Driven weekly newsletter at https://www.thesisdriven.com