Who’s Who in Real Estate: Ryan Aubry

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Title: Development director

Company: Greenland USA

Project: Overseeing construction of Metropolis, an $877 million mixed-use project with residential, hotel and retail at Eighth and Francisco streets.

What brought you to this project?

Greenland USA is drawn to cities in transformation, and Los Angeles is a prime example of a true international metropolitan city undergoing major revitalization. Additionally, the city’s culturally vibrant and diverse communities are a primary reason Greenland USA was drawn to the Metropolis project.

What projects prepared you to take on Metropolis and why?

Greenland USA’s core strength comes from our ability to build large mixed-use projects that benefit the cities we develop in and build community, including our Metropolis project in Los Angeles, Pacific Park Brooklyn in New York and the project at Oyster Point in South San Francisco. We couple our extensive international track record with a commitment to design innovation, quality and efficiency, in addition to local market expertise, to bring transformative properties to fruition.

What sets this project apart from others in downtown?

Metropolis offers luxurious for-sale housing with exceptional amenities at the epicenter of downtown Los Angeles, which differs from a majority of the housing currently being delivered downtown, as most are for rent. While the rental product is doing a great job of attracting a significant number of new residents to downtown, many of these renters aspire to become homeowners in the downtown neighborhood they are pioneering. And, with Metropolis’ Hotel Indigo, the project is … supporting the city’s increased need for tourism facilities and hotel space.

What are your biggest challenges with this property?

As with any business, there are always challenges when it comes to development. For instance, we were understandably concerned about the ballot result of Measure S earlier this year. Still, we were confident the people of Los Angeles would throw their support behind the city’s ongoing transformation and its positive impacts on the economy. The outcome of the vote reflects the community’s openness to more development and investment, which will only grow the economy more and create more jobs, not to mention the millions of dollars that new developments such as Metropolis generate for affordable housing, schools and parks.

What impact will this project have on downtown?

Greenland USA’s vision has always been to help create better lives for the community through critical investments in innovation and local infrastructure that not only catalyze the local economy, but also foster growth and social vitality for the long term. The availability and access to open green space, multiple modes of transportation and range of amenities that Metropolis provides are all core components of our design philosophy.

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