The Business Case for Art in Real Estate with Juanita Hardy

Dot Dot Dot: The NINE dot ARTS Podcast
Episode 39

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As a longtime art and business leader and creative placemaking consultant to the Urban Land Institute, Juanita Hardy knows firsthand the value that art, culture, and community-engaged design bring to real estate development projects across the globe. In this inspiring episode, she shares best practices and case studies that demonstrate the social and financial benefits of creative placemaking and placekeeping, encouraging real estate professionals to shift their thinking from “What is the cost of incorporating art and culture into my project?” to “What is the cost of NOT doing so?” or “What is the value it will add?”

According to Juanita, such value comes in the form of “soft” ROI metrics such as community engagement, civic pride, and cross-cultural understanding, which influence “hard” ROI metrics like shorter approvals, faster lease-ups, less turnover, and increased revenue. Altogether the episode reinforces how early art integration can lead to more comprehensive and creative solutions that benefit developers, artists, and society at large.

Discussed in the Episode: 
IBM
Urban Land Institute
Building Healthy Places Initiative
Creative Placemaking Project
Art in Place
The Kresge Foundation
“Creative Placemaking: Sparking Development with Art and Culture” (ULI 2020)
“Creative Placemaking: Recommendations from and Impact of Six Advisory Services Panels” (ULI 2022)
Hoyne
The Place Economy
Confluence Park – San Antonio River Foundation
The Reef Line Public Art Project in Miami Beach
Monroe Street Market
Vivian Phillips on The NINE dot ARTS Podcast
ULI Creative Placemaking Forum with Theaster Gates
Tiger Management Consulting Group


About Juanita Hardy:
Juanita Hardy is an experienced art and business leader with a passion for fostering healthy, thriving, and equitable places to live, work, learn, and play. She has over 45 years of business experience – including 31 years with IBM and nearly a decade in the real estate industry – as well as more than 35 years of experience in the arts as a nonprofit leader, trustee, collector, and patron. Juanita is now a creative placemaking consultant for the Urban Land Institute, where she served as the Senior Visiting Fellow for Creative Placemaking (CPM) from 2016 to 2018, launching its creative placemaking project and building a body of knowledge, best practices, and case studies around the value of art and culture in real estate development. 

Prior to this work, she held global leadership positions with IBM that spanned software development, systems engineering, and management consulting. After retiring in 2005, she founded Tiger Management Consulting Group, an executive coaching and business consulting services firm. Additionally, Juanita was the former Executive Director of CulturalDC (2013-2015), a nonprofit that provides space for artists and creative placemaking services for real estate developers. She also co-founded Millennium Arts Salon, an art education initiative, in 2000. Juanita currently serves on several non-profit boards including DC’s Mosaic Theatre Company and MD’s Mid Atlantic Arts. She is the chair of the board for International Arts and Artists in Washington, DC.


About Dot Dot Dot: The NINE dot ARTS Podcast
Dot Dot Dot is the continuing conversation around art and placemaking in the built environment. Hosted by NINE dot ARTS CEO Martha Weidmann, episodes explore art, culture, community, and more with a range of reputable business leaders. Tune in biweekly to learn how an original art experience can boost your business and make a social impact. Episodes are available wherever you get your podcasts!