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| In Photo: Richard Reep, AIA, Tim Lemons, AIA, Clarice Sollog, Associate AIA |
By: Richard Reep, AIA Orlando President Elect
The Grassroots conference held February 3-6 in Washington, DC was a decidedly somber affair as architects, battered by the economy, gathered to take Washington’s temperature and trade stories about their own situations. The solidarity and community was reassuring to most, and the chance to be heard on Capitol Hill was satisfying. While the long term prospects to return to a normal practice remain good, the near term appears to hold little change for a distressed and desperate profession, and your Component representatives made your voice heard on Capitol Hill.
Florida and Caribbean leaders gathered to share news, and inevitably the specter of Amendment 4 loomed in the room. Architects in Florida are also watching House Bill 701 which would prevent a suit to be brought against an architecture firm and an individual architect as well, overriding a recent circuit court decision extending architects’ liability beyond what is specified in a contract. Both changes highlight the fights that architects are facing in Florida to keep their practices viable. On a bright note, the Miami component was proud to announce their preparations are going smoothly for the upcoming National Convention, which will be a chance to showcase the state to the nation’s firms.
Your Orlando leadership met with the offices of your elected representatives in Congress. Orlando President Tim Lemons, Florida Vice President Dan Kirby, Florida President-Elect Michael Lingerfelt, Orlando President-Elect Richard Reep, Florida Associate Regional Director Clarice Sollog and Orlando Executive Director Karen Jones effectively articulated the AIA’s agenda, using personal stories to illustrate the need for action on five core issues. The message was communicated to the offices of Alan Grayson, Susan Kosmas, and Bill Nelson. Our agenda included:
Work to unfreeze credit, allowing our private clients access to money for projects. Rep. Ron Perlmutter noted to the convention how private lending is suspended due to a lack of trust between banking institutions, and how Congress is working to help rebuild this trust to allow banks to function properly again.
Relieve small businesses (a category in which most architecture firms fall) by passing the Small Business Financing and Investment Act, and reducing the burden of COBRA for laid-off workers. COBRA payments for one small local Orlando firm are the equivalent of one full-time salaried employee, making this program an absurd farce benefitting no one but the insurance companies.
Fund school redevelopment. Across the nation – and in Florida, especially – schools are part of the aging infrastructure that reflect a lack of investment in the future. AIA requests Congress to target funds to renovate and modernize schools and bring them up to 21st century standards. White House Director of Urban Affairs Adolpho Carrion Jr. reassured the convention that this item, among others, is also high on the President’s agenda for cities.
Rebuild and renew Central Florida’s communities. CDBGs are excellent, well-tested vehicles for community investment in times of crisis, turning around empty residences, offices, and retail space, removing blight and rebuilding community.
Expand the Energy Efficient Tax Deduction for Commercial Buildings. This deduction for building owners currently ranges from 30 cents to $1.80 per square foot, and if the upper limit were set to $3.00 per square foot, it will come within the range of actionable ways to stimulate green investment by private developers.
In addition, Orlando’s unique needs were addressed by your leadership. Our Sunrail and the President’s High-Speed rail programs must get political backing for a linkage to give them a fighting chance at making ridership projections. Business forces working against this linkage must be overcome to truly make Central Florida effective in its mass transit dreams, or these systems will be weakened, reducing investment in transit-oriented development.
And architects in Central Florida substantially depend on private development driven by tourism, giving Orlando’s architecture community a leg up on the competition when it comes to designing people-oriented places. The exodus of this design professional niche from Orlando to the competition will take a toll on the region’s single biggest industry and its ability to keep up with other destinations.
Candidates for national AIA offices spoke about the need for jobs and for solidarity among design professionals. The reality of the profession is that it will endure and change. 2010 President Clark Manus is dynamic, yet pragmatic when it comes to the reality of leading our organization through the next year. Conserving our resources, and making strategic moves to keep architects in the role of trusted advisors to their clients when it comes to the built environment, are key objectives for us as we navigate through the Scylla and Charibdis of these difficult economic times.
In good times or bad, Grassroots is an excellent venue for professional leaders to hear stories of innovation and evolution between colleagues, to hear firsthand how other regions are adapting to change, and to reinforce the profession with a brief but important collective voice to our political leaders. All this allows our region to bring back key learning and insight that helps us lead the chapter better for your benefit.