"Inspired Urbaneering": Greenland USA's tagline (and web site)

Greenland USA, majority owner of Greenland Forest City Partners, updated its onetime placeholder web site to a nice slick site last fall, and it's worth a look.

The full home page is reproduced below. It's probably not coincidental that the less controversial and complicated Metropolis project in Los Angeles gets billing over Pacific Park Brooklyn.

A new tag line

Greenland offers this tag line: "Inspired Urbaneering." What the heck does that mean?

If it's a combo of "urban" and "pioneer," well, the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park site was hardly the hinterlands. Here's Greenland's overview, which offers some pleasant generalities:

Greenland USA’s mission is to create vibrant communities where people and neighborhoods thrive.
We develop residential and commercial properties that transform communities and exemplify modern living.

They are defined by their ability to fit seamlessly within a city, catalyze the local economy, foster the growth of the surrounding areas, and provide residents and visitors with a full range of community services, amenities, and open green space.

Greenland USA was established in 2013 as a subsidiary of Greenland Holding Group, which is publicly traded on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and ranked 311th on the Fortune Global 500. Greenland Group has developed properties in 26 provinces in China as well as in nine countries on four continents.

To date, we have invested more than $8B in projects on the east and west coast and we continually assess new opportunities.

Other definitions

Note the contrast with "urbaneering," as defined by the nonprofit Terreform:

Our intention is to jumpstart a new profession that can re-invent and negotiate the complex mix that encompasses a city. We have defined a radical new occupation to regenerate, pioneer, and sustain the future urban realm. These innovative multi-disciplinarian advocates are called Urbaneers. Their immense task is to manifest and facilitate the City 2.0 across the globe. Each Urbaneer is an individual with a different set of versatile abilities that merge previously disparate occupations. They range from combined ecological  architects and engineers to action based  urban planners and developers.

Or this definition from the crowdsourced Definithing:

urbaneercontraction of “urban” and “pioneer”
an urbaneer is an influencer/early-adopter within the millennial generation, establishing themselves as part of a live/work community in a city. they are part of the rising creative class, are usually described as hipsters, and are leading the migration away from suburban living.

But a real estate broker in Toronto takes credit for establishing the Urbaneer brand in 1995 (and trademarking it in 1998. An early tagline: 'Pioneering Your New Urban Spirit!'

Greenland USA web site 7-7-17 by Norman Oder on Scribd


More about Greenland

On its Company page, Greenland repeats this line:

We develop residential and commercial properties that transform communities and exemplify modern living. Our properties are defined by their ability to fit seamlessly within a city, catalyze the local economy, foster the growth of the surrounding areas, and provide residents and visitors with a full range of community services and amenities.

(Emphased added)

Seamless is in the eye of the beholder.

More:

Greenland USA was established in 2013 as a subsidiary of Greenland Holding Group, which is publicly traded on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and ranked 311th on the Fortune Global 500. Greenland Group has developed properties in 26 provinces in China as well as in nine countries on four continents, including the US, Australia, Canada, the UK, Germany, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia. We couple our international expertise in large-scale, mixed-use properties, our commitment to design innovation, quality and efficiency, and local market insight, to bring our vision to life. To date, we have invested more than $8B in projects on the east and west coast and we continually assess new opportunities.

The leadership

From the web site:

Hu Gang
PRESIDENT & CEO
Hu Gang has served as president and CEO of Greenland USA since November 2015.
With nearly twenty years of experience in real estate development planning, construction, sales and marketing, Mr. Hu oversees Greenland USA’s $8 billion in assets and explores new opportunities for growth. Mr. Hu leads Greenland USA’s investment strategy and pipeline in alignment with parent company Greenland Group, one of the largest real estate company in the world.
Mr. Hu previously served as vice president of Greenland USA’s New York office, overseeing day to day management of the company’s activities on the east coast and leading its development of Pacific Park Brooklyn.
Mr. Hu joined Greenland Group in June 2003 as the assistant general director of the company’s Northeast China Division. In this role, he oversaw the construction of the 1.1 million-square-foot Shanghai City residential complex in Changchun, China. Prior to joining Greenland USA, he was the deputy general director of the Baltic Pearl project in St. Petersburg, the largest residential development in Russia, and was also deputy general director of the region’s largest shopping center, Pearl Plaza, located within Baltic Pearl.
Mr. Hu received his bachelor’s degree in construction management from Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology. He is a supervision engineer and cost engineer certified by the People’s Republic of China’s Construction Ministry. 

Jian Xu
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
Jian Xu oversees construction and design at Greenland USA. He directly leads the design, contract and construction departments for Pacific Park Brooklyn and oversees the design department for the Metropolis project in Los Angeles.
Mr. Xu joined Greenland Group in February 2002 as assistant chief architect. His responsibilities included project planning and the overall architecture for major projects. Mr. Xu led two of Greenland Group’s earliest projects outside of Shanghai, including a 2.2 million-square-foot luxury apartment property and a 165-acre villa project.
Mr. Xu has held a number of senior managerial positions at Greenland Group including serving as assistant general manager and director of design of its northwest business division. He also served as CEO of its Yinchuan City Company where he oversaw development of Century City, a 13 million-square-foot mixed used property in Xi’an’s central business district.
He obtained a bachelor’s degree in construction management from Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology. He is a certified senior engineer in China.
Regarding the parent:

GREENLAND HOLDING GROUP
Established in Shanghai, China on July 18, 1992, Greenland Holding Group Company Limited (also known as “Greenland Group”) holds an asset size of nearly USD $99B and has ranked among Fortune Global 500 for five consecutive years.
Committed to transforming communities around the world, Greenland Group manages projects in over 100 cities in nine countries on four continents, including the United States, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia.
Greenland Group specializes in developing large-scale projects while prioritizing quality and efficiency. The company is a leader in the development of ultra-high-rise buildings, large urban complexes, and industrial parks and business districts surrounding transportation centers, such as high-speed railway stations. Currently, there are 23 ultra-high-rise projects under construction or completed by Greenland Group, four of which are among top 10 tallest buildings in the world.
Beyond real estate, Greenland Group has diversified its portfolio by expanding into strategic and related industries, such as retail and transportation.

Note that "prioritizing quality and efficiency" can mean some trade-offs.

Describing Pacific Park

Note the company's description of its Brooklyn project:

Brooklyn is Your Front Yard - Serenity is Your Backyard.
Encompassing 15 buildings that will surround an iconic 8-acre park, Pacific Park is a new community with something for everyone, in the heart of Brooklyn.
Pacific Park will offer a range of homes, from affordable and market-rate rentals to condominium homes. While each building is unique, they’ll all offer light, airy ambiances where residents can relax from the hustle and bustle of the city. Homes will also be oriented with views in mind, whether it be of the Manhattan skyline, or the park, with its sloping lawns for picnics and sunbathing, public promenade, children’s play areas, dog runs, and athletic spaces.

Note of course that it won't be a "public park," as described elsewhere on the page, and also that the buildings will not "surround" the park, given that at least four will not touch any open space.

Design principles

Greenland describes its design philosophy:

Greenland USA prides itself on developing properties that transform and sustain communities both socially and economically. To do this, we partner with the world’s leading architects and designers to draw inspiration not only from the needs of each local community, but also from our expertise in creating urban destinations. Together, with Asian design principles at our core and the latest in modern, purposeful and innovative architecture, we develop properties that become integral to the fabric of each neighborhood that fit seamlessly into its environment while also reimagining skylines and streetscapes across the country.

Again with the "seamless" claim.

"Small businesses"

Note the press release from 12/16/16 regarding 550 Vanderbilt:

Greenland USA announced today it has secured the first Temporary Certificate of Occupancy (TCO) for 550 Vanderbilt, its first market-rate condominium at Pacific Park Brooklyn in New York. Greenland USA broke ground on the 278-unit building almost exactly two years ago. The first secured TCO marks the first of several upcoming milestones leading to the move-in of residents at 550 Vanderbilt
Following closely on the heels of 550 Vanderbilt, 535 Carlton, a 298-unit all-affordable apartment building, is expected to welcome its first residents in January 2017. Move-ins at 535 Carlton will mark the completion of the second all-affordable building at Pacific Park Brooklyn, reinforcing Greenland Forest City Ratner Partners’ commitment to delivering 2,250 affordable units by 2025—ten years ahead of the previous schedule. Once completed, Pacific Park Brooklyn will be a cornerstone of the Brooklyn community, integrating family homes, storefronts, small businesses, school, shopping and entertainment, all with direct access to multiple subway, bus and LIRR lines.

Note plans for a massive amount of retail at the percolating Site 5 development, likened to Time Warner Center, which would not exactly exemplify small business.