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Cooper Carry’s Cantley picked as new chair of ULI Atlanta
Maria Saporta
Contributing Writer
Atlanta Business Chronicle
This is where Kevin Cantley, president and CEO of the Cooper Carry architectural firm for the past 20 years, remembered the first time he became aware of the Urban Land Institute.
It was in the 1970s when he was at the College of Architecture at Georgia Tech working on land-use maps. He was told to use the ULI coloring system — residential was yellow; office was blue; retail was red; institutional was purple and park land was green.
“That pretty well established in my mind that ULI was important since they had control of the colors,” Cantley said. “I have come to know ULI as the recognized authority of responsible land-use planning.”
Cantley has been active in ULI Atlanta since 1995. On July 1, he became chair of ULI Atlanta, succeeding David Allman, founder and chairman of Regent Partners.
“Kevin has been involved in almost every program that ULI does,” said Sarah Kirsch, ULI Atlanta’s executive director. “Kevin has a thoughtful leadership style. He has a really unique perspective on the breadth of what ULI does. There is no learning curve. He brings a great background.”
The ULI Atlanta district, which covers Georgia, Alabama and eastern Tennessee, is part of the worldwide Urban Land Institute that is in 100 countries and serves a base of 35,000 members.
Cantley said it is more than a professional or a business organization because it seeks to educate both the public and professionals about responsible growth patterns — and it encompasses diverse fields — planning, architecture, development, project financing and community-building.
As the new two-year chairman of ULI Atlanta, Cantley said that he will have a few priorities during his tenure.
“Personally, I would like for us to improve the disconnect that separates where people live and where the jobs are,” Cantley said. “”That speaks to the incompleteness of our transit system.”
Cantley also expects to continue ULI’s focus on working with MARTA on transit-oriented-developments (TODs) and creating more walkable communities throughout the region.
READ the FULL article at Atlanta Business Chronicle