Dan Kaplan (B.Arch. '84) and Miriam Harris: Land Rich / Cash Poor — Marrying Institutional Mission with Development

FXCollaborative has designed a number of "hybrid buildings"—towers with significant educational, cultural, or religious uses combined with residential and office development. Born out of the pressurized context of New York City, these projects are initiated by nonprofit institutions to leverage their properties’ value and advance their core missions by partnering with for-profit developers. This lecture will explore the complex city-building issues inherent in these projects including institutional mission, financial/governance structure, architectural identity, building organization and systems, etc. Case studies include: Xavier High School + 35 West 15th Street (35XV); PS150 + 77 Greenwich (around the corner from 26 Broadway); Calvary Baptist Church + 125 West 57th Street; La Hermosa Church / Music School + 5 West 110th Street. Discussion will include the larger design, urban, and policy implications of these developments.

Dan Kaplan, FAIA (B.Arch. '84) is a senior partner at FXCollaborative, where he serves in a design and leadership capacity for many of the firm's significant buildings and urban plans. He is widely recognized for integrating design excellence, sustainable innovation, and an urban point-of-view into large-scale projects. Dan approaches each project with the viewpoint that it must be both anchored in—and elevate—the larger context. Notable works include One Willoughby Square, Brooklyn; Allianz Tower, Istanbul; Eleven Times Square, New York; Greenwich Lane, New York; Ministry of Taxation, Baku; LaCentral, Bronx; 77 Greenwich, New York; 125 West 57th Street, New York; 888 Boyleston, Boston; Proto, Cambridge; 35XV, New York; and New York Times Headquarters (in collaboration with Renzo Piano Building Workshop).

Kaplan’s approach to crafting modern buildings and urban designs have garnered national and international design awards from the AIA, Chicago Athenaeum, Boston Society of Architects, Architectural Review, and SARA, among others.

Miriam Harris has over two decades of experience executing complex real estate transactions and leading large-scale ground up developments. She is Senior Vice President of Transit-Oriented Development at the MTA where she leads a team of real estate and planning professionals working on transformational public-private development projects using underutilized transit-owned assets. 

She founded MGH Advisory LLC, a real estate consulting firm in 2023. Before that she was the Head of Development for Priya Living where she led their real estate group in the national roll-out of its singular and preeminent Indian inspired senior living brand. Prior to Priya, Harris was the Executive Vice President of Trinity Place Holdings Inc. In this role, she directed all aspects of the company's real estate business including the development of 77 Greenwich, a 300,000 square foot mixed-use luxury condominium, retail, and elementary school project in Lower Manhattan, as well as the acquisitions, sales, leasing, and asset management of properties in the New York tri-state area. Harris also served as Executive Vice President and Head of the Real Estate Transaction Services Group for the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) where she negotiated public-private development deals on behalf of the Bloomberg Administration such as the Cornell Tech Campus and Essex Crossing. Miriam began her career at Forest City Ratner Companies where she was instrumental in the development of The New York Times Building as well as the companies' hotel developments.

Harris earned a Master in Urban Planning from Harvard University. She is an active member of the Urban Land Institute and WX - New York Women Executives in Real Estate.