DestiNY USA - America's Most Visionary Real Estate Project?
Silicon Valley will go down in history as one of the hotbeds for innovation and economic prosperity. All around the world government officials, economic development staff and developers are trying to figure out what ingredients are necessary to create a phenomenon as unique and successful as the "Valley".
Silicon Valley took a number of successful technology companies, added the financial muscle of San Francisco, sprinkled in the savvy of Sand Hill Road venture capitalists and added an awful lot of intellectual capital from some great universities and the rest is history. From this unique blend of skills and circumstances, a hotbed of innovation and technical prominence emerged. The questions that emerge are how and why did it happen and more importantly, can it ever happen again?
Although DestiNY USA does not lay claim to being the next Silicon Valley, this master planned, technically innovative destination could prove to be one of the most forward thinking, progressive, 21st century, NextGen projects in the world. Its vision and advanced thinking put it in the same category as Cyberport in Hong Kong, Digital Media City in Seoul and One North in Singapore. Although all of these projects represent different distinct visions, the common denominator is that they all have forward thinking ideas of what life will be like in the 21st century and are developing Real Estate projects to support and promote that lifestyle. The following is a summary of DestiNY USA as described by its developers:
"DestiNY USA is an 800-acre waterfront resort featuring the world's largest enclosed and integrated structure. Located in the heart of New York State and easily accessible to 130 million residents throughout the northeast United States and Canada, this master-planned development will be the most visited single leisure destination on earth. DestiNY USA's seventy-five million square feet of dining, shopping, entertainment, hospitality and recreation venues are physically and virtually connected, providing guests with a matchless combination of experiences and convenience."
"DestiNY USA, committed to operating 100-percent free of fossil fuels, will demonstrate practical ways to break the world's addiction to oil. Through its unique status as an integrated world-class visitor destination, DestiNY USA will be a showcase and living laboratory, facilitating innovations in renewable energy, security and other technologies."
In addition to its unprecedented economic model, DestiNY USA will create new life style experiences brought about by the innovative use of technology. The goal is not simply technology for technology’s sake, but rather to use the technology in ways never before seen to create new ways to experience life. The following is a brief summary of the 21st century visitor experience that DestiNY USA hopes to create.
"DestiNY USA will draw in excess of 20 million visitors annually, staying an average of three days. The DestiNY USA experience is defined by an unprecedented diversity of brands and activities within its 150 acres of enclosed green park space. Set on top of the structure are 60 acres of indoor gardens, divided in the center by a multi level artificial "canyon" that descends through the interest zones to a first-level indoor waterway flowing along the length of the facility.
 Throughout DestiNY USA, proven technology is deployed in new and innovative ways, providing for a consistently high quality of service and convenience for the visitor, independent of where they are or what they may choose to do.
 DestiNY USA is organized within nine distinct zones focused on lifestyle interests designed to appeal to a broad national and international target market of all ages. The zones -- supported by thousands of hotel rooms designed to meet every need -- are enhanced by additional outdoor leisure facilities including a lake, harbor and boat marina, water and light show, and golf course. One of the proposed distinct 9 Interest Zones, is Tech Walk which is a 365 day a year electronics and technology tradeshow, filled with the leading retailers and manufacturers. Test out the latest electronics during your stay or have them shipped home on the strongest retail fulfillment network ever conceived."
It is so encouraging to see a project with the size, scope and vision as DestiNY USA emerge. It is not simply another mega-development that includes the same traditional options we have all seen before, but rather a "living lab" in which new ideas are explored and developed. The Commercial Real Estate community, for the most part, is parochial and conservative and there is a great degree of "wait and see" when it comes to technological innovation in development projects. There is a strong possibility that the new ideas and concepts that are uncovered at DestiNY USA will become standards for the development community in this new century. Change requires leaders who are willing to bear the risks, ignore the skeptics and move things forward -- DestiNY USA seems to possess all of those characteristics.
Realcomm is pleased to announce that Michael Lorenz, CEO of DestiNY USA, will be a keynote speaker at Realcomm 2005 in Anaheim. The intersection of Commercial Real Estate and Technology is the foundation of Realcomm and a mega-project with the vision of DestiNY USA fits perfectly into this year's theme of "Real Estate @ the Speed of Light". We encourage all of our readers to visit the DestiNY USA website to learn more about this exciting project.
DestiNY USA Website
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