Lunchtime Talk Story
Development Incentives and Public Space
With Don Goo, FAIA and Sharon Gi
Sharon Gi and Don Goo discuss the economics of development in Chinatown and what the public and private sectors can do.
Donald Goo, FAIA
Senior Adviser, WATG
Over the course of the last seven decades WATG and affiliated design studio Wimberly Interiors have become the world's leading design consultants for the hospitality, leisure and entertainment industries. WATG offers integrated design services comprising strategy, planning, urban design, architecture, landscape, and interiors design for urban tourism and resort destinations. WATG's projects are renowned not only for their design and sense of place but also for their bottom-line success.
Sharon Gi
Development Manager, Kamehameha Schools
Sharon is responsible for managing Kamehameha Schools’ infill development projects in urban Honolulu. She focuses on feasibility, financial analysis, due diligence, planning, design, and overall project management for large redevelopment and renovation projects in Mō‘ili‘ili, Kapālama, and Kāhala. Most recently, she oversaw the award-winning $6.6 million apartment renovation project, Kolo Village Phase II and has developed business plans for two as-yet unpublished retail projects. Previously, Sharon served as an assistant project manager for the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles (CRA/LA), helping to oversee three redevelopment project areas in the Downtown Region. During her time at CRA/LA, Sharon specialized in public-private joint ventures, including the $3 billion mixed-use Grand Avenue Project (including Grand Park, The Broad Museum), the La Kretz Innovation Campus currently under construction in the Arts District, and the rehabilitation and conversion of a Skid Row single-room occupancy hotel into permanent supportive housing called the Ford Apartments. She also worked for the City of Cerritos and the Cerritos Redevelopment Agency as an associate planner and headed up her own consulting practice, SGI Development Consulting. Sharon holds a Master of Real Estate Development degree from the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy and a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College in urban studies.
