George Smith

George draws on his background in urban planning and real estate finance and development, coupled with over 15 years of engaging with higher education and other mission-driven organizations at the board, executive, and administrative levels. Since joining U3 at its inception in 2007, he has helped pioneer the firm’s multi-disciplinary methodologies and approaches. Recent projects have run across a gamut of disciplines, geographic settings and client types. These include working with the University of Wisconsin Madison to create real estate strategy that monetizes underutilized assets, creating a neighborhood development strategy in collaboration with the University of Chicago, and reimagining a closing college campus in Detroit to open a neighborhood school in partnership with University of Michigan. He was U3’s project lead with University of Pittsburgh in the design and launch of a suite of anchor institution initiatives, the reorganization of the Office of Real Estate, and the development of BioForge, a state-of-the-art cell and gene manufacturing facility.

George’s involvement in anchor-led economic development began as Director of Research at Collegia, Inc. Projects there focused on leveraging collaborative partnerships between higher education and civic entities to attract and retain college students in now familiar markets such as Boston, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh.

George holds a Master of City Planning from University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Economics from Trinity College. Currently he and his family reside in the Boston area. Working or not, George spends as much time as possible outside – exploring the cities and neighborhoods where U3 takes him.