Tom Lussenhop

Drawing on this experience, U3A relies on Tom to provide leadership of and support for all aspects of planning, development, and stewardship of complex urban development initiatives.  A passionate student of American urban geography and history since his childhood, he feels fortunate to be working in a time of ascendancy of prospects for America’s cities.  The grey decades of decline seem to be over and U3A is playing a central role in maintaining upward momentum.

He began his career In New York City in the late 1980s where he helped in the redevelopment of Carnegie Hall and its real estate holdings as well as in housing for the City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development.  Later, in New Jersey in the 1990s, he was a founding member of the team that created Newark’s NJ Performing Arts Center, which today is among the nation’s most diverse and successful cultural centers.  Tom also played a central role in development and execution of the University of Pennsylvania’s path-breaking “anchor institution” development, where he led its real estate and community development efforts.  Starting the mid 2000, he led his own advisory practice as well as completed over $50 million in housing, hotel, and other real estate projects for his own account.  In 2012, he merged his advisory private practice with U3. He is also President of U3 Ventures, a private real estate development company that focusses of neighborhood development in West Philadelphia.

Tom holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota and a master’s degree from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs. He lives in West Philadelphia and is active in numerous local arts and civic initiatives. Most importantly, he is the lucky father of two, grown children, Max and Beth.