MIAMI—In real estate conferences across South Florida, developers are discussing the need to incorporate new tech into the design of their so-called “next-gen” residential and commercial developments. Yet, slow evolution of the legal, governmental and financial systems, which provide legal protection, building approvals and construction financing, are clear hindrances.

GlobeSt.com sat down with Arnstein & Lehr Attorney Louis P. Archambault, a member of the firm's Real Estate and Corporate Transactions & Counseling Practice Groups, to discuss the bumpy road ahead to accommodate driverless cars, 3D printers, Li-Fi and other tech in future projects. In part one of this interview, we explore how technology is poised to disrupt real estate development in ways we are just now beginning to imagine.

When I asked Archambault what is holding the real estate industry back to be able to embrace tech-driven changes he offered some background before he offered his perspective. He assured me technological breakthroughs will bring drastic changes to our reality, especially when it comes to real estate development.

“Driverless cars, stronger and lighter materials such as graphene, energy efficient solar cells, photovoltaic paint, 3D printers, Li-Fi, and others are current technologies evolving at an exponential rate to even more futuristic possibilities,” says Archambault. However, the systems that will need to approve the integration of these technologies, including the legal, governmental and financial systems necessary for real estate development, are light-years behind evolving technologies.”

Archambault went on to explain that United States legal, governmental and financial systems are based on a foundation for maintaining the status quo. Our legal system inherited from England, he notes, uses precedent and prior legal decisions as a means for structuring current and future events.

“Building codes, comprehensive plans, public-private urban planning boards and other governmental structures necessary for approving real estate developments separate proposed uses such as residential, commercial and industrial applications into categories for the orderly development of communities beneficial for its residents,” Archambault says. “Financial systems, both in the form of equity investment and lending institutions, place large amounts of funds behind the proposed developments on the calculated risk that the developments will generate profitable returns.”

Archambault's conclusion: At their core, these systems are not progressive institutions and there is value for them to remain stagnant. The characteristics of these institutions as stable, foundational systems make them diametrically opposed to the business of evolving technologies, he says, and the pursuit of new technologies is to ask “what if” not “what is.”

What's the driving force behind the technology trend in commercial real estate? Here's one take. And don't miss this glimpse into what forward-thinking retail developers are talking about right now.

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What's Preventing Tech From Disrupting Next-Gen Real Estate Developments?

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