ULI Southeast Florida/Caribbean District Council is proud to name Alfonso Costa Jr., Chief Operating Officer of the Falcone Group as the 2024 Young Leader of the Year
ULI’s Young Leader of the Year Award honors inspiring industry professionals aged 35 or younger whose outstanding achievements and contributions are advancing the industry and positively shaping our region’s communities.
As Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Falcone Group, Alfonso Costa Jr. oversees the development of multifamily apartment communities and condominium projects, leading public-private partnership opportunities as well as the company’s operational and strategic initiatives.
His current pipeline of mixed-use development projects includes more than 2,000 residential units and 200,000 square feet of retail & self-storage, with a total value exceeding $1 billion. Such projects include “Block C-East” at Miami WorldCenter, and the “Horizon of Oakland Park,” a mixed-use public-private-partnership with the City of Oakland Park.
Prior to joining the Falcone Group, Alfonso served as Deputy Chief of Staff & Opportunity Zones lead for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), where he oversaw policy for the $50 billion annually-budgeted Cabinet agency, which maintains a wide range of housing and community development programs, a $1.3 trillion mortgage insurance portfolio, and approximately 7,000 employees across 57 offices nationwide.
As an expert on the bi-partisan Opportunity Zones program, he held the title of Chairman’s delegate and HUD’s lead representative on the Federal Government’s inter-agency Opportunity and Revitalization Council, and for his efforts he was recognized in the Opportunity Zone Magazine’s “Top 25 OZ Influencers” list for both 2020 and 2021.
A former 5th-grade teacher as a Teach for America corps member, Alfonso is now an active social advocate through philanthropic & academic volunteer efforts on both the local and national levels.
In his home State of Florida, he is the Program Chair of ULI Florida’s Affordable & Workforce Housing Council (AWHC), Advisory Board Member & recent Chair of the Nova Southeastern University Master’s in Real Estate Development (MSRED) Program, recent Member of the City of West Palm Beach Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, Heart & Spirit Society member for the Boca Helping Hands food-giving non-profit organization, and an In Jacob’s Shoes of Hope Hero member for the shoes/socks/school supplies non-profit organization.
Nationally, he serves as a Member of the Harvard Alumni Real Estate Board, National Housing Taskforce, Housing Advisory Council Member of the Bipartisan Policy Center, Board Member of the Home Builders Institute, and Full Member of the Urban Land Institute.
He earned his law degree from Harvard University, master’s degree from the University of Oxford, and bachelor’s degree from Yale University, where he played both Division-I basketball and Division-I lacrosse while serving as Chair of the Yale Athletic Department’s Thomas W. Ford Community Outreach Committee.
About the Awards
One of ULI’s guiding principles is that achievement of excellence in land use practice should be recognized and rewarded. Through the annual Vision Awards, ULI Southeast Florida/Caribbean recognizes the top leaders and best projects in our local region – those that exemplify ULI’s commitment to responsibility in land use and development. These honorees are the people and projects setting the standards for our industry, improving our communities, and guiding our future.
Now in its 16th year, the annual Vision Awards event brings together the top land use leaders and practitioners throughout Southeast Florida and the Caribbean.
*Original Article Published in https://seflorida.uli.org/2024-young-leader-of-the-year-announced-alfonso-costa-jr/
