2026 Fall Preview: Jessica Knapp, Perkins Eastman

What are the biggest challenges your clients are facing in today’s market?

In our work with education clients, we see owners balancing aging buildings, evolving programs, and limited capital while keeping campuses and schools operating. The hardest question is where to invest first. Residential mixed-use developers are navigating different uncertainty: higher financing costs, rising operating and insurance expenses, and shifting needs. Both situations benefit from careful evaluation so clients can make decisions with confidence. Pairing market data with hands-on advice, stress-testing assumptions, exploring creative capital and lease structures, and laying out clear options are ways we’re supporting that process.