Upfront Planning Podcast

Hosted by Jessica Sarkissian

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Episodes

150

Latest episode

Jun 2026

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About the show

Join the dynamic conversations in the Upfront Planning Podcast as the owner of Upfront Planning, a renowned land planning and entitlement consulting firm based in Arizona, delve into the captivating world of development. Be prepared for lively discussions, unique perspectives, and intriguing experiences shared by the hosts and occasional guest experts. With each episode, we explore a wide range of topics within the development field, touching on everything from the latest trends to the intersection of politics. But it doesn't stop there! Our casual and engaging format extends to water cooler discussions, mind-boggling work-life experiences, and thought-provoking moments that will leave you saying 'OMG, can you believe this?' Tune in for a fun and entertaining podcast that will take you on an immersive journey through the fascinating realms of development. From the weekly topic to unexpected detours, the Upfront Planning Podcast delivers insightful content that keeps you hooked. Follow us now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your shows!

Listen to episodes

60 recent

June 3, 202648 min

Ep. 144 - Creating forever design and architecture with Helios

Steve Betts talks with Jessica about creating a forever building with the Helios Education site in Phoenix.  Hear about the innovative ways the design team thought 100 years in the future for the buildings' use, energy needs, future water needs, the impact of less parking needs, and how to expand the buildings' usable space without expanding the footprint. Most impressive is hearing how they built a site that stays cool in the summer and warm in the winter without much assistance from utilities, if at all.  Listen in on this very impressive building, which we hope everyone will one day get to tour.

May 14, 202637 min

Ep. 143 - Running a small Town like Duncan, Arizona

Town Manager Terry Hinton in Duncan, Arizona talks about managing a small Town and what goes into being a man of many hats in rural Towns and how all the amazing goals he has achieved in 3 short years!

May 7, 202640 min

Ep. 142 - Detroit National Planning Conference

Jessica talks about the recent 2026 National Planning Conference in Detroit, Michigan and what ideas and discussions she is bringing back to use in AZ.

April 23, 202630 min

Ep. 141 - AAED 2026 Spring Conference Download

Jessica does a download of the recent Arizona Association of Economic Development (AAED) Spring Conference iin Tucson, AZ.  Hear about the great sessions, the first teaming conference with RVi and how she handles a very active extrovert conference... was she able to network all the entire time!?

April 16, 202654 min

Ep. 140 - Oh Those Sensitive Architects

Why are architect’s so sensitive? We’ve got Ben Ayers and Dane Astle, both Arizona Architects who tell us about why they are the way they are in this entertaining episode. They will tell us what creates good looking projects and how we can get more of those great designs and places. We will talk about what’s hot and what’s not in their eyes of architecture.

April 8, 202656 min

Ep 139: Master Planning is BACK!

Amy Weidman with Harvard Investments joins the podcast to talk about thier development projects moving forward as well a thier massive new development in the west valley, Rio 1900 "Soltstice".  Hear about why and how this project came to be and what it means for West Phoenix area.

April 1, 202635 min

Ep 138: 2026 ULI Housing Opportunity Conference Debrief

Jessica quickly downloads all the sessions and takeaways from the Baltimore ULI Housing Opportunity Conference in March.  Hear about great ideas, tools, upcoming housing opportunities, and what we can take from the past.

March 25, 202657 min

Ep 6. - Lawyering Up with Zoning

Carolyn Oberholzer of Bergin, Frakes, Smalley & Oberholtzer and Lindsay Schube of Gammage and Burnham join the podcast to talk about what it's like to be a zoning attorney and what even is a zoning attorney.  Learn what makes land attorneys so cool and why they need to be so different from what you may think an attorney is. Listen in as we hear about all their crazy stories as these two friends join us for a fun time, which will need to be revisited for sure!

March 18, 202656 min

Ep 8. - Hey, I live in an apartment!

 Tempe Mayor Corey Woods and City of Phoenix Planning Director Josh Bednarek join the Upfront Planning podcast to talk about the big housing issue and what needs to be done locally, at the state and federal level to get housing opportunities and costs for everyone back on track.  Discussion goes further into why there is so much opposition to housing and what is at the heart of the matter.

March 11, 202658 min

Ep 137: Trends Day 2026

ULI Arizona Trends Day 2026 recap with Angie Grendahl, MRED. Hear about the sessions, the take aways and what it was like working on the team to put this huge one day event together gathering over 1,100 professionals from around AZ and the country. Hear about the economic forecast with breaking news, they keynote, the debate and all the interesting sessions for future trends you might not know about. Listen in where ever you listen to podcasts.