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May

05-14-12

Monday's Numbers: May 14, 2012

The Trepp LLC survey showed spreads widening as much as 15 basis points for no apparent reason we know of except, possibly, the continuing crises in Europe and concerns that the U.S. will catch their flu. Fortunately, money is plentiful with a majority of the widening of spreads offset by the lower yields on 10-year Treasury bonds.
05-11-12

Making Money in Residential Real Estate

Panelists at ULI’s Spring Meeting agreed that strategies never considered before are worth considering now in this market in which renting seems to have more appeal than buying. However, George Casey, chief executive officer at Orleans Homebuilders, noted that Orleans is building fewer models and foot traffic is slower per community, but sales are greater.
05-10-12

A Competitive Finance Debate

ULI members Glenn Grimaldi, executive vice president of HSBC; David D. Clark, senior vice president, Real Estate, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.; and Kevin Pivnick, managing director, Deutsche Bank, all described a healthy mortgage market in which only the long shots are having trouble finding funding these days. In a session titled “Full Court Press on Commercial/Apartment Debt” at ULI's 2012 Spring Meeting, all three described how they each tend to look at potential deals a bit differently.
05-09-12

Can America Eliminate Its Addiction to Fossil Fuels and Do So Without Congress?

Amory Lovins, cofounder of the Rocky Mountain Institute, told an audience of ULI members at ULI's 2012 Spring Meeting, that there are numerous ways to reduce use of fossil fuels. Doing so, corporate America could earn a $5 trillion savings in net present value and boost the economy by 150 percent.
05-09-12

Government Has Two Choices: End the Ongoing Partisan Deadlock--or Face Economic Crisis

Erskine Bowles, former co-chair of the presidential fiscal commission, tells ULI leaders: “If we make tough choices and get our fiscal house in order, America can compete with the best and brightest in the world. But I’m equally confident that if we don’t, this country is on its way to being a second-rate power.”
05-09-12

Infrastructure 2012 Highlights Innovation

Constrained public budgets and a growing recognition at the local level of the importance of infrastructure—combined with lack of action at the federal level—are causing states, regions and cities across the U.S. to seek innovative infrastructure approaches and solutions. Infrastructure 2012: Spotlight on Leadership, released by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and Ernst & Young LLP, looks at an overall decline in infrastructure funding globally, and it focuses on funding solutions underway in the U.S., citing six case studies.
05-08-12

Playing along the Railroad Tracks

Where does a city begin when it wants to develop public areas as a catalyst for revitalization when it is not located on a river, a lake, or an ocean? Birmingham, Alabama began with its railroad tracks, and that was just the beginning.
05-08-12

Public Art in Transit

The intangible benefits of public art are well-known, but often overlooked. Read how public art at two downtown Los Angeles transit-oriented developments came to generate ongoing income for a private developer and local government.
05-07-12

ULI Real Estate Business Barometer -- May 2012

The top 12 trends in this month’s Barometer highlight a tepid economy, uneven signals in the capital markets, and a housing market on a low simmer. Still, compared with a year ago, 76 percent of the key indicators in the Barometer are better, 1 percent remained the same, and only 23 percent are worse.
05-07-12

Monday's Numbers: May 7, 2012

According to the FTSE NAREIT Equity REIT Index, equity REITs produced total returns equal to 2.87 percent in April. The Trepp LLC survey showed spreads flat to widening by 5 basis points over the survey period as all-in costs remain attractive.
05-04-12

Community Development Outlook

Members of ULI’s Community Development Council speak about the impact of the slow economy, the increased appeal of smaller sites in denser locations, consumers’ current amenity preferences, the impact of ethnic and demographic changes, and the rising demand for housing that can accommodate multiple generations.
05-03-12

Guiding Those Who Teach the Guide Dogs

Members of the Young Leaders Group of ULI Orange County/Inland Empire put their skills to work helping those who help the disabled. They offered advice to Guide Dogs of the Desert, a Riverside County, California, nonprofit that pairs service dogs with people who are blind, with a plan for expanding its live-in training campus.
05-02-12

Smart Growth Not Enough?

The fact that we are increasing dwelling units per acre, reducing vehicle miles traveled per capita, and reducing tons of carbon emissions compared to sprawl does not mean that we are making great people habitat, posits Kaid Benfield, director, Sustainable Communities, Washington, D.C. Benfield says it is time to focus more on the quality of what we are building.
05-01-12

Building for the Needs of an Information-Based Economy

The desire of today’s creative class for connectivity, walkability and non-traditional live and work spaces is reshaping how designers, architects, and developers design homes and offices, says Christopher B. Leinberger, president of LOCUS, a real estate policy advocate for walkable and transit-oriented development.
April

04-30-12

Monday's Numbers: April 30, 2012

The Trepp LLC survey showed spreads widening over the past two weeks in response to the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds which narrowed by about 15 basis points. Lending spreads continue to move in a narrow range with overall cost attractive at all maturities and from a wide array of capital sources.
04-27-12

Craig Thomas: Viewing Real Estate Through “The Econosphere”

You cannot improve the market, but you can improve the information you rely upon, says The Econosphere author Craig Thomas.
04-27-12

Federal Government Shrinks Space Requirements

Federal agencies are under continuing pressure to reduce their demand for leased and build-to-suit space. They intend to reduce square footage used per employee, increase teleworking—and make better use of existing government buildings, administrators told a ULI WashingtonTrends conference audience.
04-26-12

Private Money for Public Spaces

Public/private partnerships can be used to create and restore public spaces, adding value to surrounding real estate. Bryant Park in Manhattan serves as a successful model of this. In Washington, D.C., a public/private partnership has been established to bring that improvement model to the National Mall.
04-25-12

Former Governor Eliot Spitzer: Intellectual Capital Drives the Economy

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act will have little effect on U.S. real estate markets, says former governor Eliot Spitzer, because it is being “whittled away piece by piece.” Spitzer says it repeatedly has been demonstrated that self-regulation does not work and that it is the job of government.
04-24-12

Benchmarks for Sustainability

In anticipation of the 2012 ULI Spring Meeting, "The Power to Lead, the Energy to Thrive," being hosted by Charlotte, North Carolina, May 8-10, ULI CEO Patrick Phillips discusses how market demand is driving the trend of making buildings' energy-performance data more visible. Phillips outlines how ULI is repositioning itself to be a smarter, more influential, and more effective organization through the ULI Greenprint Center for Building Performance.
04-23-12

Monday's Numbers: April 23, 2012

According to the most recent survey by Real Estate Research Corporation, average capitalization rates continued to decline as more and more capital is invested in real estate. Lending spreads continue to move in a narrow range with overall cost attractive at all maturities and from a wide array of capital sources.
04-20-12

China: Who Will Care for the Elderly?

In the new China, demand for housing for seniors is real. The country’s rapid urbanization is affecting China’s centuries-old tradition of multigenerational living, says Harvard’s Nicolas P. Retsinas.
04-20-12

Anticipating the Correction of China’s Housing Bubble

Unique conditions in mainland China could moderate the effects of a market correction, say Ken Rhee, CEO of Huhan Business Advisory in Shanghai and ULI’s chief representative for mainland China, and Chen Jie, executive director of the Center for Housing Policy Studies and associate professor at the Fudan University School of Management in Shanghai.
04-19-12

Regional Spotlight: Mid-Atlantic/Carolinas

The Mid-Atlantic region and the Carolinas are reporting steady real estate activity across real estate markets including hospitality, multi-family, mixed-use, health care, industrial, commercial and infrastructure. While the activity is at a slower rate than in the past, it is beyond what many other areas of the country are experiencing. Experts see developers aligning themselves for new projects in the not-too-distant future.
04-18-12

Going All In in South Charlotte

How did Charlotte, North Carolina, developer Bissell Companies build a major mixed-use development —largely on spec—despite dramatic changes in economic conditions? Their Ballantyne community includes more than 5 million square feet (465,000 sq m) of office space, 500,000 square feet (46,500 sq m) of retail, 1,000 hotel rooms, and 4,600 residential units. And the developers believe that it pays to have inventory at the ready.
04-17-12

Crowdsourcing Development Decisions

Founded by Washington, D.C., developers Ben and Daniel Miller, Popularise.com aims to put "the power back in the hands of the people who care." The website allows the public to comment and vote on potential businesses that could be included in a proposed development site.
04-16-12

Monday's Numbers: April 16, 2012

Over the past month, the Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick-Goldman Survey narrowed, with 10-year rates improving as much as 40 basis points for some property sectors.
04-13-12

Navigating East Independence

With the help of the ULI Rose Center's fellowship program and a team of ULI member experts, Charlotte, N.C. Mayor Anthony Foxx and community members take a new direction forward for transportation on Independence Boulevard.
04-12-12

Envision Charlotte

Envision Charlotte, a pioneering sustainability program in Charlotte, North Carolina, has partnered with Duke Energy, Cisco Systems Inc., and Verizon to produce a model program, Smart Energy Now. The program involves a robust network of 70 buildings, and their owners and managers, who will help achieve the program’s goals for dramatic energy savings. Up next: water, waste, and air. Charlotte will host ULI’s Spring Meeting, May 8-10.
04-11-12

Cutting Building Energy Use by the Numbers

When it comes to decreasing energy use in privately owned buildings, is it more effective to use a carrot or a stick? Experts from around the country, Laurie Kerr, senior policy adviser for New York City's Mayor's Office; Jayson Antonoff, energy and climate policy adviser for Seattle; Barry Hooper, private sector green building specialist for SF Environment, San Francisco's environment department; and Charles Leitner, chair of ULI Greenprint Center for Building Performance, discuss efforts and obstacles to getting owners to measure and publicly report energy use.
04-10-12

Building Civic Amenities through Public/Private Partnerships

Through a series of public/private partnerships, Charlotte, North Carolina is attracting young, creative people. Their collaboration has helped build $200 million in cultural facilities, and recreational and scenic resources.
04-09-12

Monday's Numbers: April 9, 2012

Spreads reported by Trepp LLC widened during the survey period, fully giving up recent gains. Mortgage pricing remains very attractive for borrowers.
04-09-12

ULI Real Estate Business Barometer -- April 2012

The top 12 trends in this month’s Barometer point to mixed signals everywhere—in the economy, capital markets, and housing market. Still, compared with a year ago, 79 percent of the key indicators in the Barometer are better and only 21 percent are worse.
04-09-12

University of Colorado/Harvard University Team Wins the 2012 ULI Gerald D. Hines Student Design Competition

This year’s challenge was to create a practical scheme for the best use of a 16.3-acre (6.6 ha) site in Houston that is owned by the United States Postal Service (USPS). The joint team edged out teams from University of California-Berkeley, Columbia University, and the University of Michigan in the final round of the competition. Review all four teams’ entries and vote for your favorite design scheme.
04-05-12

The Great Recession: A Slayer of Sprawl

John McIlwain, ULI senior resident fellow for housing, says new Census data on areas of population growth is further proof that this is the century of urbanization.
04-04-12

The Distinctive City

Cities are seeking the recipe for economic success in a rapidly changing global marketplace and, in the process, often overlook a critical asset: community distinctiveness. Special places, characteristics and customs have value, and they can increase a city’s competitive edge.
04-02-12

Monday's Numbers: April 2, 2012

Spreads reported by Trepp LLC continued to narrow, coming in approximately 10 basis points during the survey period; mortgage capital remains both available and affordable, even with many lender’s instituting floor pricing.
March

03-30-12

New ULI Real Estate Consensus Forecast Sees Improving Economy

The ULI Real Estate Consensus Forecast indicates economic strengthening through 2014. The new forecast, released March 28, is based on a survey of 38 leading economists and real estate analysts and will be issued twice a year.
03-29-12

Regional Spotlight: Canada/Pacific Northwest

Canada—with a real estate market that is the envy of countries around the globe—is experiencing strong demand for product. Its neighbors to the south, Washington and Oregon, are sharing in the growth.
03-29-12

Regeneration through an Urban Food Factory

A sustainably designed, adaptive-use, urban food factory in Portland, Oregon, helps a neighborhood suffering urban decay, foreclosures, and job losses.
03-29-12

QR Codes: The Fast Path to Online Content

Urban Land print magazine has introduced a QR (quick response) code, offering readers a quick gateway to more content online, accessible through smartphones.
03-26-12

Monday's Numbers: March 26, 2012

Spreads reported by Trepp LLC came in approximately 10 basis points during the survey period with financing available from an array of lenders including commercial banks, securitized lenders, and insurance companies.
03-26-12

ULI Trustee C.Y. Leung chosen to lead Hong Kong

ULI Trustee and Founding Chairman of ULI Asia-Pacific, C. Y. Leung, has been selected as Hong Kong’s next chief executive.
03-23-12

A Merger of Cultures

A “coincidence of destiny” links His Highness the Aga Khan with J.C. Nichols, one of ULI’s founders. An unexpected connection was discovered recently among a cathedral in Seville, Spain; a tower in Kansas City; and an etching in the glass award bestowed with the ULI J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development.
03-23-12

Fusing the Art of Entertaining with Place

The commercial real estate world suffers from a failure of imagination, says ULI member George Garfield, president, west region, for Transwestern. When it comes to creative problem solving, he says practitioners have an opportunity to leverage their strengths at one of the most disruptive times in U.S. history.
03-22-12

Reshaping L.A.’s Industrial Landscape

As the balance sheets of corporate America are getting stronger and companies that can lease or buy are trading up to Class A industrial properties, the Class B and C buildings have to be rehabilitated to compete and to provide faster delivery. Hear from experts about a number of Southern California projects that transformed industrial properties.
03-21-12

CMBS 2.0: Still in Need of Work

If CMBS loans are inconvenient in a good market, in a down market they can be remarkably problematic, subject to high fees, possibly subject to double taxation, and inflexible regarding modifications of terms. Read what to look for before borrowing.
03-20-12

Opinion: Restructuring Your Real Estate Information

Do you have all the information you need to run your business? Many organizations have spent heavily on information technology and incurred substantial risks—yet they still do not have the information they need. Ask yourself these five questions.
03-19-12

Monday's Numbers: March 19, 2012

Spreads reported by Trepp LLC came in approximately five basis points during the survey period with financing available from an array of lenders including commercial banks, securitized lenders, and insurance companies.
03-19-12

MAP-21: A Step in the Right Direction for Transportation

Patrick Phillips, chief executive officer of ULI, comments on the transporation legislation approved by the U.S. Senate on March 14 by a 74-22 vote, entitled “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century,” or MAP-21. Phillips states that, while Senate bill 1813 proposes no significant additional funding, ULI is encouraged at the bi-partisan support for this bill, because it signals the importance of a strong transportation policy for America.
03-16-12

ULI Panel Analyzes Scenarios for the Only Washington, D.C., Building Designed by Mies van der Rohe

A ULI panel assessed options for the Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library in Washington, D.C., including adding stories and leasing space to generate money for repairs, and selling the historic landmark.
03-16-12

More Than 75 Public Officials Participate in ULI Day, Marking 75th Anniversary

ULI celebrated 75 years of leadership in community building in December with a series of events in communities throughout the United States. More than 35 proclamations were issued declaring December 14 "ULI Day."
03-16-12

ULI Joins Forces with Greenprint Foundation to Create ULI Greenprint Center for Building Performance

With the transfer of the activities and assets of the Greenprint Foundation into the newly formed ULI Greenprint Center for Building Performance, ULI is continuing the operation of this unique industry-to-industry environmental initiative.
03-16-12

Shared Usage, Rather than Ownership, is the Way of the Future, Says Tech Pioneer Steve Case

AOL founder delivers keynote address at National Building Museum gala honoring ULI.
03-15-12

ULX: The Art of Affordable Housing

Learn how ten developers of affordable housing take creative design approaches to providing appealing environments and sustainability while controlling costs.
03-14-12

Restoring Value to Faded Hollywood Apartments

Known as the Duke of Art Deco, Dave Goldstein has made a profitable business out of his hobby of restoring vintage apartment buildings. They now draw above-market rents, which is helping stabilize values in neighborhoods where film stars and future presidents once dwelled.
03-13-12

Looking Past the European Debt Crisis

ULI members Steven Kohn, Alan Billingsley, John Williams, Tyrone Rachal and David Winstead point to opportunities in distressed assets, retail, multifamily, and construction debt that are currently available despite the current wait-and-see posture due to the European debt crisis.
03-12-12

ULI Real Estate Business Barometer -- March 2012

The top 12 trends in this month’s Barometer point to an evolving confidence in the economy, weakened signals in the capital markets, mixed directions in property fundamentals, and a sustained spark in the weak housing market.
03-12-12

Monday's Numbers: March 12, 2012

Spreads reported by Trepp LLC remain “range-bound” at an average spread of 207 basis points over 10-year Treasuries. The Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick-Goldman Survey shows rates coming in slightly with lenders seemingly ready to lend at attractive spreads if the right deal comes their way.
03-09-12

Ready About

U.S. East Coast and Gulf ports are upgrading facilities in anticipation of supersized ships transiting the Panama Canal in 2014, while some smaller port cities are strategically positioned to fight for their share of the new business.
03-08-12

HOA Covenants for Sustainability

With consumers demanding more sustainability in their living environments, how can homeowners association covenants be drafted in a way that supports their efforts?
03-07-12

Solar Satellites

New satellite cities could draw energy from the sun, wind, and earth—and say no to cars—even without personal rapid transit, argues J.H. Crawford, an American/Dutch writer and theoretician.
03-06-12

Richard Baron: Catching Up with a J.C. Nichols Laureate

See what one man, the 2004 laureate of the J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development, was able to accomplish through his commitment to developing mixed-income communities in central cities prone to decline and disinvestment.
03-06-12

Zipcar Ranks Top Vibrant, Efficient and Sustainable Cities

Top cities ranked by Zipcar based on sustainability, innovation, vibrancy, efficiency, and livability. Number one—the city by the bay.
03-05-12

Monday's Numbers: March 5, 2012

During the past month, spreads reported by Trepp LLC remained “range-bound” at an average spread of 207 basis points over 10-year Treasuries.
03-02-12

A New City in London's East End

The 2012 Summer Olympics will ensure that a formerly run-down part of east London will be in the global spotlight come the start of the Games in July. But the site in Stratford has already made real estate history.
03-01-12

Emerging Trends Worldwide

Annual Emerging Trends surveys of industry sentiment reveal a world transfixed by Europe’s debt drama.
03-01-12

Snapshot: Top Five European Markets

Who is number one? Think Europe's bridge to Asia.
03-01-12

Snapshot: Top Five Asia/Pacific Markets

Number one? Topper returns for the second year running.
03-01-12

Snapshot: Top Five United States Markets

Thirty-three years of Emerging Trends surveys have consistently found this number one city to survive well in tough times.
03-01-12

Snapshot: Top Five Canadian Markets

If not for what’s happening elsewhere in the world, Canada would be on fire.
February

02-29-12

NoMa: The Neighborhood That Transit Built

An infill transit station, built with significant private sector funding, helped transform a desolate swath of Washington, D.C., into a vibrant, vital, mixed-use neighborhood.
02-28-12

Balancing Social, Environmental, and Financial Concerns

To Alexander Otto, CEO of pan-European operator ECE Projektmanagement, green thinking is nothing new—and it has led to accolades for the firm’s developments.
02-27-12

Monday's Numbers: February 27, 2012

Roundtable survey shows “tempered” outlook on commercial real estate as industry executives worry about economic and policy risks, maturing CRE debt, and weak CMBS market recovery.
02-23-12

Seniors—In Which Metro Regions Are They Living?

Part 1: Metropolitan Regions: The growth in the nation’s population of seniors is already figuring in national debates about health care and Social Security—but at the local level, the impact will be even greater.
02-23-12

Seniors—In Which Cities Are They Living?

Part 2: The Cities: From 2000 to 2010, the U.S. senior population grew 20 percent, but this growth has not been evenly distributed around the country. And given the uncertain economy, future trends are hard to predict.
02-22-12

LEED Backlash

The dominance of LEED—the world’s most popular green building brand—is facing two threats: governments are limiting its application as a policy benchmark and are pursuing other green building standards.
02-22-12

District Snapshot: Mexico City

According to one member of ULI Mexico’s executive council, there are currently more than 1,000 real estate projects active in Mexico City—a city that continues to be underserved in most categories.
02-22-12

Bicycles Belong

Walking and bicycling provide many benefits—reduced air pollution, improved public health, decreased dependence on foreign oil—but federal funding for nonmotorized transportation is now in jeopardy.
02-20-12

Monday's Numbers: February 20, 2012

The past week was very quiet; volatile as usual, but very quiet. There was little to report: some deals funded; some properties were turned over to their special services; some deals went under contract; some fell out of contract; and some closed.
02-17-12

Houses Getting Bigger, Not Smaller

As long as lenders keep a tight grip on their wallets, the much-anticipated trend toward smaller houses probably won’t materialize, according to data presented at the NAHB’s recent annual convention.
02-16-12

Volatility Sidelines Liquidity

Nearly three dozen of the country’s top money minds spoke frankly about navigating the ongoing credit crisis. Here is a glimpse of their off-the-record meeting.
02-16-12

Managing Urban Open Space with Nonprofit Conservancies

In need of ideas for re-envisioning and reusing the area surrounding the Rose Bowl, the city of Pasadena is told by a ULI governors advisory services panel to streamline the agencies that manage the public open space around the iconic stadium.
02-15-12

The Pulse of the Resort Industry

People are resuming travel. In some spots hotels are trading at prices that are above where they were in 2007. New York City just experienced record hotel occupancy rates this past May. As long as the market did not get overbuilt, hotels are coming back, says Greg Cory, principal of San Francisco–based Land Use Economics LLC and chairman of ULI’s Recreation Development Council. However, areas that got overbuilt are predicted to take longer to recover.
02-15-12

The “Era of Less” Is Not Over Yet

Despite increases in available capital and improved investment prospects in some U.S. cities, the real estate market remains stagnated, according to the latest installment of the report, Emerging Trends in Real Estate® 2012.
02-15-12

Solar Decathlon Showcases Urbanism and Density

“Overall, it’s interesting to see that a number of the student-designed houses are consciously transcending DOE’s constraints for the competition...[which] indicates that these students are interested in pursuing a deeper strategy of sustainability,” noted Uwe Brandes, an architect and urban planner who is ULI senior vice president of initiatives.
02-15-12

Think Globally, Act Locally

Against the backdrop of a relatively glum economic outlook for 2012, ULI is continuing to expand, offering its “multilocal” approach to create value for members and magnify the Institute’s beneficial impact.
02-15-12

Change Agents

When a new editor takes the helm of a publication, it is reasonable for readers to wonder what changes are in store.
02-14-12

Saving Union Station

Washington, D.C.’s Union Station—nearly abandoned, structurally unsound, and considered an eyesore—is now an iconic urban mixed-use center in part because of an influential ULI advisory services panel in 1981.
02-14-12

Resorting to Nature for Development Success

The Sea Pines Resort in South Carolina, which received the ULI Heritage Award in 1995, has influenced planned communities and the way projects work to balance nature and development
02-14-12

National Building Museum Chooses ULI for 2012 Honor Award

The National Building Museum has selected ULI as the recipient of its 2012 Honor Award, recognizing the institute’s 75 years of leadership in urban planning, land use, and development.
02-14-12

Increasing Home Sales in Master-Planned Communities

Top-selling master-planned communities continue to be those that adapt to the ever-shifting real estate environment.
02-14-12

Apartment Properties Pick Up Pace

The prevailing sluggish employment growth notwithstanding, apartment rents are already rebounding at a surprisingly heady pace after an exceptionally slow construction period.
02-14-12

Regional Spotlight: Green Trends

Green is becoming only more entrenched in building, development, and retrofitting as a new generation has grown up with a greater awareness of sustainability and the fragility of the planet.
02-13-12

Monday's Numbers: February 13, 2012

While Prudential sees a 20 percent increase in commercial mortgage lending this year, this is not going to exactly move the needle for the average borrower as insurance companies by and large focus their general account’s attention on core properties, gateway cities, and “pristine” borrowers.
02-09-12

Lessons for Business: The Real Estate Industry Must Face Up to Social and Environmental Issues, Experts Warn

“We are starting to find out how to link carbon to money. How can we better understand the interplay between what we know about the social environment and investment decisions? In my lifetime, the population of the world will treble. How will that impact you?,” asked session chair Graham Colclough, vice president, global public sector at Capgemini, at the ULI Europe Annual Conference in Paris.
02-09-12

Modest Recovery This Year for Housing, Says NAHB

After a year in which housing starts were the lowest since 1942 and new home sales were the lowest ever, David Crowe, chief economist at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), isn’t complaining and points toward a modest rebound in the new home market in 2012.
02-08-12

Making Progress in Difficult Times: The Private Sector Must “Lead the Way” Out of Recession

Panelists at ULI Europe’s annual European conference explored how cities such as London, Paris, and Edinburgh could cut spending to bring public debt under control while also driving economic growth.
02-08-12

Big Ideas from Industry’s Next Generation: New Solutions from a New Generation of Leaders

At a debate at ULI’s recent 16th annual European conference, three members of the Young Leaders program told attendees how the real estate industry can adapt to changed circumstances—and succeed.
02-08-12

The Only Problems Left Are the Big Ones: Understand Social and Environmental Change

During the opening debate of the Urban Land Institute’s recent 16th European conference in Paris, demographic change, global warming, and carbon dioxide emissions were topics that took center stage.
02-08-12

Which Are the Top European Markets for Investment?

In the Emerging Trends in Real Estate Europe 2012 survey of more than 600 European property professionals, Istanbul was identified as the top European market for both investment and development.
02-08-12

MBA Sees “Robust” Commercial Sector, But Skeptics Raise Doubt

At its annual commercial real estate/multifamily housing convention in Atlanta, the Mortgage Bankers Association projected a 17 percent increase in commercial real estate loan originations this year, while several observers weren't nearly as positive.
02-07-12

Top 25 Transportation Sources to Follow on Twitter

Recently, Urban Land magazine compiled a list of the 25 most influential transportation infrastructure people on Twitter—a platform that allows users to follow trends and share important information.
02-06-12

Monday's Numbers: February 6, 2012

“CMBS: Modest New Issuance Growth; 2007 Maturities Struggling,” says Standard & Poor’s.
02-06-12

ULI Real Estate Business Barometer -- February 2012

The top 12 trends in this month’s Barometer point to prudent optimism on the economy, a better mix of signals in the capital markets, and a sustained spark in the weak housing market.
02-03-12

Recommendations for Short-Term and Longer-Term Noncore Investments in Europe

“Rather than focusing on asset types, [real estate is] going to be about finding individual opportunities,” says ULI member John Forbes, author of the Emerging Trends in Real Estate Europe 2012 report.
02-03-12

Digital Revolution and Retail Real Estate

At ULI Europe’s session on the impact of the digital revolution on real estate, attendees learned about the future of bricks-and-mortar retailing in light of “M-commerce, S-commerce, and QR codes.”
02-03-12

How will the European Real Estate Market Weather the Euro debt crisis?

Europe’s economic crisis has left real estate investment and development in limbo, with little relief expected, according to Emerging Trends in Real Estate® Europe 2012, the annual industry forecast published by ULI and PwC.
02-03-12

Opinion: School Choice

Urban planners and developers in the United States should partner with-or launch-charter schools to take advantage of their urban development potential.
02-03-12

Indy’s New Approach to Super Bowl Hosting and Development

Thanks at least in part to the Super Bowl, people in Indianapolis will wake up to the football off-season next week with a newly expanded convention center, a new central civic space, a newly revitalized low-income neighborhood, even a new downtown skyline.
02-02-12

Developing Thriving Master-Planned Communities

Developers of the year’s most successful master-planned communities are using creative strategies to keep these projects strong.
02-02-12

Converting Hotels and Condos to Shared Ownership

For a developer, receiver, or investor/owner of distressed hotels and condominiums having difficulty putting heads in beds, conversion to shared ownership is a logical consideration.
02-02-12

Mayor Richard M. Daley: Visionary Leadership and Political Skill

Richard M. Daley—2010 winner of the J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development—was a “green” mayor committed to sustainability, energy efficiency, and measures to address climate change.
02-01-12

His Highness the Aga Khan Urges "Impact Investing" in Developing Areas

His Highness the Aga Khan, founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network, urged guests at the ULI Europe Annual Conference in Paris to consider the social and environmental impacts of investment decisions.
January

01-30-12

Fixing the Housing Markets: Three Proposals

Little on the horizon promises change, but there are three ways the federal government could revive housing, says John L. McIlwain, ULI’s senior resident fellow, housing. The two most significant ideas are politically controversial and would require stronger leadership than has been shown on housing to date.
01-30-12

Monday's Numbers: January 30, 2012

Based on the Federal Reserve’s pronouncement this week that it would be keeping short-term interest rates at the current historical low through 2014, we should expect rates to remain at today’s levels for the next three years, baring a global financial crises, Stephen Blank, ULI's senior resident fellow, capital markets.
01-27-12

Recreational Development

Six members of ULI’s Recreational Development Council discuss what is affecting their market, including the prospects for the resort and vacation home industry in an uncertain economy, the mind-set of potential buyers, the changing nature of second-home products, and strategies for navigating the challenges ahead.
01-26-12

Good Morning, Vietnam

Vietnam has arrived on the international property development market in a big way—and brought with it a strikingly international style. But uncertainties linger about the future.
01-26-12

Why has Economic Stimulus Failed to Invigorate?

There seems to be a consensus that the stimulus programs have failed to meet the needs of the real estate sector, but objections appear to be directed more to tactics than to overall strategy, say several ULI council members.
01-25-12

Ecuador’s Largest Metro Reverses Negative Momentum With Civic Campaigns

Things changed for the port city of Guayaquil, Ecuador in 1992, when the country embraced a new development model that made it a recovery blueprint for other cities to follow.
01-24-12

Ohio Economic Development Transitions to Post-Industrial Era

Moving away from traditional one-size-fits-all approaches that emphasized Starbucks, stadium-building, and stealing businesses, municipal leaders are instead crafting metropolitan business plans that grow jobs from within, building on their distinct market advantages.
01-23-12

Monday's Numbers: January 23, 2012

Barclays Capital estimates that as much as 70 percent of the CMBS loans written in 2007 and maturing this year will not be able to be refinanced “easily."
01-20-12

The Greening of the Real Estate Industry

Nothing demonstrates the disconnect between politicians and the marketplace more than the current debate about climate change and U.S. energy policy.
01-19-12

In-Store Retailing: A Tsunami of Change

The young have been leading the shift away from bricks-and-mortar stores, and this shift in purchasing habits is accelerating as the creators of virtual stores make it more fun and convenient to purchase items via computer, day or night.
01-19-12

Abandoning Redevelopment: California’s Big Experiment

California is often the first state in the country to enact trailblazing legislation. Now, it has become the first to abolish its redevelopment agencies. What is happening and will this be an eastern moving trend?
01-18-12

EPA Biggest Loser Competition: and the Winner Is . . .

This year, several Urban Land Institute members finished strong in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star National Building Competition to see who could reduce their energy use the most.
01-17-12

What I Learned at the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council Conference, January 9–11, 2012

Stephen R. Blank, ULI’s senior fellow, finance, shares what he learned about the current state of commercial mortgage–backed securities at the recent Commercial Real Estate Finance Council Conference.
01-16-12

Monday's Numbers: January 16, 2012

Waiting for reaction to the downgrade of sovereign debt in Europe.
01-13-12

Top Housing Sources to Follow on Twitter

Urban Land’s list of the 15 most influential housing industry people on Twitter—a tool that helps everyone stay abreast of what is working for their peers.
01-12-12

Video: Joseph Azrack on CRE Finance from ULI's 2011 Fall Meeting

Joseph Azrack, President & CEO of Apollo Global Real Estate, discusses the future of commercial real estate finance, including developments in Europe and in the CMBS and equity markets.
01-11-12

Preserving the Past

All completed in the past five years, these ten projects— listed alphabetically,—bring back valuable community resources from decline and neglect. The projects are located in San Diego and Richmond, California; Washington, D.C.; Spokane, Washington; Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Jackson, Mississippi; Portland, Oregon; Wakefield, England; Salem, Massachusetts; and Chicago, Illinois.
01-11-12

Restructuring Europe’s Banking Sector

New lending by European banks is likely to remain strictly conservative, limiting liquidity for the European property market.
01-10-12

District Snapshot: Toronto, Canada—Residential Leads Strong Real Estate Market

With a strong economic base, vibrant financial sector, and robust in-migration, Toronto has a real estate market that is probably healthier than any other in North America, says Mark Noskiewicz, the chair of ULI Toronto.
01-09-12

ULI Real Estate Business Barometer -- January 2012

The top 11 trends in this month’s Barometer point to cautious optimism in the economy, mixed signals in the capital markets, and a welcome spark in the weak housing market. Compared with a year ago, 67 percent of the key indicators in the Barometer are better and 33 percent are worse.
01-09-12

Monday's Numbers: January 9, 2012

According to Trepp LLC, commercial mortgage-backed securities delinquency rates increased 7 basis points (0.07%), to 9.58 percent, in December. Trepp predicts delinquencies rates could increase 75 basis points over the next six-to-12 months as the bulk of the five-year mortgages originated in 2007 mature and will require refinancing.
01-05-12

Top 10 States for Low Business Taxes and Regulations

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, states that are now the most business-friendly are inland locales, ranging from Kentucky and Tennessee in the east, westward to Wyoming and Utah.
01-04-12

The Rental Boost From Green Design

There is growing evidence that energy-efficient and green apartments rent up faster than others and are experiencing less turnover—a trend the apartment industry would do well to watch.
01-04-12

Reinventing Historic Assets

Tax credits for historic preservation are proven job creators that bring good construction salaries and other living-wage earnings to communities.
01-02-12

Monday's Numbers: January 2, 2012

Surprise! Real estate investment trusts 3-peat, outperforming the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, the NASDAQ Composite Index and the Russell 2000.
December

12-30-11

Not Your Standard Rehab

It was a perfect fit: a factory in Los Angeles that once made shoes, a group of women with a home in need of a makeover, and a community willing to provide the energy and dollars to accomplish the job.
12-29-11

Rethinking Transit: How Cities Are Repairing Disconnects Between Downtowns and Historic Neighborhoods

With a focus on its historic Union Station, Los Angeles is trying to create transit links between downtown and surrounding historic neighborhoods—and invited a ULI advisory services panel to weigh in.
12-28-11

Shoring Up Water Supply

Cities have historically relied on past demand and growth predictions to plan for future water supply. Now they must add the effects of global climate change to the mix.
12-27-11

Opinion: The Politicization of Land Use in America

Of all the powers wielded at the local level of government, it is the use of land, of private property, that stands out as distinct from the powers exercised by the federal and state governments.
12-26-11

Monday's Numbers: December 26, 2011

According to an analysis completed by Trepp LLC, “U.S. banks are going to face increased challenges in 2012, with slow earnings growth, a mild improvement in loan performance and continued bank failures.” Banks, it was noted, are continuing to face a tough regulatory environment, compounded by fewer and fewer opportunities for future earnings growth.
12-20-11

Video: The Challenge to Adopting Urban Sustainability Initiatives in U.S. Cities

In a recent dialogue amongst officials of Hamburg, Germany and of the U.S. cities of Baltimore, Boston, Washington, D.C., panelists provided their thoughts on the City of Hamburg’s successful urban sustainability initiative and what barriers stood between replicating similar efforts in their respective cities.
12-19-11

Monday's Numbers: December 19, 2011

According to Jones Lang LaSalle’s 2012 National Commercial Real Estate Outlook, the U.S. commercial real estate market will see slow growth in 2012 with a projected increase in transaction volume of 15 percent to 20 percent.
12-16-11

Top 10 Commercial Real Estate Trends for 2012

Despite some downward-trending market indicators, the forecast for the commercial real estate sector is decidedly more mixed for the coming year, depending on the market sector, according to Deloitte.
12-16-11

Writing Down Mortgage Principal

Because U.S. housing markets are failing to find a bottom, more and more economists are coming to believe that writing down the loans of underwater homeowners is what will end the recession.
12-15-11

Leveraging Transit to Remake Suburbia

A long-term vision, collaboration, and innovation were key themes in ULI’s recent “Retooling Places and Leveraging Transit: Overcoming Funding and Coordination Challenges to Build a Better Region” forum.
12-15-11

Value Equations

With hotel performance wavering nationwide and new FDIC regulations setting strict capital requirements for lenders, developers are having trouble locating funding for proposed projects.
12-15-11

Serving Those Who Follow

This year’s Fall Meeting in Los Angeles—which kicked off the institute’s 75th anniversary celebration—was particularly focused on the long-term future of the industry and ULI.
12-14-11

European Banking Sector Becoming More Proactive in Restructuring

European banks have become more proactive in dealing with their problem debt and face increasing pressure as loan maturities approach in 2012 and 2013. Depending on the loan, the client, the location, and the property, there are three main strategies a bank can pursue: working with the borrower, selling the loan, and foreclosing on the asset.
12-13-11

Retooling in Unpredictable Markets

Top-tier owners are actively developing well-vetted strategies designed to take advantage of dislocation in the market. Read about seven crucial, but often overlooked, components of such strategies.
12-13-11

Teaching Design

A primary challenge for university faculty has been how to teach design to real estate students. The goal is not to make them architects, but to make them knowledgeable clients.
12-13-11

Utah Business Embrace Light Rail

In Utah, business leaders have helped propel the region's full-speed-ahead investment in transit and connecting infrastructure.
12-13-11

Recasting Your Real Estate Strategy

Strategy is your organization's guide to long-term success. If the recession and uncertainty have clouded your current strategy, consider recasting it both for short-term survival and for long-term sustainment.
12-13-11

Changing Partnerships: New Approach to the Public/Private Paradigm

To learn how much public/private partnerships have evolved, one need look no further than a Massachusetts town more than three centuries old, which is the focus of a new paradigm for redevelopment—a private/public partnership in which the developer is taking most of the biggest financial risk.
12-13-11

Resilient Communities: The Evolution of the Dream Neighborhood

Postwar master-planned communities enabled Americans to build their lives around great neighborhoods, schools, and suburban amenities. In the coming years, communities will continue to be comprehensively planned, but implementation will be in smaller increments, experts predict.
12-13-11

Leadership: Q&A with Smedes York

ULI trustee Smedes York served as chairman from 1989 to 1991. He is chairman of York Properties Inc. in Raleigh, North Carolina, and was mayor of that city from 1979 to 1983. Smedes is a second-generation ULI leader from the York family and here discusses the current economic and real estate markets, his experience, and his views for the future.
12-13-11

How Leadership Roles/Skills Have Changed

"Real estate companies have become more sophisticated and require different organizational and leadership structures," says Richard A. Kessler, chief operating officer of BCP and chair of ULI New York. In the 1990s, real estate leadership became more scientific, taking over from instinct and intuition.
12-13-11

The Return to a Mixed-Use Way of Life

"Considered anathema 30 to 40 years ago, architects and developers are now designing spaces that focus on employee cognitive functions and productivity to stay competitive in a knowledge economy gone global," explains David Hobstetter, principal at San Francisco–based KMD Architects.
12-13-11

Market Forces: A Continual Transformation

To say U.S. real estate markets have changed dramatically over the past 75 years is an understatement. Not only have American real estate markets grown dramatically, including the creation of REITs, the first CMBS issues, “sustainability” joining the lexicon of land use, and the advancement and implementation of ever-evolving technology in land use.
12-13-11

Resilient Communities: Rockefeller Center Endures in Its Heritage Role

Few places speak more eloquently in embodying the attributes of a ULI Heritage Award than its first honoree, in 1989, Rockefeller Center. ULI’s Heritage Award is given periodically to developments that have demonstrated industry excellence for at least 25 years.
12-13-11

Developing Voices of Leadership

Real estate practices may have changed in 75 years, but the Urban Land Institute remains the premier organization for the industry. "The real estate industry moves quickly, but ULI keeps its finger on the pulse," says Sir Stuart Lipton, deputy chairman of London-based ¬Chelsfield Partners.
12-13-11

Milestones and What’s Next

In 1936, no organization existed in the United States to research, analyze, or encourage responsible patterns for long-term urban growth. As ULI begins its next 75 years, the real estate and land use industry has reached a pivotal point with both formidable challenges and promising opportunities. ULI is and will be at the forefront of this change.
12-13-11

Changing Partnerships: ULI Goes Global

"You have to look globally because the world has been globalizing over the last 20 years," says Richard M. Rosan, president of the ULI Foundation, which supports ULI through philanthropy. He also served as ULI’s chief executive for 17 years, during which he led the expansion abroad.
12-13-11

1936 Beginnings

Walter S. Schmidt, the founder and first president of ULI in the 1930s. Schmidt conceived of an organization where the ingredients were businessmen with knowledge, experience, and a philosophy about the problems of the urban growth and decay of the American City.
12-13-11

Timeline—Overview of 75 Years in ULI History

Read about ULI from the 1930s—when a fledgling ULI emerged as an independent organization designed to help U.S. land developers—a place where practical knowledge is gathered, shared, and expanded even today—to the 2010s—when ULI kicked off a yearlong celebration of its 75th anniversary at the Institute’s annual Fall Meeting and Urban Land Expo at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
12-13-11

ULI Publications and Panel Reports through the Years

Over the past 75 years, ULI publications have had a tremendous influence on real estate development worldwide. They continue the ULI tradition of sharing best practices and lessons learned. These publications benefit from the expert knowledge of ULI members who are industry leaders from every sector.
12-13-11

The Mission and Priorities of ULI

ULI’s priorities are creating resilient communities, understanding demand and market forces, connecting capital and the built environment through value, promoting intelligent densification and urbanization, and integrating energy, resources, and uses sustainably.
12-13-11

ULI At 75: Building Community

ULI sits at a special moment in its history. Its 75th anniversary is not just a birthday. With the economy struggling, everyone is looking for signs of what economic renewal will look like. ULI provides a unique perspective for its membership and the emphasis during its 75th anniversary year is connecting ULI with a broad array of new audiences while preparing ULI members and their businesses for the future.
12-13-11

Understanding Market Forces

To best understand the demand for real estate and discover what the market wants and needs, ULI has developed the Center for Capital Markets and Real Estate, along with the global infrastructure report, "Emerging Trends in Real Estate," ULI’s McCoy Symposium on Real Estate Finance, and other programs of in capital markets.
12-13-11

Leadership: "Pass It On"

Roy P. Drachman, who served as ULI Chairman from 1970–1973, recounted his first meeting with ULI Founder J.C. Nichols during a keynote speech in 1980 at the 75th anniversary celebration of the J.C. Nichols Company. Drachman passed away in 2002 at age 95.
12-13-11

Building for Permanence: The Legacy of Jesse Clyde Nichols

ULI has long been known for raising awareness about "best practices" and honoring them. zin 2000 ULI launched the ULI J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development, honoring individuals whose work and values reflect the mission of ULI.
12-13-11

Revitalizing Cities: Advice for Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

The third panel ULI ever conducted, in April 1948, and the most recent one, in June 2011, involved the same city—Indianapolis. The comparison shows that problems faced by cities after World War II—transportation, environmental degradation, overcoming blight, and finding sufficient funds—have not disappeared.
12-12-11

Monday's Numbers: December 12, 2011

Trepp LLC survey showed spreads narrowing a few basis points across all property types in what was a lackluster week in the debt markets. The Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick-Goldman Survey for the period ending December 1, 2011, showed spreads for 10-year mortgages unchanged.
12-12-11

Lessons from the European Green Capital—Hamburg?

While the grass may not always be “greener on the other side,” cities may be considerably greener on the other side of the Atlantic—such as Hamburg, Germany, the 2011 European Green Capital.
12-09-11

Financing Tightening; Underwriting More Conservative

“Underwriting is changing,” says Michael D. Fascitelli, president and chief executive officer of New Jersey–based Vornado Realty Trust. “It’s getting more conservative. It’s a more cautious world.”
12-09-11

U.S. Real Estate Markets: Hitting the Pause Button

U.S. real estate deal flow is slowing over concerns about the debt situation in Europe, the financial stalemate in Washington, and the continued volatility in the global markets, notes Michael D. Fascitelli, president and CEO of Vornado Realty Trust.
12-07-11

The Surprisingly Simple Amenities that Help Urban Residents Age in Place

Many U.S. cities—and suburban town centers—are looking for ways to make themselves more age-friendly. These amenities will be key to attracting residents who prefer to age in place and the growing number of empty nesters drawn to urban life.
12-07-11

An Emerging New Partnership: NEA's Real Estate Development and the Arts

For creative place-making to succeed, one needs a local—and specific—tradition of the arts, a committed philanthropic sector, and a local government structure that “gets it,” says the NEA’s chairman, Rocco Landesman.
12-06-11

Finding Balance between Profits and Prosperity

One way for Hong Kong to maximize long-term prosperity in the face of growing public opposition to development would be to reexamine the actual value proposition of policies that shape the built environment.
12-06-11

Creating Opportunities for Growth

American cities need economic stimuli and development. The progress made in Philadelphia demonstrates that there is still plenty of creative thinking going on in urban development organizations.
12-06-11

Creating Place through Creative Partnerships

While a particular public space–financing model is unique to Greater Houston and Texas, the concept can be used in other parts of the United States as well.
12-05-11

ULI Real Estate Business Barometer -- December 2011

The top ten trends in this month’s Barometer point to sparks as well as concerns in the economy, some weak signals in the capital markets, and some glimmer in the weak housing market. Compared with a year ago, 57 percent of the key indicators in the Barometer are better and 43 percent are worse.
12-05-11

Monday's Numbers: December 5, 2011

The Trepp LLC survey showed spreads widening approximately 10 basis points across all property types in direct reaction to the continuing Euro-crises. While everyone wants to believe everything is under control, it appears few actually believe it to be so.
12-05-11

ULI in Action: Leveraging Change in Infrastructure and Transportation through the Curtis Regional Infrastructure Initiative

At the 2011 Fall Meeting in L.A., trustee James Curtis divulged the three main takeaways of the ULI/Curtis Regional Infrastructure Initiative—a project intended to move the needle on infrastructure.
12-01-11

Sovereign Debt Crisis: Implications for Europe

Despite the unfolding financial crisis in Europe, opportunities still exist for real estate investors, panelists said at the Urban Land Institute’s 2011 Fall Meeting in Los Angeles.
November

11-30-11

Seniors Housing

It's what everone will need, eventually. But what makes some seniors' housing projects succeed? Panelists at ULI's Fall Meeting in Los Angeles revealed the key attributes.
11-30-11

Global City Ranking

New York continues to rank first among 35 top global cities ranked by the Mori Memorial Foundation in Japan, with London, Paris, Tokyo, and Singapore rounding out the top five.
11-29-11

ULI Panel Studies Opportunities in Maasmechelen, Belgium

How can the community of Maasmechelen, Belgium, learn more about its tourism DNA and about its potential for a stronger role as a tourism hub? A ULI advisory services panel has some ideas.
11-29-11

The Panama Canal Expansion and Impact on Industrial Real Estate

A major expansion of the Panama Canal—due to be completed in 2014—may not produce fundamental changes in intermodal shipping and associated U.S. industrial development, a Fall Meeting panel concluded.
11-29-11

Postindustrial Development: A Growing Opportunity for Sustainable Development

The growing trend of “postindustrial redevelopment”—coordinated redevelopment of urban areas with underused land—is seeing real successes as well as challenges, according to two academics at ULI’s Fall Meeting.
11-29-11

Multifamily in Two Shades of Green

After long being presented with narrow programs geared to other sectors, firms interested in green building now have access to many programs offering comprehensive, multifamily-specific guidance.
11-29-11

Riverside, California Pushes the Value of Redevelopment Agencies

With California attempting to balance a $26 billion budget shortfall, redevelopment agencies across the state have become targets for elimination. Some California cities are fighting back.
11-29-11

In Memory of a ULI Leader: Longtime Member and ULI Governor Roy W. Sheargold

The Urban Land Institute recently got word that ULI governor and honorary member Roy W. Sheargold, 88, of Sydney, Australia, died July 6. Sheargold, who was chairman of the Sheargold Group, was an active ULI member for more than 40 years.
11-28-11

Land Conservation Remains as Popular as Ever

Governments across the nation have long recognized the need to preserve open space. What may have been underestimated, however, is the commercial value of open space and its potential to create value.
11-28-11

Monday's Numbers: November 28, 2011

Highlights of the October 2011 Federal Reserve Senior Loan Office Opinion Survey include, amongst other findings: fewer domestic commercial banks eased lending standards, one-fourth of foreign bank respondents tightened lending standards, and less easing of credit standards in the third quarter of 2011 as compared to past surveys.
11-25-11

China: Is This Time Different?

Today, after three years of outsized gains, China’s real estate markets have again begun to wobble, and the naysayers are once again out in force predicting their imminent demise.
11-25-11

Concepts to Manage 21st Century Catastrophes

Design concepts should be based on the assumption that cascading failures will occur, requiring a more integrated approach that extends analysis capabilities from a single event to a series of events.
11-24-11

Accommodating Institutional Growth

Despite past antagonisms, medical centers and communities have too much at stake to ignore one another. Both stand to benefit from a shared future, but need new forms of partnership to promote dialogue.
11-24-11

Translational Medicine Design

To blend the realm of exam tables with the domain of lab benches requires translational thinking—facility design with enough transparency to discover where the two parts can come together in support of a new whole.
11-24-11

A Bifurcated Market

With interest rates low, inflation potentially lurking, and institutional investors seeking yield, money is flowing to pockets of the commercial market believed to have the least risk and the highest potential for immediate cash flow.
11-23-11

Video: Amanda Burden on Creating Value with Urban Open Space

New York City Department of City Planning Commissioner Amanda M. Burden talks to Urban Land magazine about the value of urban open space, how it can be a catalyst for economic development, why she created the Amanda Burden Urban Open Space Award.
11-23-11

Video: Simon Treacy on What the U.S. Credit Ceiling Debate and the European Markets Mean for Real Estate Investing

Simon Treacy, group chief executive, MGPA, explains what the U.S. credit ceiling debate and the turbulence in European markets mean for real estate investing domestically and overseas.
11-23-11

Creating Urban Open Space with the Power to Transform

Using 2011’s winner of the ULI Amanda Burden Urban Open Space Award as an example, a panel at the Urban Land Institute’s 2011 Fall Meeting explored the connection between parks and real estate value.
11-23-11

Remain Wary, Especially of Leverage

Some of the industry’s top capital-market experts warned ULI 2011 Fall Meeting attendees to remain wary, especially of leverage. “There’s a lot of suspense out there,” said Simon Treacy, group chief executive, MGPA, a private equity real estate advisory company focused on Europe and Asia. “Even with Greek debt taking a 50 percent haircut, I don’t even think we’re at first base yet.”
11-22-11

Video: Brandon Palanker on "Crowd-Sourced Place Making"

Brandon Palanker of Rennaissance Downtowns talks about the importance of social media to the land use industry and discusses case studies that have produced tangible, measurable results.
11-22-11

Video: Rebecca Devine on What the Goals Should be in CRE with Social Media and ROI

Rebecca Devine, principal, Maven Communications, talks about the industry’s initial fear about engaging the community and how opening the communication avenues will help get a projected developed.
11-22-11

Social Media and Engagement: Case Studies of CRE and New Media

With smaller budgets and a shaky economy, industry marketers are looking for creative and inexpensive ways to utilize new media technologies in order to enhance the bottom line—and they’re succeeding.
11-21-11

Zoning at 85

This year marks the 85th anniversary of the landmark United States Supreme Court case Euclid v Ambler Realty. Some anti-government activists argue that we don’t need zoning and that land use planning is somehow akin to socialism. In fact, planning is the multi-faceted process that communities use to prepare for change.
11-21-11

Monday's Numbers: November 21, 2011

The Trepp LLC survey showed spreads narrowing a few basis points during the most recent survey period, evidence that the debt market remains open and raring to go. Like peanuts at the circus: get’em while their hot; can it get beter than this?
11-18-11

Investment Trusts: Still the REIT Stuff?

Amid growing concerns about the weakening U.S. jobs sector, anemic housing data, and Europe’s never-ending debt crisis, REITs—once the darlings of investors—are seeing some trying times.
11-17-11

Video: Toby Bozzuto on the New "Design-Centric Culture" Element in the Multifamily Industry

Bozzuto Development Company's president, Toby Bozzuto, provides his perspective on Washington, D.C.–area for-sale properties and foreclosure inventory.
11-17-11

Parlez-Vous Français? Overseas Buyers Buoying U.S. Real Estate Markets

ULI members seeking to appeal to non-American buyers—who have increased in number over the past year—should show more patience and explain with greater detail how things work in the United States.
11-17-11

Elevating Design

At one panel at ULI’s Fall Meeting, developers were told to “demonstrate to public officials with every tactic you can that the political consequences of voting for your project will be good for them.”
11-17-11

Top 10 Global Cities with Lowest Greenhouse Gas Emissions

A recent survey of major cities on their greenhouse gas emissions showed the world’s best-known and wealthiest cities performing worse than megacities in less-prosperous, developing countries.
11-16-11

Neighborhood Design Workshop

Mixing environmental and economic sustainability is one of the main drivers behind LEED ND—a certification that is also providing developers with a tool for designing affordable, mixed-use communities.
11-15-11

Transit, Jobs, and Housing: Rethinking TOD

Achieving TOD 3.0—the latest iteration of transit-oriented development—means thinking at the level of a transit-oriented district, not just individual developments, said one ULI Fall Meeting panelist.
11-14-11

Realtors Say End Is Near

The NAR claims the tight credit conditions that have been holding buyers back will ease enough next year to allow at least some to take advantage of the best housing affordability conditions in years.
11-14-11

Monday's Numbers: November 14, 2011

The Trepp LLC survey showed spreads widening 15+/- basis points during the most recent survey period, evidence that the debt market remains cautious and easily spooked by current events. Nevertheless, all-numbers are more than a little attractive.
11-14-11

Planned Communities Are People, Too

Real estate developers as anthropologists? The future of planned communities will involve lessons learned by the industry’s greenfield pioneers that can be applied to smaller, denser, and more complex projects in the urban core and inner ring, including such sites as dead inner-ring shopping malls, defunct rail yards, and closed military bases.
11-14-11

ULI Real Estate Business Barometer -- November 2011

The top ten trends in this month’s Barometer point to a less-than-dynamic economy, some solid signals in the capital markets, mixed property fundamentals and a surprise in the otherwise weak housing market.
11-14-11

Video: ULI Rose Fellowship Mayors Discuss How to Build 21st Century Cities

America’s central cities are using land use planning and economic development initiatives to improve the quality of life that cities can offer residents and businesses and to be more competitive in the 21st Century.
11-11-11

Global Real Estate Industry Perspectives: The View from the Top

When investing in emerging markets, one must consider factors other than demographic and income trends, warns a panel of experts at ULI’s 2011 Fall Meeting and Urban Land Expo late last month.
11-11-11

Integrating with the Neighborhood: Gallaudet University and the Capital City Market

In September, ULI conducted a panel to help D.C.’s Gallaudet University— the only full research deaf university in the country—with its master plan, with a focus on integration with its neighborhood.
11-10-11

Homebuilders View the Future

At ULI’s Fall Meeting, homebuilder executives shared their insights on achieving success in today’s economic climate—and why they’re not worried about competition from foreclosures or other builders.
11-10-11

Suburban Infill – Solving Infrastructure and Financing Challenges

When it comes to creating more density in the suburbs—especially in today’s difficult development environment—the greatest opportunity lies in the fact that the time is ripe for innovative solutions.
11-09-11

Reinventing Retail

Today, retailers and retail developers are looking beyond price points to give their customers unique shopping experiences—which, in turn, is driving the trend to integrate retail and entertainment.
11-08-11

Federal Transportation Bill Forecast: Continued Uncertainty

The uncertainty surrounding the reauthorization of the federal surface transportation bill is likely to continue for some time, according to transportation experts at ULI’s 2011 Fall Meeting.
11-08-11

London Top Ten

From those seeking core returns to those with an appetite for risk, the London property market presents opportunities for all investors—even in the depth of the financial crisis.
11-07-11

Video: Dana Robbins Schneider on Affordable Office Building Retrofits and the Empire State Building Model

How can anyone justify sustainable building retrofits in today’s market? Dana Robbins Schneider, vice president, Jones Lang LaSalle, discusses her involvement in the Empire State Building’s green retrofit.
11-07-11

Video: Juan Diego Perez-Vargas on Transformation of Mexican Real Estate Markets

The real estate market in Mexico is on the verge of transformation. Juan Diego Perez-Vargas, principal, Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz, talks to Urban Land magazine about a new era of the pension fund system that is moving into Mexican real estate.
11-07-11

The Outlook for Investment in Health Care Properties: Medical Office Buildings and Outpatient Facilities

With demand increasing, the outlook for investment in the health care property industry looks promising compared to retail, industrial, and office properties, said one panelist at ULI’s Fall Meeting.
11-07-11

What’s Ahead for Retail: New Mixes That Entice Consumers to Leave Home to Shop

To fill space vacated by stores, alternative uses such as libraries and medical buildings are being mixed in with shopping—a trend that is likely to be long-term, said panelists at the Fall Meeting.
11-07-11

Reviving a Dying Mall

In Austin, Texas, an enclosed mall is being taken over by Austin Community College, with a developer partner proposing to develop a mix of housing, office, and retail on surrounding parking lots.
11-07-11

Milken: Invest in Human Capital

The nation needs a wake-up call to catalyze a shift in national priorities toward improving the job prospects and overall quality of life of U.S. residents, said Michael Milken at ULI’s Fall Meeting.
11-07-11

A Return to Simplicity and the Implications for Real Estate

Niche marketing is the best strategy for both the residential and retail sectors in the years ahead, said Brooke Warrick, president of American LIVES, Inc., at ULI’s 2011 Fall Meeting in Los Angeles.
11-07-11

Monday's Numbers: November 7, 2011

The Trepp LLC survey showed spreads coming in as much as 25 basis during the most recent survey period, evidence that the market, so far, is able to function with the Euro-crises playing out in the background.
11-04-11

His Highness the Aga Khan, 2011 Laureate, ULI J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development

On Thursday, October 27, at the Urban Land Institute’s Fall Meeting in Los Angeles, His Highness the Aga Khan was named the 12th winner of the J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development.
11-04-11

Urban Mixed-Use Development: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Though they look cool, create walkable communities, and set up retail-residential synergies, mixed-use projects don’t work everywhere, claimed panelists at one session at ULI’s Fall Meeting last week.
11-04-11

Urban Grocers

At ULI’s recent 2011 Fall Meeting, one panel offers considerable development, design, and practical advice for those considering developing an urban grocery store as part of a mixed-use project.
11-03-11

The Food Revolution and Its Impact on Real Estate

When we think about what’s next in real estate, it is clear that food and farming will become a more important and profitable part of the equation, according to one panel at ULI’s recent Fall Meeting.
11-02-11

Panama: Real Estate Development Continues

With an average annual growth rate of 6 percent over the last decade, Panama is a notable Latin American economic success story—and it’s providing opportunities for U.S. real estate entrepreneurs.
October

10-31-11

Beyond HOPE 6: HUD Offers New Initiatives for Low-Income Housing, Neighborhood Revitalization

Funding for public and affordable housing continues to fall far behind what is needed to preserve existing units and grow the stock to meet burgeoning demand—but HUD has a strategy to counteract this.
10-31-11

Growth Gateway Cities Are Rare Bright Spots

A handful of urban centers are climbing out of recession and may serve as models for the rest of the nation, says the Emerging Trends report presented at a ULI Fall Meeting press conference last week.
10-31-11

Does Retail Have a Pulse?

Regardless of whether customers shop at bricks-and-mortar stores or online, branding is essential to retailers’ survival, agreed panelists at the “Retailers Sound Off” session at the ULI Fall Meeting.
10-31-11

Public/Private Partnerships: Wide Ranging Views and Successful Approaches

One panel discussion at ULI’s Fall Meeting reveals the growing gap between the haves and the have-nots in the U.S. economy and the lack of certainty and strong leadership at the local government level. However, there are recommended ways of approaching these partnerships to help ensure success.
10-31-11

Monday's Numbers: October 31, 2011

The Trepp LLC survey showed spreads coming in as much as 25 basis during the most recent survey period, evidence that the market, so far, is able to function with the Euro-crises playing out in the background.
10-31-11

BofA Has Plan to Buy, Lease REO

The housing business is waiting for the White House to come up with a plan to better manage the government’s inventory of foreclosed properties—but one much-maligned bank may beat Uncle Sam to the punch.
10-28-11

Reports of the Death of GSEs May Be Greatly Exaggerated

Though Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are likely to have a smaller share of business going forward, their role is likely to continue in some form, conclude panelists at ULI’s 2011 Fall Meeting in L.A.
10-28-11

Recovery in the U.S. economy is well underway—but continued unemployment and the European debt crisis are leaving a “global stagnation cloud”

Real estate is likely in for a slow recovery, with bright spots in rental housing and other sectors, says a panel of real estate experts at ULI’s 2011 Fall Meeting in Los Angeles.
10-26-11

Malls Making a Comeback

Although mall sales per square foot have been on a two-year growth trend and surpassed the $400 mark this year for the first time since 2008, challenges remain for the mall’s continued comeback.
10-26-11

What Is the Impact of European Austerity Measures on Office Markets?

High national debt and falling GDP levels have exposed some European economies to sovereign debt concerns, but most countries are largely unaffected by the crisis, claims one global real estate adviser.
10-26-11

Slow, Long Climb Out, Says ULI's Annual Emerging Trends Outlook

The 33rd edition of Emerging Trends, an annual outlook report, found investors concentrating on just a handful of “wealth islands”—notably diversified, 24-hour gateways located on global trade routes.
10-26-11

ULI's "What's Next?" Report: Real Estate in the New Economy

A new 116-page ULI report highlights trends expected to affect urban planning, design, and development through 2020.
10-26-11

Entrepreneurs Beat the Recession with Niche Infill Developments

Despite the ongoing recession—the worst since the 1930s—small-scale entrepreneurs like designer and developer Kevin Cavanaugh and West Coast developer Mott Smith are finding creative ways to succeed.
10-21-11

Social Media: Online Hotel Reviews and Reputation Management

Hotel marketers place a high priority on sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter—but it’s even more important to focus on travel review websites, say some industry insiders.
10-19-11

Solar Parking Lots Arriving in Greater Numbers

Because of growing interest in renewable energy, the availability of government incentives, and steadily declining panel costs, the nation is seeing a boom in solar installations—even in parking lots.
10-19-11

Is Real Estate Still Considered a “Safe Haven” Investment in Europe?

The recent economic turmoil in Europe has prompted investors in all asset classes to take a more risk-averse approach—but core, prime real estate is still deemed a safe-haven investment.
10-19-11

APA's Top 10 Great Streets 2011

Recently, the American Planning Association released its annual list of “Great Places in America”—including ten great streets in big cities like Washington, D.C., and small towns like Galena, Illinois.
10-18-11

Pillars of Design

While office building design continues to evolve in response to technological advances, many conventional construction methods and principles are changing at a slower pace.
10-18-11

Uneven Landscape

After three punishing years and a near grinding halt to private projects, the southern California real estate and development scene may be showing signs of life, longtime experts say.
10-18-11

Pasadena TOD Projects Set the Stage for Denser, More Walkable Development

Pasadena, California, which has become more attractive because of its embedded transportation infrastructure, was the backdrop for the ULI Los Angeles Transit-Oriented Development Summit 2011.
10-18-11

Going Foward

As the tenth anniversary of 9/11 passes, commercial real estate professionals are integrating new best practices to keep tenants safe through a deep commitment to enhanced risk management and emergency preparedness.
10-17-11

Monday's Numbers: October 17, 2011

The Trepp LLC survey narrowed a bit during the most recent survey period. Deals appear to be closing on time, on schedule, and at quoted rates. Our sources say commercial real estate mortgages are being quoted in the low 5’s to high 6’s range at maximum loan-to-value ratios of 65 percent.
10-17-11

MBA: Regulatory Overkill Stifles Market

One speaker at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) annual meeting said, Congress and regulators are “going after” the entire housing finance system “for problems that no longer exist.” And the result, he added, is “suffocating the whole market.” Mortgage originations are expected to dip by over 25 percent next year, the MBA said.
10-17-11

Monday's Numbers: October 24, 2011

The Trepp LLC survey showed spreads coming in as much as 15 basis during the most recent survey period, evidence that the market, so far, is able to function with the Euro-crises playing out in the background.
10-15-11

ULI Members, Others Compete in EPA’s “Biggest Loser” Program

Each year, the EPA’s Energy Star National Building Competition shines the spotlight on conserving energy and reducing CO2 emissions—as well as on sharing best practices case studies.
10-12-11

New Form to Help Appraisers “See” Green

A new form devised by a professional group of real estate appraisers gives them guidelines to follow to identify a home’s green features and make an accurate analysis of what they add to its value.
10-12-11

Transit-Oriented Development: Starting at the Station

In an effort to promote sustainability and transit-oriented development, New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority recently requested bids for space at four New York City–area station sites.
10-12-11

Arrival City: How the Largest Migration in History Is Reshaping Our World

In his book Arrival City, Doug Saunders examines the receptor communities for those fleeing the crushing subsistence of a farm economy, places stereotyped as dead-end zones of entrapment and crime.
10-12-11

The Agile City: Building Well-Being and Wealth in an Era of Climate Change

In his book The Agile City, James S. Russell, architecture critic for the Bloomberg news service, instills hope and inspires movement toward being better at living on this planet.
10-12-11

Sustainism Is the New Modernism: A Cultural Manifesto for the Sustainist Era

The book Sustainism Is the New Modernism is intended as a manifesto for the current era, embodying “a change in cultural perspective, a new mindset, a worldwide remaking. . . . The world has entered the Sustainist age.”
10-12-11

30/10 Leverages Infrastructure into Jobs

Los Angeles transportation advocates have asked whether it might be possible to carry out 30 years of infrastructure investment in only the next decade. The concept, dubbed 30/10, has won bipartisan backing.
10-12-11

Hollywood Condos Go Rental, Stay Chic

It is a familiar plot: architect meets housing developer; original developer goes belly-up in housing bust; development is half finished and gathers dust. But this Hollywood story has a happy ending.
10-12-11

Financing Economic Development

Tax abatements, brownfield funding, community development block grants, tax increment financing, and new markets tax credits offer significant advantages over other economic development tools.
10-12-11

Growth From Within

The claim that Los Angeles is a multitude of suburbs in search of a city has never been entirely fair. Today, it is downright wrong, especially as shown by the strength and diversity of its entertainment and retail centers.
10-12-11

Partly Cloudy Forecast

The outlook for southern California real estate is sunny for core assets in supply-constrained locations, but still partly cloudy for most of the market.
10-12-11

Transparency Forum Explores Building Energy Disclosure Across Local Markets

ULI convened “The New Transparency in Real Estate” forum in Chicago to examine how mandatory disclosure laws on building energy efficiency should be implemented and the effect they will have on the marketplace.
10-12-11

ULI Ten Principles to Help Guide Large-Scale Integrated Development

The ULI Sustainable Approach to New Development study, undertaken to develop a more sustainable approach to large-scale development, benchmarked Hong Kong projects against regional and international case studies.
10-12-11

Scott Malkin Named New Chairman of ULI Europe

Scott Malkin, founder and chairman of London-based Value Retail, is the new chairman of ULI Europe, succeeding Alexander Otto, who held the position for two-and-a-half years.
10-12-11

Marilee Utter to Lead ULI’s Global District Council Program

Longtime Urban Land Institute trustee and renowned land use and transit expert Marilee Utter has been named executive vice president of the institute’s district council program.
10-12-11

Reversal of Fortune

A southern California community has stepped back from near financial catastrophe in part with help from the recent redevelopment of a military base and a municipal airport near Los Angeles International Airport.
10-12-11

Regional Spotlight: California

High-tech industries, job growth, and renewed confidence are spurring northern California real estate development while activity in Los Angeles remains weak.
10-12-11

Sustainability Remains Strong in the Golden State

Increased awareness of lower operating costs, added health benefits, and the competitive value of sustainability are driving increased demand for sustainable design in California.
10-12-11

Industrial Strength

The landscape regarding southern California industrial property—as well as the region’s position as an import-based economy—is changing fundamentally.
10-11-11

ULI Spain Member Launches Innovative QR Mobile App

Spanish real estate firm Tasinsa has launched a QR code application that allows clients to use a mobile device to get instant access to information about properties marketed by the firm.
10-11-11

ULI Report Explores Investment, Development Potential of China’s Lesser-Known Cities

Chinese cities such as Chengdu and Chongqing, lesser known outside the region, are growing rapidly, providing attractive investment and development opportunities, according to a new ULI report.
10-11-11

Four Projects Chosen for Awards for Excellence: Asia Pacific

Four exceptional developments have been selected as winners in the ULI Awards for Excellence: Asia Pacific competition, widely recognized as the land use industry’s most prestigious recognition program.
10-11-11

Design/Build Project Elevates California Sports Park to Peak Efficiency

A new public venue for sports and a community amenity in the Arlington Heights Greenbelt community of Riverside, California, shows how innovative approaches to project delivery can yield positive results.
10-11-11

America’s Infrastructure: A Critical Juncture

The quality of life in cities would improve if the physical support system of modern urban infrastructure fueled the expansion of firms in the new urban economy.
10-11-11

Revitalizing Your Real Estate Organization

Structure, and its corollary, organization, should come first when market conditions have deflated expectations and impaired the economics that drive them.
10-10-11

Mayor Lee Calls PPPs and Redevelopment Keys to San Francisco’s Economic Future

San Francisco is using private/public partnerships to transform formerly blighted areas into the city’s new economic engines, according to Mayor Edwin M. Lee on a recent visit to the Urban Land Institute.
10-10-11

Monday's Numbers: October 10, 2011

The Trepp LLC survey showed spreads stabilizing to even narrowing a bit during the most recent survey period. Deals appear to be happening as everyone looks over their shoulder waiting for the next shoe to fall somewhere in the global capital markets. So…hurry up and get your deals done while rates are as low.
10-10-11

ULI Real Estate Business Barometer -- October 2011

The top nine trends in this month’s Barometer point to low-level limbo in the economy, diverging signals in the capital markets, and renewed challenges in the housing market. Compared with a year ago, 52 percent of the key indicators in the Barometer are better while 48 percent are worse.
10-07-11

Top 10 Metro Areas for Economic Growth Since the Recession

According to just-released data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the economies of U.S. metro areas turned around in 2010, with metro gross domestic products increasing a combined 2.5 percent.
10-06-11

Greening the Police Station

As municipal governments seek to improve the sustainability of their buildings, a new green facility in Henderson, Nevada—the North Community Police Station—proves that the results justify the effort.
10-06-11

Europe in 50 Years

Though the EU’s real estate market may thin over the next 50 years, the large economies on Europe’s edge like Turkey and Russia may see substantial growth, says one participant at a recent conference.
10-06-11

Two Bills to Draw Developers—and Jobs—Back

To draw large-scale developers back to California, Governor Jerry Brown signed two bills into law last week—but initial reactions to the laws are mixed, among developers and environmentalists alike.
10-05-11

Solar-Home Competition Now Embraces Urban Needs

At the Solar Decathlon, a solar-home competition sponsored by the DOE, many of the prototypes on display still had a suburban or rural live-off-the-grid bent—but others were geared to urban settings.
10-05-11

Flexible Service Office Space

Flexible service office space not only satisfies the need of businesses for greater flexibility during a recession, but also is an early beneficiary during an economic upturn.
10-04-11

Some Homebuilders Charting New Course during Downturn

Looking for different areas for growth, homebuilding firms like Toll Brothers and Lennar Corporation are pursuing opportunities that have synergies with—but may fall outside of—their core operations.
10-04-11

Collaborative Life Sciences Complex

Four Oregon universities are integrating space, programs, and services in a shared, transit-oriented complex on a reclaimed Portland waterfront brownfield.
10-04-11

Leading The Recovery

Big southern California players seize on opportunities in multifamily development, one of the brighter spots in housing and the sector expected to lead the real estate industry recovery.
10-03-11

Monday's Numbers: October 3, 2011

The Trepp LLC survey showed spreads widening dramatically during the survey period (an average of 15+/- basis points) as concern about non-real estate factors such as the Federal Reserve’s activities, the Euro-financial market crises, and the a perceived increase in Sovereign risk, to name a few, weighed on lenders minds and lending strategies.
10-03-11

Fund Invests $650 million in Emerging Market for Green Retrofits of Aging Buildings

A consortium formed by Richard Branson announced that it will provide $650 million for commercial real estate energy retrofits and upgrades for properties located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, and Sacramento, California.
10-01-11

Movie Haunts Live On in ‘Reel’ Life

HAPPY HALLOWEEN: Remember the 1968 horror movie Rosemary’s Baby—and the apartment where it took place? Writer Lew Sichelman does, too, and takes us on a Halloween-inspired tour of houses featured in American films.
September

09-29-11

Cisneros and Others Honored at ULI Terwilliger Center Workforce Housing Awards Gala

The 2011 ULI Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing Awards Gala honored the multifaceted career of Henry Cisneros—described as a leader who doesn’t just “talk the talk” but also “walks the walk.”
09-29-11

EMEA Awards Recognize Four Projects for Excellence

Three exceptional developments have been selected as winners and a fourth was highly commended in the ULI Awards for Excellence: Europe, Middle East, and Africa competition.
09-28-11

Steel City Renaissance

With downtown office rents expected to rise 7.5 percent this year, Pittsburgh—once the butt of jokes—is thriving. But those interested in real estate opportunities there should act fast, insiders say.
09-28-11

Cincinnati’s 3CDC: A Model for Urban Transformation

Communities attempting to replicate the success that the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation had in revitalizing the Over-the-Rhine area should be laser-focused on one area, supporters say.
09-27-11

Hotel Recovery

The last hotel recovery was doomed by an unstable foundation. The industry’s current return is on sturdier ground, thanks to a return to traditional real estate practices.
09-26-11

Tsunami of Rental Housing Demand is on the Way

At the recent ULI Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing Policy Symposium, it was noted that the United States faces a tidal wave of rental housing demand—a fact that Congress does not understand.
09-26-11

"The Mortgage Interest Deduction Can Go"

“I would trade the mortgage interest deduction for a top tax rate of 25 percent,” said David G. Kittle of Investors Mortgage Asset Recovery Co. at the ULI Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing’s Policy Symposium. Panelists agreed on one result of the housing crisis: reduced public confidence in homeownership as a vehicle for building wealth.
09-26-11

Monday's Numbers: September 26, 2011

The Trepp LLC survey showed spreads continuing at current levels as everyone appears focused on an array of non-real estate factors and events such as the Federal Reserve doing the “Twist”, Euro-financial market confusion, and Sovereign risk, to name a few. Deals are continuing to get done at slightly wider spreads.
09-21-11

How Will Big Box Retail Affect D.C.?

Washington, D.C., is witnessing a relative boom in big-box development—so much so that D.C.’s National Building Museum hosted a panel discussion about it on September 8 to discuss the impacts of it.
09-21-11

Multifamily in the Middle

In pursuit of higher cap rates, more investors are expected to venture inland, seeking higher yields in areas where multifamily prices haven’t recovered as much as on the East and West Coasts.
09-21-11

Go Green Nashville: A Tremendous Success

Begun two years ago, the Go Green Nashville initiative—one of the nation’s most successful home retrofitting campaigns—shows that ULI can make a real, tangible impact on the lives of everyday citizens.
09-20-11

Partnerships in the Life Sciences

Collaboration is the watchword in contemporary life sciences facilities. Ten projects represent exemplary and innovative approaches to fostering interaction and creativity.
09-19-11

Keeping Cities Going Despite the Financial Crisis

Local governments need to reevaluate the services they deliver to constituents—and identify other sources that could help them—to cope with ongoing fiscal distress, according to government and private sector leaders from the United States and Europe.
09-19-11

Monday's Numbers: September 19, 2011

According to an analysis by REIT Cafe, multifamily REITs have “thrived,” helped by Echo Boomers among the various age cohorts. The Trepp LLC survey showed spreads continuing at current levels, reflecting a “wait and see” attitude. Deals are getting done at slightly wider spreads as market participants wait out the impact of the Euro-credit crises on U.S, capital markets.
09-16-11

Energy Efficiency Markets Evolve Globally

The Energy Efficiency Indicator survey of global executives and building owners, conducted by ULI and Johnson Controls, shows unmistakable growth in interest in energy efficiency.
09-15-11

Lower Manhattan Residential Strong Ten Years after 9/11

The rebirth and revitalization of lower Manhattan in the decade after 9/11 are evident in that neighborhood’s new public spaces and office and residential developments—especially the “green” ones.
09-15-11

Office Development Outlook

Despite the sluggish economy, opportunities for the acquisition and repositioning of office properties are increasing in certain markets.
09-15-11

Green Retrofit Financing

With the launch of commercial PACE programs in key metro areas, property owners across America are expected to tap the funding mechanism for billions of dollars in retrofit financings annually in just a few years.
09-14-11

Urban Office Momentum

So far this year, major suburban-to-urban office relocations have been announced or are being contemplated in such varied markets as Chicago, Detroit, and Las Vegas, among other places. And, ULI members see this as a trend that will continue.
09-13-11

Top 10 Metro Highway Removal Projects

This decade, freeway removal projects are gaining popularity and momentum, with three demolitions already underway and another dozen projects on the drawing board. Here is a list of the top ten metro highway removal projects based on progress toward teardown.
09-12-11

Monday's Numbers: September 12, 2011

According to Trepp LLC, seven banks failed in August as compared to 13 in July; total failures in 2011 have reached 68, putting the U.S. on track to record 100+/- failures this year.
09-09-11

Military Offers Opportunity for Entrepreneurs

As the U.S. military increasingly embraces sustainable construction and looks more toward private development, firms involved in military construction expect even more contract opportunities to arise.
09-09-11

Retrofitting Surge Slowed by the Economy

Though the retrofit market is dormant, most analysts believe its awakening is inevitable, requiring only a nudge from an improved economy or a well-placed incentive—and statistics support this hunch.
09-07-11

Being There First: Next Neighborhood

“Next neighborhoods” are becoming a phenomenon of transit access—especially rail—in contrast to the freeway-spawned next neighborhoods of 1950s suburbia, says California-based developer Rick Holliday.
09-07-11

Fannie and Freddie Downgrade

While most analysts doubt mortgage rates will rise as a result of Standard & Poor’s downgrading the credit rating of Fannie and Freddie, concern remains about the psychological impact on homebuyers.
09-07-11

Top 11 Worst Metro Areas for Seniors’ Mobility

A report commissioned by Transportation for America shows that in a majority of metros with 1 million or more people, over half of seniors aged 65 to 79 will have poor access to mass transit in 2015.
09-06-11

Monday's Numbers: September 5, 2011

If you want to understand why rates quoted by conduits have increased during the past few months, look no further than the trading spreads being quoted on the securities created by the pooling of commercial and multifamily mortgage loans of cash flows from the underlying mortgages.
09-06-11

Ten Years After 9/11, Americans Still Prefer to Live in Cities

Just weeks after the terrorist acts of 9/11, the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan—long a proponent of the public realm—told an audience at ULI’s 2001 Fall Meeting in Boston why cities still matter.
09-06-11

9/11 and the Built Environment: What’s Different, What’s Not

ULI’s Patrick Phillips reflects on how 9/11 changed urban design and development. “The bigger lesson regarding the impact of 9/11 on the built environment has more to do with what did not change than what did,” he says.
09-06-11

ULI Real Estate Business Barometer -- September 2011

The top 8 trends in this month’s Barometer point to an evolving fragility as economic indicators reacted strongly to early August’s federal political and financial turmoil; real estate capital markets are mixed, if only because some key positive indicators are reported on a lagging basis; and housing data remains weak.
August

08-31-11

Social Media and Commercial Real Estate: Measuring Return on Investment

Commercial real estate firms can use social media like Facebook to boost their online presence in a world that is moving toward mobile internet, says public relations firm founder Rebecca Devine.
08-31-11

Top 10 Metro Areas Gaining Kids

According to demographer William Frey with the Brookings Institution public policy research center, there is a “growing divide” between parts of the country experiencing gains and losses in children under age 15—a finding that has implications for ULI members.
08-30-11

Shrinking Cities Smartly

Faced with declining populations and an increasing number of abandoned structures, some U.S. municipalities believe that if cities can grow in a smart way, they can shrink smartly, too.
08-30-11

Practitioners Seeing Shift to Urban Living on the Ground, Confirming Forecasts

Numerous prognosticators and long-range forecasts are citing demographic changes as well as a shift in consumer preferences as the reasons behind increased demand for urban living in the coming years.
08-30-11

Senior Boomers Get Cool Housing

Intended to be very walkable and multigenerational and offer access to all major services without driving, new developments aimed at baby boomers are moving back into the city and near public transit.
08-29-11

Monday's Numbers: August 29, 2011

Due to earthquakes, hurricanes, and vacation schedules, the Trepp LLC survey will not be updated until after Labor Day. An informal survey we conducted this week showed most borrowers and lenders waiting for things to “just settle down.”
08-24-11

Real Estate Standout: Student Housing

College students today are looking for a student housing experience that mimics living at home—and student housing developers are maneuvering to benefit from increasing enrollments and rising rents.
08-24-11

The Incredible Shrinking Office Space – Fact or Fantasy?

The current office market recovery is being led by energy, technology, and financial services—but shifts in how people work could mean that some sectors of the office market will never recover.
08-23-11

Top 10 Least-Polluting U.S. Metros

As greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction policies gain momentum at the federal and metropolitan levels, a new study about urban areas’ GHG emissions levels could have implications for real estate developers.
08-23-11

A Blunt Voice of Realism in a Sector Often Deaf to Calls for Fundamental Reform

ULI senior resident fellow Stephen R. Blank, in a recent frank conversation with BNA, airs concerns about what he considers a tendency to disregard warning signs and on the industry's reluctance to "get rich slow."
08-23-11

Independent Housing Cooperatives

In Portland, Oregon, an architect and a developer devise a lower-risk strategy to give aging baby boomers more control in developing and operating cooperative housing.
08-23-11

Regional Spotlight: Texas

The Lone Star State developers are encouraged by improving fundamentals in certain sectors and the hope that the others have seen their worst.
08-22-11

Seattle and Suburbs Find Innovative Compromise to Save Transit

Recognizing the importance of a stable and healthy King County Metro, a coalition of business, environmental, and transit advocates in Washington state helps save the transit system from drastic cuts.
08-22-11

Monday's Numbers: August 22, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders showed spreads widening 15+/- basis points week-over-week, putting them 35 to 50 basis points wider than at the beginning of the month.
08-19-11

Apartment Market Gold Rush

Two reports released at PCBC in San Francisco last month confirmed the renewed interest in multifamily—but experts expressed concern about lenders who know nothing about the sector flooding the market.
08-17-11

Flexibility Key to Office of the Future

With many employers focused on achieving greater efficiencies and cost savings, increasing numbers of tenants are downsizing their office space—and new technologies are allowing them to do so.
08-17-11

Citygarden: Open Space as Catalyst

Part city park, part sculpture garden, Citygarden—the 2011 ULI Amanda Burden Urban Open Space Award winner—has had an impact on the surrounding real estate market and businesses in St. Louis, Missouri.
08-17-11

Suburbs, Cities, and Aging in Place

ULI Senior Resident Fellow John McIlwain writes that with the percentage of the global population of people over 60 increasing, and with the world’s population becoming ever more urban, cities now need to find more ways to let seniors age in place.
08-17-11

Is There Movement in the Industrial Real Estate Markets?

If vacancy rates are any indication, more industrial real estate markets are recovering than not—but rents need to recover more before anything but special-use properties start penciling out again.
08-16-11

Change in ULI's Governance Structure Broadens Foundation Opportunities

Though philanthropic donations have declined in general, member support for the ULI Foundation has remained strong: its assets have risen during a time when the economic outlook has been more uncertain than bright.
08-16-11

Competitiveness Depends on Education Infrastructure

In his keynote speech this May at the Spring Council Forum, Michael Crow, president of Arizona State University, gave a personal account of the ongoing transformation of his university and its Phoenix urban region.
08-15-11

Monday's Numbers: August 15, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders showed spreads widening an average of 20, repeat 20, basis points during the survey period as financing circles the field, waiting for word from the tower that it’s safe to land and for the markets to decide if it’s 1998 or 2007 again.
08-12-11

Should the Administration Rent Its Growing Inventory of Foreclosed Homes?

Renting single-family homes is a tough business—yet the government is looking for ways it might rent out the 250,000 homes that Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Administration now own.
08-11-11

Affordable Housing Sector Finding New Financing Sources

Google—along with Verizon, Liberty Mutual, and Allstate—is among a number of new investors in low-income housing tax credits that have breathed new life into the affordable housing sector.
08-10-11

Report Makes Case for Making Infrastructure a Priority

Infrastructure 2011: A Strategic Priority, a report produced jointly by ULI and Ernst & Young, recommends, amongst other things, fixing infrastructure first through repairs and upgrades and instituting federal and state infrastructure banks.
08-10-11

Data Centers Consolidating, Booming

Changing user requirements from both the private and public sectors are altering where data centers are built and how they are designed and operated—resulting in a new data center development boom.
08-09-11

Top 10 Cities for Renters

Apartments are the one housing sector experiencing a strong recovery—and Forbes magazine and real estate investment firm Marcus & Millichap recently rated the best big cities for renters.
08-09-11

Downtown Miami Experiencing New Development Following Residential Renaissance

Owing to the vertical development that has taken shape, affordability, and a demand for urban living, downtown Miami is emerging as one of the nation’s fastest-growing urban centers, says one insider.
08-09-11

Off-the-Grid School Collaboration in Haiti

Following the devastating earthquake in Haiti in January 2010, a unique collaboration developed between BAR Architects and Architecture for Humanity in response to the disaster.
08-09-11

Surviving the Economic Woes?

As financing for new development has dried up, some might wonder whether public incentives to “go green” have lost relevance in the marketplace.
08-08-11

ULI Real Estate Business Barometer -- August 2011

This month’s Barometer data are a study in disparity. Whether this turns out to be the calm before the storm remains to be seen. Second-quarter GDP growth was alarmingly weak; capital markets indicators fared well; commercial real estate fundamentals improved for apartments and hotels; and the weak housing data stay weak.
08-08-11

Monday's Numbers: August 8, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders showed spreads widening an average of 5 basis points during the survey period with financing remains available in the 5 percent +/- range.
08-04-11

Like Actors, Retail Properties Are Getting Face-Lifts, Too

As ground-up development opportunities remain scarce, developers are refurbishing existing retail properties, as such renovations typically result in higher rents and better tenants, one insider says.
08-04-11

Footing the Bill For Home Improvements

To help make homes more energy efficient, the government has rolled out a pilot program to help homeowners pay for replacement windows and doors, water heaters, solar panels, even geothermal systems.
08-03-11

Economics Give Power of Film New Meaning

In diverse places like Ontario, New Mexico, Michigan, and Florida, local, state, and provincial governments are offering incentives to attract film production—and the high-paying jobs it creates.
08-03-11

Strengthening Connections

In Oakland, California, the local housing authority took an aging public housing development on a blighted semi-industrial site and remade it to strengthen connections to nearby residences and community amenities.
08-02-11

Investment Opportunities in Spain and Ireland?

Though Spain and Ireland have been hit hard by the global recession, with property values having fallen significantly, they offer selective investment opportunities, some real estate investors claim.
08-02-11

Larson Roundtable Looks at Leadership Practices

The ULI Robert C. Larson Leadership Initiative—a roundtable open only to 50 full members—provided eight hours of in-depth looks at leadership skills, best practices, and lessons learned.
08-02-11

Larson Leadership Initiative Holds Five Programs at Spring Council Forum

Because leadership is now one of the five priority areas for ULI, the ULI Robert C. Larson Leadership Initiative held five programs at the 2011 Real Estate Summit at the Spring Council Forum in Phoenix.
08-01-11

Monday's Numbers: August 1, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey (below) of 15 active portfolio lenders showed spreads coming in at an average of 5 basis points during the survey period. Financing remains available in the 5 percent +/- range.
July

07-29-11

Going Beyond the Social Media “Clutter”

Although social media are one way to support branding and awareness, developers who rely solely on them to attract buyers might—in light of today’s economy—also reconsider old-fashioned marketing.
07-29-11

Designers vs. Engineers: Pushing for Infrastructure on a Human Scale

When it comes to urban infrastructure, architects impart a sense of place and a human scale—but equally important are basic structural capabilities. And the interplay between these two defines success.
07-29-11

Investment, Development Rank High in China’s Lesser-Known Cities

According to ULI’s new China Cities Survey, Chengdu—a smaller city in west-central China—earned top rankings in development and investment prospects, as well as in several different property sectors.
07-27-11

The Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group Debt Market Sentiment and Lender Survey

Lenders continue to be more aggressive, citing pressure to put money out for strong sponsors with quality real estate. (Re)development and construction activity as well as interest in secondary/tertiary markets are increasing.
07-27-11

In Print: Sunburnt Cities by Justin B. Hollander

Hollander, author of "Sunburnt Cities" does not believe that the problem of depopulation is amenable to piecemeal, short-term fixes. His solution is not to invest in "illusory" job development, but to focus on right-sizing shrinking neighborhoods.
07-27-11

Design & Development in Urban Redevelopment

In their efforts to attract new development and revenue during difficult economic times, cities are finding that community input is an important part of forward-thinking design and development.
07-27-11

Financing Green Retrofits in Europe

The market for commercial green retrofit projects in Europe is growing, propelled by climate change regulations, as well as investor and tenant demand and corporate social responsibility.
07-27-11

Unconventional Projects Snag 2011 ULI Awards

Unconventional projects were the rule rather than the exception for the 2011 ULI Awards for Excellence, announced May 19 at the ULI Real Estate Summit at the Spring Council Forum in Phoenix.
07-27-11

Redefining Creative Space

Because it provides high-paying jobs and tends to recycle old commercial buildings for creative space, the entertainment industry is among the most desirable economic drivers for cities and states.
07-26-11

Ackman-Ziff Joint Venture Equity Market Survey

The Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group LLC has graciously provided us with access to its most recent quarterly surveys of terms and conditions in the private equity and debt commercial and multifamily real estate capital markets; the equity survey follows.
07-25-11

Nurturing the Architecture of the Innovation Community

As the shift from an industrial to an information society to an innovation economy continues, discussions about the new architecture of cities will include the importance of “creative clusters.”
07-25-11

Federal Transportation Policy in Motion?

The current extension of the federal transportation authorization expires on September 30—meaning that the House Republicans and the Senate have limited time to bridge the gaps in their positions.
07-25-11

Monday's Numbers: July 25, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders remained unchanged during the most recent survey period with financing remaining available in the 5 percent +/- range.
07-21-11

Brazil’s Real Estate Market: Muito quente

Less than a decade ago, Brazil was considered high risk due to an unstable economy, hyperinflation, mounting debt, and a volatile currency. Today, it is seeing robust growth—and firms are noticing.
07-21-11

Federal Livability Progress

Promising to incorporate principles of livability into programs and policies, three federal agencies—DOT, EPA, and HUD—celebrate the two-year anniversary of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities.
07-21-11

Anticipating the Upscale Empty-Nester Condo Market Recovery

According to the results of the American Affluence Research Center’s survey of the richest 10 percent of Americans, the market for condominiums targeted to well-off seniors is meaningful—and finite.
07-21-11

ULX: Reclaiming Urban Breathing Spaces

Today, cities generally must find other ways than exercising eminent domain to insert public open space into the urban fabric. In many cases, that means ripping up parking lots or cleaning up old industrial sites.
07-21-11

Detroit: The New Paradigm

Detroit, the former symbol of U.S. industrial might, is shrinking at an unprecedented pace, and in the process creating a profusion of new challenges for urban development practitioners.
07-21-11

Video: Growth Numbers to Improve in Second Half of Year, Says Top Forecaster

Barclays Capital Inc. chief U.S. economist Dean Maki provided his economic outlook at a recent ULI event and stated, amongst other things, that the current economic problem is not consumer spending, but rather “real consumer spending.”
07-21-11

Q&A with John Clawson and Ben Golvin

The designer of the Ed Roberts Campus, owned by a consortium of seven disabled-rights organizations and abutting a BART station in Berkeley, California, discusses the development process with the developers.
07-21-11

Roundtable Examines Federal Transportation Bill, Financing Approaches for Streetcars

A new federal transportation bill is unlikely before 2012, a transportation expert predicted at the industry roundtable session on transportation trends at ULI’s Real Estate Summit at the Spring Council Forum in Phoenix.
07-20-11

In Print: Jan Gehl

Island Press has recently released two books by Copenhagen architect and urban designer Jan Gehl—Life Between Buildings, more or less a reprint of his 1971 text published in Danish, and Cities for People from 2010.
07-20-11

In Print: Public Parks: The Key to Livable Communities by Alexander Garvin

In Public Parks: The Key to Livable Communities, Alexander Garvin, planner and practitioner, presents the rationale for considering public parks as fundamental components of the built environment.
07-20-11

Housing Authorities Go Green

In this era of rising energy costs and shrinking budgets, housing authorities in Nashville, Milwaukee, and Denver have implemented sustainable design strategies to lower utility bills—to great effect.
07-20-11

Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Financing Update

Property-assessed clean energy (PACE) financing advocates say that PACE has a significantly lower default rate—and has the potential to create jobs and revenues for state and federal coffers.
07-18-11

The Slow Fix

Cultural and entertainment districts are not a quick fix for cities pursuing revitalization, but instead are the slow weaving together of smart, sometimes big, often small, urban solutions.
07-18-11

What’s Next for Private Equity?

Recent transactions hint at the kinds of investment management divestments likely to be seen ahead as financial reform takes effect—and banking organizations look to reduce risk exposure generally.
07-18-11

Monday's Numbers: July 18, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders remained unchanged during the most recent survey period with financing available in the 5 percent +/- range.
07-15-11

Top 10 Metro Areas with Fastest-Growing Senior and Presenior Populations

Development opportunities for seniors’ housing exist in a wider geography of metro areas for the boomers than for previous generations—a reality made clear by recent data from the Brookings Institution.
07-15-11

Transitioning a Site from Industry to Services

Last month, a ULI advisory services panel told the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, how best to position a vacant industrial site so that it remains a productive part of the city’s urban fabric.
07-15-11

Layered Financing Helps Rebuild the Fabric of Detroit

Detroit is deftly adapting to 21st-century urban renewal, implementing viable development strategies fueled by a complex combination of federal, state, and local funding sources, loan programs, tax credits, and foundation grants.
07-14-11

Cap Parks

A cap park over the 101 Freeway in Hollywood, California, would create badly needed park space, improve the infrastructure, create sustainable green space, and spur economic development.
07-14-11

Shifting Needs

The near-term prospects for retail development and financing seem to be healthier than expected, with an uptick in occupancy, experts say, while larger national tenants are looking to expand into more markets and infill locations.
07-13-11

Real Estate Deals in China: Know the Market

China is providing a vast arena for U.S. real estate firms to engage in very innovative work, but one needs to understand the country and how business operates there, say two veteran ULI members.
07-13-11

In Dallas, a Downsized Transportation Plan

The Dallas–Fort Worth area and north Texas, faced with a shrinking transportation budget and a growing population, are planning for a denser, more compact future.
07-13-11

Adapting Cities for the Future

America’s ability to compete globally depends on the willingness of locally elected officials to invest in the future and build the critical public/private partnerships needed to harness the strengths of their communities.
07-11-11

Monday's Numbers: July 11, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders came in five to six basis points during the survey period, most likely in response to 10-year Treasury bonds widening approximately 30 basis points during the period.
07-11-11

ULI Real Estate Business Barometer -- July 2011

Yet another blow to hopes for a speedy recovery dominates this month’s Barometer data. Job growth was stunningly low and the previous month’s low employment growth was revised even lower; capital markets indicators were mixed at best; and the weak housing data remained weak.
07-08-11

What I Learned at the ULI Real Estate Finance and Investment 2011 Conference: New Directions, New Connections

Steve Blank, senior fellow, finance, divulges what he learned at the ULI Real Estate Finance and Investment 2011: New Directions, New Connections Conference, held June 22–23, 2011, in New York City.
07-08-11

Resurgence of the Second-Home Market Is Expected to Accelerate

According to the chair of ULI’s Recreational Development Council (Silver), second-home activity is picking up in many U.S. markets—and this year is expected to be a stronger year than last year.
07-08-11

The Northwest Indiana Model

Northwest Indiana is emerging as an important case study of how to use a regional vision to transform conditions on the ground. Such efforts are always built on a strong foundation of collaboration.
07-07-11

Investors Sticking with Core Assets in 2011, Says ULI Panel

At a recent ULI capital markets conference, panelists agreed that although capital is flowing back into the markets, employment is at least six months away from what is good for the real estate market.
07-07-11

An Unconventional Thinker

Peter S. Rummell is taking the helm of ULI at a pivotal time for the industry and for the institute, which is adapting to the shifting needs and preferences of members operating in a radically different environment.
07-07-11

Private Equity Capital to Become More Diverse, Increase in 2011

Driven mainly by a craving for yields, commercial real estate is now attractive to all types of investors, said Real Capital Analytics founder Bob White at a recent ULI conference in New York City.
07-07-11

European Green Retrofits Market Seen as Major Growth Area

There may not yet be a determined financing model in place for green retrofits in Europe, but—with looming EU targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions—it is undeniable that the market is set to grow.
07-05-11

Monday's Numbers: July 4, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders widened a bit. Range bound around the 5.00 percent level is not a bad place to be.
June

06-29-11

Significant Advances

When ULI’s immediate past chairman Jeremy Newsum concluded his term last month, he left a significant mark on the Institute. When Jeremy took office, he had to confront an organization—and an industry—in crisis.
06-29-11

Commercial/Retail Outlook: What's Next for the Sector?

Five experts discuss trends affecting commercial/retail development, including the near-term prospects for development and financing, strategies for making retail centers thrive, and the influence of changing consumer preferences.
06-29-11

Retail Recovery

Capturing Gen Y’s time and money will involve commercial developments that can cluster cutting-edge shops, along with tech-savvy, trend-chasing retailers that can update new merchandise to drive repeat traffic.
06-29-11

Quincy, Massachusetts: A New Redevelopment Paradigm

In Quincy, Massachusetts, a new form of public/private partnership is taking shape—an enterprise that could be a model for revitalizing downtowns across the county without straining public finances.
06-29-11

Loan Limit Dip to Hit 5 Million Houses

Only a small fraction of the nation’s 3,330-odd counties will be affected when the temporary federal mortgage ceilings revert to lower levels on October 1—possibly hitting more than 5 million houses.
06-29-11

Video: The Reemergence of CMBS and Conduit Lending

Greta Guggenheim, ULI member and president of Ladder Capital, spoke at the 2011 ULI Capital Markets Conference in New York. She discusses the state of conduit lending as well as the role and impact of new issuance in 2011.
06-28-11

Credit Crunch Easing in Real Estate Sector

“The real estate financing spigot has been turned back on, with money more available for well-thought-out, well-planned projects,” claims P. Sheridan "Schecky" Schechner.
06-27-11

Monday's Numbers: June 27, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders remained relatively unchanged during the most recent survey period. And, all-in costs remain in the 5.00+/- percent range and should be range bound for the foreseeable future, subject to a “Black Swan” event.
06-24-11

Developers Give Gen Y What They Want

A need for social interaction and connection to others is likely to influence the rental and home buying decisions of Gen Yers, who prefer walkable urban communities close to transportation and work.
06-24-11

Top 10 Metros with Healthiest Housing Markets for 2011

Home sales are falling again, and home prices dropped to a post-recession low in the first quarter. Nevertheless, the homebuilding industry may be turning a corner, especially in southern metro areas.
06-23-11

Capital Markets Revival

A significant revival is underway in the U.S. commercial real estate capital markets, which continued to see a significant ramp-up of transaction activity through the end of the first quarter despite significant global uncertainty.
06-22-11

The End of the 30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage?

If Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are dismantled, there will no longer be any government backing of a secondary mortgage market—rendering the 30-year mortgage a relic of a soon-to-be-bygone era.
06-22-11

Phoenix Real Estate Development Looking to the Sun

Firms like Del Webb, First Solar, and Hadley Design Group are taking advantage of Phoenix’s sunny climate to better position the city and the state for solar developers and other green tech innovators.
06-21-11

“What I Heard at the Jones Day Real Estate Symposium”

At the Jones Day Real Estate Symposium held before the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts Annual Institutional Forum, one ULI senior fellow heard promising stuff—and shares it herein.
06-21-11

REITs Continue to Roll

While May was sort of a neutral month for real estate investment trusts, REITs year-to-date have shown total returns of 14.13 percent, including dividends—and the industry’s prospects look promising.
06-21-11

Video: What's "New" in Cutting Energy Operating Costs?

Walt G. Homan, president and CEO of California-based MACH Energy, discusses approaches to cutting energy operating expenses and, in particular, the use of time-of-use metering to fine tune management of those costs.
06-21-11

Video: What Impact Will Gen Y Have on Real Estate?

Melina Duggal, AICP, ULI member and senior principal of RCLCO, discusses what she sees as Gen Y's impact on residential real estate going forward, based on a series of surveys conducted from 2004 to 2011 by NAHB, ULI and RCLCO.
06-20-11

Monday's Numbers: June 20, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders remained relatively unchanged during the most recent survey period. And as we seem to say, all-in costs remain in the 5.00+/- percent range and should be range bound for the foreseeable future, subject to a “Black Swan” event.
06-15-11

Colocation in Municipal Construction

Smart municipalities are considering nontraditional strategies to complete their projects, and few alternatives are as simple and beneficial as colocating complementary facilities in a single complex.
06-15-11

Industrial Sector Sees Comeback—and Changes

Hard hit by the Great Recession, the U.S. industrial market is making a comeback, claim those in the industry. And, they say, the sector is expected to undergo a structural shift in the years ahead.
06-15-11

Lifestyle Choices

For most seniors, independent living tops their list of choices. Independent living facilities that provide amenities, mobility, and the freedom to maintain an active lifestyle are an attractive alternative, and a number are being developed all over the country.
06-14-11

Investment Market Recovery Restraints in Europe

Debt finance shortages, rising interest rates, and inflation are seen as the main obstacles to a recovery in European property markets—and weak occupier demand is simply compounding the problem
06-14-11

Walkable Communities Surveys

Walkable communities and some of their smart growth characteristics, including in the suburbs, seem to be growing in popularity among the general public and even among segments of prospective homebuyers, three recent surveys reveal.
06-14-11

Time to Buy? Time to Sell? Time to Hold?

A recent Real Estate Research Corporation survey shows that the investment market seems to lack conviction, with 50 percent of participants for holding, 20 percent for “folding” (or selling), and only 30 percent for investing.
06-13-11

Monday's Numbers: June 13, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders “took a licking” as spreads widened in many sectors of the debt capital markets.
06-08-11

Federal Transportation Bill Uncertain; Cities Try New Ways to Finance Streetcars

A new federal transportation bill is unlikely before 2012, predicted a transportation expert at the industry roundtable session on transportation trends at ULI’s Spring Council Forum.
06-08-11

Top 10 Metro Areas That Gained Population Faster During the Great Recession

The 2010 U.S. Census population figures show that nearly one-fourth of the largest metro areas grew by over 20 percent during the 2000s—with great differences between the two halves of the decade.
06-08-11

Hospitality Today

One trend driving demand in the hospitality industry—which made a rapid recovery in demand and revenue in 2010—is social media, say participants in a panel at the ULI Spring Council Forum.
06-08-11

Renting: Living the American Dream

According to panelists at ULI’s recent Real Estate Summit at the Spring Council Forum, the U.S. residential rental sector—undersupplied in many markets—is starting to experience a surge in demand.
06-08-11

Creating Living Environments

The ULI Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition has put ULI on the map at universities across America, the results showing that the future of the built environment is in very capable hands.
06-08-11

Rational Deals in an Irrational Market

A purchaser can secure control of an asset based on the ability to resolve issues, not the willingness to pay the highest price. In this market, that is what investing is all about.
06-06-11

ULI Real Estate Business Barometer -- June 2011

A jarring blow to hopes for a smooth, if not speedy, recovery dominates this month’s Barometer data. Job growth was the lowest in eight months and the impact of rising food and energy prices was widespread; capital markets indicators were down; and the weak housing data stay weak.
06-06-11

Monday's Numbers: June 6, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders remained static, with all-in costs remaining in the 5.00+/- percent range.
06-03-11

Energy-Efficient Schools

Oregon is aggressively pursuing energy efficiency in public schools by creating a funding infrastructure of financial incentives and technical support to help make the schools of the future a reality today.
06-03-11

Dissolving Community Redevelopment

California Governor Jerry Brown’s proposal to dissolve all community redevelopment agencies to help close a $26 billion budget deficit unleashed a firestorm of opposition from the cities and agencies it will affect.
06-02-11

Role of Private Sector Shifting in Transit Partnerships

Diminishing public revenues will mean that in many U.S. cities, private entities—including real estate developers—will be taking on new roles as transit funders, builders, and operators.
06-01-11

Suburbs 2.0: The Evolving American Suburbs

Rapid growth on the furthest edges of metropolitan regions is a continuation of a pattern six decades old; what is new, however, is the resurgence of the innermost ring of suburbs in the last decade.
06-01-11

Office Development: Who, What, and Where?

In the United States, which is witnessing a “jobless recovery,” there are only four sectors with stable tenant demand, say panelists in the session on office development at ULI’s Spring Council Forum.
05-31-11

Monday's Numbers: May 30, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders widened 5 to 10 basis points during the week, with all-in costs remaining in the 5.00+/- percent range.
05-26-11

Top 10 Selling Master-Planned Communities

Residential sales in top-performing master-planned communities began to rebound in 2010, reversing a severe decline that began in 2006. The top 10-selling communities sold more than 7,000 units last year.
05-26-11

Sustainability Strong in Top U.S. Markets

San Francisco, Boston, Denver, New York City, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., are seeing increased awareness and a rising demand for greener structures, despite the lack of solid evidence that higher rents are being achieved for green buildings.
05-25-11

Public/Private Partnerships: A Key to Adaptability for 21st Century Cities

In the 21st century, the role of nation-states in establishing competitiveness will be diminished, putting the burden on cities to secure their own competitiveness, says ASU president Michael Crow.
05-25-11

How Are Public/Private Partnerships Faring in Today’s Tough Environment?

Many public/private partnerships are alive and well—but only because they use creative and flexible new approaches, and adapt to new demands to show ROI, said experts at the ULI Spring Council Forum.
05-25-11

Keep the Federal Government Focused on Cities: Perspectives from Congresswoman Kay Granger

When it comes to revitalizing cities, “public/private partnership is the key and most important thing,” says Congresswoman Kay Granger, a former planning commissioner and mayor of Fort Worth, Texas.
05-25-11

Universities Turn Up the Volume

A student village not only benefits a university, but also can be a boon for the surrounding city. In some cases, the campus itself can be developed as a mixed-use neighborhood.
05-24-11

Lifestyle, Marketing, Healthcare and Workforce Implications of the Age Wave

“It must be your strength to be attuned to the ramifications (of the new phases of aging),” says Dr. Ken Dychtwald about the four demographic- and age-related factors currently converging that will heavily influence the development of urban areas going forward.
05-24-11

Top U.S. Markets

Real estate entrepreneurs, developers, architects, and financial executives are seeing increasing signs of a thaw in the real estate sector. Activity is increasing in New York City, Seattle, Boston, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Denver.
05-24-11

New Financial Models

Europe’s debt funding gap has paved the way for new, innovative structures that allow alternative sources of capital to flourish, such as mezzanine funds, although these are unlikely to plug the hole entirely.
05-24-11

The Holistic "Office"

Treating workplace design as something distinct from information technology is as much a mistake as believing that office technology has no impact on the daily lives and routines of office workers.
05-24-11

The Future of Real Estate in Light of Our Past

ULI Chairman Jeremy Newsum and other panelists at ULI’s Spring Council Forum concurred that the pendulum has now swung to a point in which real estate and land use is viewed far more as a long-term business, yielding long-term gains for those who are patient and have realistic expectations.
05-23-11

What I Learned at the 2011 ULI Real Estate Summit Industry Roundtables

One key takeaway from the 2011 ULI Real Estate Summit Industry Roundtables is that there is now a line to get money invested in income-producing real estate, says ULI’s senior fellow of finance, Stephen Blank.
05-23-11

Monday's Numbers: May 23, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders came in a little during the week with all-in costs remaining in the 5.00+/- percent range.
05-22-11

Challenges and Opportunities Facing Cities Today

Partnerships, mobility, creativity, and clear vision of the elements necessary for a high quality of life will result in the successful cities of the future say mayors and other experts at a ULI Spring Council Forum session on the challenges and opportunities facing cities today.
05-21-11

Energy as a Driver of Real Estate Value

Energy efficiency in existing buildings represents a potential $200 billion savings for owners and tenants, creates U.S. construction sector jobs, enhances building value, and attracts tenants say a panel of experts on energy efficiency at the 2011 ULI Spring Council Forum.
05-20-11

Winning the Future? Not without Infrastructure

Leaders talk about “winning the future,” but when it comes to essential investment in infrastructure, the U.S. is falling way behind emerging markets, says a recent report by ULI and Ernst & Young.
05-20-11

Brad DeLong: Perspective on the Current Economic Trends

Pointing to a below-trend construction spending four times larger than above-trend spending during the housing boom, economist Brad DeLong says that at some point, housing will recover.
05-19-11

Human Capital as an Economic Driver

Panelists at ULI’s Spring Council Forum agree that, among others, components for success in developing a 21st Century city are creating a great place for people to live close by, fiber optic infrastructure, regional mobility, and worldwide accessibility.
05-19-11

Adapting Recreational Real Estate for the Future

One panelist at ULI’s 2011 Spring Council Forum stated that there is a huge inventory of real estate in the resort sector and that until it is absorbed there won’t be a recovery. Other panelists offered examples of opportunities and advice.
05-19-11

Future of Retail and Commercial Market Barometer

Panelists at ULI’s Spring Council Forum advise retailer owners to improve their existing assets by differentiating products, updating design, treating their city as a partner, embracing social media, and making good tenants partners as well.
05-16-11

Monday's Numbers: May 16, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders remained literally “frozen in place” over the past few weeks as spreads widened 15+/- basis points, offset by a 15 basis point decline in Treasury yields. All-in cost remains in 5.00 to 5.25 percent range.
05-16-11

Rethinking Grocery Stores

As more research on grocery stores is conducted, planning researchers are discovering that the image of a station wagon (or perhaps a minivan or sport-utility vehicle) packed with grocery bags is no longer valid.
05-13-11

Q&A with Patricia Healy

Patricia Healy, ULI vice chair of district councils, speaks about organizational changes and the impact they will have on ULI’s district councils.
05-13-11

Hines Winners Propose Redevelopment Plan for Seattle Neighborhood

A team of students representing the University of Michigan has won the $50,000 top prize in the 2011 ULI Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition with a redevelopment plan for a Seattle neighborhood.
05-13-11

ULI Names MGPA’s Simon Treacy Incoming Chairman of South Asia

Simon Treacy, group chief executive officer of MGPA, has been selected as the incoming chairman of ULI for South Asia, a region that includes the Indian subcontinent, Australia, New Zealand, and all of Southeast Asia.
05-13-11

First-Tier Suburbs Are Magnets for Urban Growth

Once bypassed in the stream of investments funneled into downtown cores and outlying suburbs, first-tier neighborhoods are emerging in the post-recession era as major magnets for urban growth, says ULI CEO Patrick Phillips.
05-13-11

ULI Report Examines Principles/Solutions for Resilient Cities

The ability to effectively manage short- and long-term setbacks and ultimately prosper is a must for cities seeking to attract long-term investors, according to the new ULI report "Resilient Cities: Surviving in a New World."
05-13-11

The Ability to Reinvent Is a Must, Not an Option, Says ULI Report

The new ULI report "Building on Innovation" offers suggestions on how cities can maximize the economic development potential of anchor institutions such as higher education and medical facilities.
05-13-11

ULI Report Suggests that Chester Embrace Change

The ability of Chester, England, to transform its economy and achieve its full potential as a magnet for development hinges on its willingness to embrace change, says an international panel convened by ULI.
05-13-11

Top 10 Metros as Retirement Destinations

The American City Business Journals recently used a six-part formula to rank the most popular places for retirees and found that most of the highest-ranked places are smaller metros, where large concentrations of seniors account for a higher proportion of the total population.
05-13-11

Redefining Seniors’ Housing

The seniors’ housing markets are in for surprising and unsettling changes. Looking only to the past to predict the future markets will be a mistake.
05-10-11

Rules and Regs Affect Real Estate

For private sector owners and developers of office space in D.C., the issue of conflicting requirements for federal office leasing may be eclipsed by a larger looming issue: federal budget cuts.
05-10-11

Multifamily Market: “There Are No Bad Strategies”

Though the multifamily housing market in top markets is rich with investment opportunity, the window of opportunity is closing fast, say panelists at ULI Washington's Real Estate Trends Conference.
05-10-11

Q&A with Greenprint’s Charles Leitner

An alliance of real estate investment companies has formed a new nonprofit to anonymously share the operating efficiencies of their building portfolios to work toward lowering carbon emissions.
05-10-11

Federal Reserve Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey

A recent Federal Reserve senior loan officer opinion survey says credit standards and loan terms to C & I borrowers are easing, with commercial banks showing an increasing willingness to extend credit.
05-10-11

CMBS Delinquency Rate Inches Up

The U.S. commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) delinquency rate increased 23 basis points (0.23 percent) in April to 9.65 percent, the highest rate in history and the largest increase on a monthly basis since December 2010.
05-10-11

REIT Returns Rule in April

April was a great month for REIT returns—the FTSE/NAREIT Equity REIT Index was up 5.11 percent last month—solidifying REITs’ continuing attractiveness to institutional and individual investors alike.
05-10-11

Grocery Wars

Urban infill sites offer opportunities for mixed-use projects with a grocery store and for a greater role in neighborhoods, but also present challenges for grocery store design and parking.
05-10-11

Value of Place

Many companies inadvertently overlook the value of place. From startup tech ventures to the world of multinational mergers and acquisitions, the outcomes of seemingly smart business decisions are often strategic errors of place.
05-10-11

First Quarter of 2011: Global Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities Issuance Reaches $10.2 Billion

The commercial mortgage–backed securities market is back—in earnest. With at least seven offerings totaling approximately $9.5 billion in process, U.S. issuance this year could exceed $40 billion.
05-10-11

Banks Continue De-leveraging as Holdings of Commercial Real Estate Loans Declined 7.5 Percent in 2010

Whatever the principal reason, the nation’s largest banks reduced their holdings of commercial real estate loans in 2010 by approximately $75 billion (7.5%) to approximately $929 billion. Not surprisingly, the entire decline was associated with changes in one loan segment: land and construction loans.
05-10-11

Joining Forces

It might not be the biggest REIT merger ever, but as combinations of publicly traded industrial real estate owner/operators go, the deal joining global powerhouses ProLogis and AMB Property Corporation is a doozy.
05-10-11

Four Questions for Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, dean of the Architecture School at the University of Miami and founding partner of DPZ/Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company, answers a few questions about residential development today.
05-09-11

ULI Real Estate Business Barometer -- May 2011

Robust employment growth dominates this month’s Barometer economic data, seesawing continues in the capital markets, property fundamentals are somewhat improved, and the weak housing data stay very weak.
05-09-11

Monday's Numbers: May 9, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders remained literally “frozen in place” over the past few weeks. All-in cost remains in 5.00 to 5.25 percent range.
05-06-11

Just When We Thought It Was Safe to Go to the Bank

If the six banks that federal bank regulators closed on Friday, April 15, 2011, serve as any indication, we could see even more real estate loans going bad and even more banks failing in the future.
05-04-11

Apartments for Seniors Revitalize Downtown

The result of a partnership between a nonprofit developer and the Milpitas Redevelopment Agency, the DeVries Place housing project for seniors in Milpitas, California, has become the cornerstone of the city’s downtown revitalization effort.
05-04-11

Seniors’ Housing Development Outlook

Six members of ULI’s Senior Housing Council speak about trends affecting development of housing for seniors, including the impact of the recession, geographical factors influencing housing decisions, and the future of seniors’ housing.
05-04-11

New-Home Market Poised to Pop

“By this time next year, things are going to pop and we are going to see a rapid recovery,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told homebuilders at a recent NAHB forecast conference.
05-04-11

Seniors’ Housing Acquisitions

A recent series of blockbuster acquisition deals is transforming the seniors’ housing property sector, with some of the industry’s largest ownership groups pursuing new—and riskier—growth opportunities.
05-04-11

Federal Officials Respond to Mayors’ Request to Eliminate Barriers to Smart Cities

Mayors at the National Mayors Summit on City Design told federal officials that barriers preventing local and national governments from collaborating to develop cities must come down.
05-04-11

“Eds and Meds”: A Healthy Prognosis

Realizing the full potential of the educational and medical facilities sector will be more challenging than building standard office space, say panelists at ULI Washington's Real Estate Trends Conference.
05-03-11

Real Estate Firms of the Future—Today

The real estate firm of the future will be defined by five elements: “teaming,” “greening,” un–real estate, partnerships, and enterprise.
05-03-11

ULX: Energy-Saving Civic Buildings

From a sustainability outreach center in the desert to a Canadian convention center built partly over a waterway, ten public sector projects demonstrate approaches to cutting energy use applicable for both the public and private sectors.
05-02-11

Monday's Numbers: May 2, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders remained unchanged over the past two-week period. All-in cost remains in the 5.00% to 5.50% range.
04-27-11

Capital Markets: Frozen for How Long?

About $1 trillion of frozen commercial real estate loans are in the system and cannot trade near marked value, leaving the Federal Reserve to deal with the most complicated set of circumstances in at least the past 25 years.
04-27-11

ULI Snapshot: Orlando/Tampa

In spite of the lingering effects of the Great Recession, the real estate markets of the Tampa Bay area and Orlando are expected to improve slowly over 2011 and beyond.
04-27-11

Capital Markets Love the Nation’s Capital

Washington, D.C., is not only the capital of the United States, but also the darling of the capital markets, with real estate that is “close to fully priced,” said Greg Vorwaller, head of global capital markets for Cushman & Wakefield, at ULI Washington's annual Real Estate Trends Conference.
04-27-11

Marc Mogull Appointed New Chair of ULI U.K.

Marc Mogull, founder and managing partner of Benson Elliot Capital Management, has been appointed chairman of ULI U.K., effective as of January 1, 2011.
04-27-11

Solis and Tomb Appointed to National Advisory Board for ULI Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing

Widely renowned affordable housing policy experts Alazne (Ali) Solis and Diane Tomb have joined the National Advisory Board of the ULI Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing.
04-27-11

CMBS 2.0

The emergence of CMBS 2.0 has various ramifications for the commercial real estate equity investment markets through an increase in liquidity, as well as on the fixed-income markets, by providing bond buyers with access to commercial real estate fundamentals through asset-backed securities.
04-27-11

ULI Receives $250,000 Rockefeller Foundation Grant to Continue Infrastructure Initiative

ULI has received a $250,000 grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to advance the Institute’s efforts linking the coordination of infrastructure and land use planning to sustainable community building.
04-27-11

New ULI Report Explores Impact of International Events on Growth in European Cities

The "Urban Investment Opportunities of Global Events" report examines the experience of European cities that have already hosted international events, are preparing to host such events, or are considering whether such events can be effective for their own development.
04-26-11

Redevelopment in the Twin Cities: A Developer’s View

Smaller homes, more rental units, and more housing in the urban core and developed suburbs is what ten developers expect to see in the Twin Cities region in the future, says a recent joint study.
04-26-11

Q&A with AARP—Livable Communities

Advocating for housing and transportation alternatives that can keep its members active and independent, AARP has emerged as a champion of retrofitting suburbia to be more walkable and livable.
04-26-11

TOD Policy and Partnership Lessons

While supportive policy is necessary, partnership among stakeholders is also vital for creating transit-oriented developments.
04-26-11

Pushing Boundaries in Arizona

Though considered one of the markets hardest hit by the real estate downturn, Arizona is also expected to offer the greatest opportunity in the coming years for those willing to adapt and learn.
04-26-11

Look Forward, Not Back, Emerging Trends Europe Advises

Statistically, the European recovery looks to be underway as real growth of gross domestic product is displaying signs of improvement for this year. However, many interviewees admit that it is "hard to feel confident" about the future of the economy.
04-26-11

Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2011 Debuts in Israel

"Emerging Trends in Real Estate® 2011" was presented in Israel earlier this year as part of ULI’s ongoing effort to expand its global reach.
04-26-11

Leadership Matters

Those regions with a clear plan for how they are going to grow—a plan that has broad-based support from the private, nonprofit, and public sectors—will have a key competitive advantage as the economy recovers.
04-26-11

Six Recommendations for Making the Most of the Recession

The real estate industry can use the next 24 months wisely by committing to six changes in its practices, thereby laying the foundation for a more successful outcome when the market returns.
04-26-11

Reinventing Real Estate

Changing how the industry thinks about what it does in “providing the setting for human activity” will position the industry to be one of the most positive forces of the coming decade for resolving challenges associated with human settlement.
04-25-11

Monday's Numbers: April 25, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders widened slightly as a result of a widening in spreads for 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds. Average rates closed the reporting period at 5.24%.
04-21-11

Repurposing Vacant Anchor Institutions

Last month, a ULI advisory services panel offered suggestions for how a soon-to-be-vacant hospital could be redeveloped while also boosting the market value of properties in the surrounding community.
04-20-11

Charlotte’s Rose Center Land Use Challenge Offers Lessons about Transit

A visit to Charlotte’s Independence Boulevard/U.S. 74 corridor by the ULI Rose Center offered tips to make implementation of a transit plan dovetail with real estate and economic development goals.
04-20-11

European Union Infrastructure Funding Goes to Newest Members

The EU is tapping substantial expenditure programs to improve transport links, alleviate traffic, and increase security—and Europe’s poorest countries are earmarked to get the majority of support.
04-20-11

Is The Hotel Sector Rebounding?

As the economy rebounds, the hotel industry’s standard measure of health—revenue per available room—is expected to rise by 7 to 9 percent this year and by double digits in 2012, one insider says.
04-20-11

Tear Down That Freeway!

America’s infrastructure is crumbling. And that’s a good thing—at least when it comes to freeways that divide cities, say a growing number of developers and advocates of old-fashioned boulevards.
04-20-11

ULI Europe Conference Looks at Trends Shaping the Market

More than 600 industry professionals from across Europe gathered in Paris in early February to discuss opportunities in the current market. One conclusion is that real estate becomes an attractive proposition in this market when compared to many other asset classes.
04-19-11

Native American Tribes and Economic Development

More thought, due diligence, and consideration are required to close a deal with a tribal government or Native American business than for a business transaction off reservation.
04-19-11

Win the Future

At ULI’s Midwinter Trustee Meeting in Washington, D.C., the overriding emphasis, not surprisingly, was jobs and money, while the conclusion among trustees was that the realities of this changed economy are necessitating that ULI revisit its program of work.
04-19-11

Finding Chinese Investors

These seven strategies will help you identify Chinese investors by sector—residential, industrial, commercial, and hotel—and Chinese banks that are refinancing commercial properties and working to make construction loans.
04-19-11

Carbon Management

Carbon is not only relevant in today’s marketplace as it affects the global economy; it is also having a rising influence in the regulatory environment.
04-19-11

Tools and Resources Available for Carbon Management

A plethora of information is available on how to calculate, report, reduce, and offset carbon emissions. Read about these six good sources and tools that are available online.
04-19-11

Into the Mix

Some of the components likely to make mixed-use development more popular during coming years are such developments being created in central locations near transit and with biking and walking paths, reducing the need to drive to work or run errands.
04-18-11

Monday's Numbers: April 18, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders widened slightly as a result of a widening in spreads for 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds. Average rates closed the reporting period at 5.24%.
04-15-11

ULI Snapshot: Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina

With a strong economy led by government, education, and health care, North Carolina’s Raleigh-Durham/Research Triangle area is poised to see improved real estate markets in 2011, say local insiders.
04-13-11

Japan and Middle East Affect Key European Property Markets

In the aftermath of Japan’s biggest earthquake, Japanese investors may repatriate capital from overseas, but stable markets in Europe are likely to see increased investment from the Middle East.
04-13-11

QRM: Regulators’ Recipe for Controversy

Issued in March, federal financial regulators’ qualified residential mortgage proposals for the home loan market have been attacked by many groups, but the agencies’ proposals for the CMBS market have generated little heat.
04-12-11

Affordability Near Employment Centers

The winners of the 2010 Jack Kemp Workforce Housing Models of Excellence Awards are helping working-class families afford to live near employment centers.
04-12-11

Fannie/Freddie Update

Amid the heated rhetoric and complex restructuring proposals, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are operating as usual—minus the risky business—and slowly recovering. Their improving health could diminish the sense of urgency regarding their future.
04-12-11

Raising Phoenix

Most development activity in Phoenix is occurring in the city's core—a marked shift from the past frenzied development of single-family housing on the edge of town.
04-12-11

Green Building Litigation—LEEDigation

Though the level of concern about green building risks appears to have been overblown, more legal disputes could pop up as the number of projects seeking LEED certification continues to grow.
04-12-11

Urban Development/Mixed Use Outlook

Four members of ULI’s Urban Development/Mixed Use councils speak about the trends affecting urban mixed-use development, including the near-term prospects for development, the best sources of financing, and getting the right mix of uses.
04-12-11

Peter S. Rummell Chosen as Incoming Chairman of ULI

Peter S. Rummell, principal of the Rummell Company in Jacksonville, Florida, has been selected as the incoming chairman of ULI. Rummell, a longtime ULI trustee and former chairman of the ULI Foundation, will serve on a voluntary basis for a two-year term that begins this July 1 and ends June 30, 2013.
04-12-11

Affordable Housing Demand

Experts expect the recent recovery in demand for housing tax credits to in turn translate into a more robust pipeline of affordable housing construction.
04-11-11

Monday's Numbers: April 11, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders narrowed over the reporting period with average rates now closer to 5.0%. The Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick-Goldman survey ended March literally where it started with spreads in the 250 basis point range (for 5-year loans) and 185 basis point range (for 10-year loans).
04-07-11

Sustainable Momentum Building Next-Generation Cities

The growing specter of irreversible climate change has ignited responses by cities worldwide, generating game-changing innovations that may accelerate a positive transition for the climate and ultimately save the world.
04-07-11

Preparing Your Property for When the Tide Comes Back In

A ULI Advisory Services Panel tells the city of Suffolk, Virginia, how to prepare “the best property in Hampton Roads” for its highest and best use once market conditions return to normal.
04-07-11

Video: Building a House in This Market

ULI San Francisco panelists suggest that developers and investors harvest some portion of projects-in-progress to hedge against surprises while noting that some housing markets are beginning to stir.
04-07-11

From Public Housing to Private Enterprise

To be successful, the private developer has to maximize its investment, especially in light of the change from the old model of warehousing the poor to the new concept of creating market-rate, high-quality housing with a seamless affordable component.
04-06-11

Who Wants to Build a House, in THIS Market?

At a panel sponsored by ULI San Francisco, industry insiders said that while some housing markets are beginning to stir, there are many reasons for homebuilders to move cautiously in the year ahead.
04-06-11

Downtown Phoenix: from Ghost Town to Vibrant Neighborhood

Once a ghost town after business hours, downtown Phoenix has been reinvigorated by two major catalysts—light rail and residential—as well as many smaller ones, such as entertainment and dining venues.
04-05-11

Top 10 Metros for Housing Permits Per Capita

According to Reed Construction Data, Texas metros and North Carolina metros topped the list of new housing permits issued per resident, along with several other metros hundreds of miles from the East or West coasts.
04-05-11

Wetlands Deal Is Major Conservation Easement

The USDA has begun closing on an $89 million conservation project in central Florida that is one of the largest easement acquisitions in the history of the agency’s Wetlands Reserve Program.
04-05-11

ULX Mixed Greens

The ten projects here illustrate the variety of green design strategies and their wide applicability to different building types, from mammoth convention centers and office complexes to small-scale buildings for nonprofit organizations or retailers, and a water resource operations center.
04-04-11

ULI Real Estate Business Barometer -- April 2011

Overall, 51 percent of key indicators in the Barometer were worse when compared with one year ago, 44 percent were better, and 5 percent were unchanged.
04-04-11

Monday's Numbers: April 4, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders remained unchanged with financing available at attractive rates (5.25%+/-).
03-31-11

Arizona’s Template for the Future

In Phoenix, the productivity of regional clusters is encouraging area advocacy organizations to think beyond the sum of the parts and shape a diversified economy that can compete nationally and even internationally.
03-30-11

Bicycle Cities

Biking is receiving new attention in the United States as a way to reduce commuter trips by car in urban centers. Thirty years of infrastructure investments have produced a different pattern of transportation in Europe.
03-30-11

Green TODs

In combination, transit-oriented development and green urbanism can deliver a powerful punch of energy self-sufficiency, zero-waste living, and sustainable mobility as demonstrated in Stockholm, Sweden, in Freiburg, Germany, and in both Qingdao and Jiaxing, China, as well as in others around the world.
03-30-11

Video: Not Your Father's Housing Market

ULI chief executive officer Patrick Phillips discusses the signs of life he sees in the housing recovery and the importance of providing affordable workforce housing in mixed-use developments near job centers.
03-30-11

ULI Snapshot: Phoenix, Arizona

According to industry insiders in the area, there is a growing sense that the real estate market in Phoenix is coming back in certain sectors—but the road to recovery may be a long and bumpy one.
03-29-11

Video: Seniors and the New Senior Housing

John McIlwain, ULI senior resident fellow for housing, discusses what three distinct groups of seniors will want in housing.
03-29-11

Video: Gen Y and Housing Trends

John McIlwain, ULI senior resident fellow for housing, discusses what Gen Yers will want in housing.
03-29-11

CMBS: They’re Back!

According to one attendee at the CRE Finance Council’s recent conference, up to $50 billion in new CMBS issues is projected for 2011—a sign that commercial real estate is recovering from the recession.
03-29-11

PACE Solutions-National Overview

The recent “PACE Solutions” conference in California focused on the creative approaches being used to circumvent the FHFA restrictions on property-assessed clean-energy (PACE) financing plans.
03-28-11

Monday's Numbers: March 28, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders widened 5 basis points (0.05%) while Treasuries narrowed. Net, net: financing remains available at attractive rates (5.25%+/-).
03-25-11

Community Building and Affordable Workforce Housing in Post-Recession Economy

With demand in high- and lower-cost markets driven by demographic and population shifts, affordable workforce housing will play a key role in the post-recession economy, says ULI’s Patrick Phillips.
03-24-11

The Regulatory “Corn Maze” Continues to Grow

The long awaited proposed regulations requiring lenders to retain an economic interest in loans they securitize will be announced shortly. When it’s all said and done, expect the lenders to take at least a partial victory lap having shifted the risk of holding some portion of the loans originated to a third party.
03-24-11

Affordable Housing’s New Profile

To meet the growing U.S. need for affordable housing in the face of diminishing resources, shifting regulations, and neighborhood resistance, cities, agencies, and the developers in California are working together.
03-24-11

Lifestyle Center Goes Local: Westport Village

With a focus on locally owned businesses, a Louisville,Kentucky–based developer was able to turn an aging shopping center into Westport Village, a successful pedestrian-focused lifestyle center.
03-24-11

Arizona Positioned to Lead Country’s Renewable Energy Industry

Arizona is poised to drive the country’s renewable energy industry, says a national site selector who helps businesses find cities they can relocate to or where they can expand.
03-23-11

Workforce Housing, the Gen Yers and Changing Needs of Seniors

Two large demographic groups—Gen Y and seniors—are poised to influence the development of workforce housing in the post-recession economy, say participants at a recent workforce housing forum.
03-22-11

The Rush to Build Walkable Urban Grocery Stores

With traditional grocers like A & P filing for bankruptcy, independent grocers and large national chains alike are seeking a place in the multiple-niche urban environment—often in mixed-use projects.
03-22-11

Trying to Find Moderation in a Financial World Prone to Excess

In commercial real estate finance, interest-only loan components are reemerging, banks are poised to increase CMBS lending, and pricing is already getting ahead of itself, say conference participants.
03-21-11

Monday's Numbers: March 21, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders continued to narrow week-over-week with financing available at attractive rates (5.25%+/-).
03-17-11

And You Thought We Were Done With Regulation!

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has announced criteria for defining a Systematically Important Financial Institution, a bank “too big to fail,” listing size, inter-connectedness, global reach, complexity and substitutability as the five criteria for heightened regulation.
03-16-11

ULI Rose Center Helping Houston with Redevelopment of Multifamily Housing, Neighborhood Revitalization

In an effort to stabilize declining neighborhoods, the city of Houston, Texas, has demolished longstanding problem properties—and participants in the Daniel Rose Fellowship program are helping.
03-16-11

Video: Leslie Braunstein Discusses How the Industry Might Use Social Media

Leslie Braunstein, principal of LHB Communications, speaks about how the real estate industry might have discovered how to utilize social media.
03-16-11

Video: Evan Kraus Discusses Why We Should Take Notice of Social Media

Evan Kraus, senior vice president of APCO Online, shares significant findings from his company’s study as well as thoughts on the rise of 4G and GPS smartphone technologies.
03-16-11

Video: Sybil Walker Barnes Discusses Architects' Use of Social Media

Sybil Walker Barnes, social media director for the American Institute of Architects, discusses how architecture professionals have been using social media and how she expects the industry to use it going forward.
03-16-11

Social Media and Commercial Real Estate: Epic Fail or Too Soon to Call?

Going beyond Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn by creating an active presence on Foursquare, Yelp, and YouTube will increase commercial real estate’s exposure and profits, say social media experts.
03-15-11

Financing—Easing Up?

Manny Menendez, vice president of multifamily lender strategy and relationships for Fannie Mae, pointed to a significant increase in Fannie Mae’s multifamily debt purchases during the second half of 2010.
03-15-11

A Value-Capture Strategy for Transportation in Texas

Creative financing is poised to get the Cotton Belt—a 62-mile (100-km) transit corridor that starts in southwest Fort Worth and terminates in Plano—completed years ahead of schedule.
03-15-11

ULI Snapshot: Portland, Oregon—Real Estate Recovering

With a healthy central business district, an extension of the light-rail line, and positive in-migration, Portland, Oregon, is seeing its real estate market revive, say local industry professionals and ULI members.
03-14-11

Monday's Numbers: March 14, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders narrowed slightly week-over-week with financing available at attractive rates (5.25%+/-).
03-11-11

ULI Terwilliger Center: Housing and the 112th Congress

The federal government’s previous focus on raising homeownership is likely to be much more subdued while home down payment assistance programs championed by HUD years ago “are gone, and they aren’t coming back,” predicted U.S. Senator Martinez. Watch a video of J. Ronald Terwilliger calling for a balanced housing policy.
03-10-11

2011 Construction Outlook

Cautioning that conditions could change, three industry economists recently predicted a stronger 2011 before several markets—from housing to hotels—ramp up to double-digit percentage growth in 2012.
03-09-11

Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities: UP, UP, and Away!

According to a recent report from Fitch, the percentage of commercial mortgage-backed securities loan balances that are delinquent at least 60 days or in foreclosure reached 8.76 percent, an increase of 17 basis points (0.17 percent) since January’s rate and 247 basis points (2.47 percent) over a year earlier.
03-09-11

Workforce Housing: “An Economic Necessity, Not a Social Issue”

The consensus among speakers at the ULI Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing Forum in Orlando: Housing that is affordable to workers can catalyze economic growth as a tool that enhances a community’s appeal to residents of a variety of incomes and ages.
03-09-11

U.K. Retail Property Confidence Lifts

Confidence in the U.K. retail property sector is returning, judging from the enthusiasm and deal negotiating at the British Council of Shopping Centres Exhibition and Conference held in Manchester.
03-09-11

Fixing “Broken” Mixed-Use Developments: An Interview with Trey Morsbach

Trey Morsbach, senior managing director of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, LP, in Dallas, Texas, sees opportunity in a number of mixed-use developments that have failed during the economic downturn.
03-09-11

Joint Venture Equity Market Sentiment Survey & Debt Market Sentiment Survey (1Q 2011)

See the Joint Venture Equity and Market Sentiment Survey and Debt Market Sentiment Survey provided by the real estate investment banking firm, Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group LLC.
03-08-11

Top 10 Metros with the Most Purchasing Power

Wendell Cox, a veteran demographer, developed a way to incorporate income in a cost-of-living comparison, to establish the real value of money in a particular place. Topping Cox’s list were Washington D.C. and San Francisco in terms of purchasing power.
03-07-11

ULI Real Estate Business Barometer -- March 2011

Compared with one year ago, 53 percent of 59 key indicators in the Barometer were better, 39 percent were worse, and 8 percent were unchanged. Read more about the economy, real estate capital markets, housing, and commercial/multifamily investment property.
03-07-11

Monday's Numbers: March 7, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders narrowed slightly week-over-week with financing available at attractive rates (5.25%+/-).
03-04-11

Greg Clark, senior fellow, ULI Europe, Designated Official Blogger for MIPIM's Build Connections Conference, Beginning March 8, 2011

Greg Clark, senior fellow, ULI Europe, will be attending the MIPIM's Build Connections conference, March 8 - 11, 2011, in Cannes, France, and has been designated to be an "official blogger" of the event. Clark will blog everyday for three weeks beginning March 8, 2011.
03-03-11

An Analysis of the President’s Budget on Transportation and Infrastructure

Last week, President Obama unveiled his FY2012 budget, which includes a strong emphasis on infrastructure. Specifically, the budget contains the administration's proposal for a large new, six-year surface transportation program.
03-03-11

Federal Reserve Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey

There is encouraging news in the Federal Reserve’s most recent Senior Loan Officers Opinion Survey: A net 10.5 percent of respondents reported relaxing their standards for commercial and industrial loans to large borrowers.
03-03-11

Are Private Equity Real Estate Funds Back?

They’re back! Maybe not all the way back, but part of the way. Private equity real estate funds raised approximately $45.3 billion in 2010, an increase of $3.6 billion or almost 9 percent over 2009.
03-03-11

Federal Reserve Beige Book Economic Survey - March 2, 2011

Overall the survey noted that economic activity grew at a modest pace during the survey period with several districts reporting improvement in housing demand and increasing commercial real estate leasing and property sales.
03-02-11

Top 10 States for LEED-certified Commercial and Institutional Green Buildings

The District of Columbia leads the nation, with 25 square feet of LEED-certified space per person in 2010; Nevada is the leading state, with 10.92 square feet per person. Other top states include New Mexico, New Hampshire and Oregon with more than 6 and 4 square feet of LEED-certified space per person, respectively.
03-02-11

The Times, They Are…Improving

The National Property Index of the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries, after seven consecutive quarters of negative returns, turned positive, signaling improving economic performance (and value) of commercial real estate.
03-02-11

The Future of the Strip?

Because of generation Y, the economy, and the rise of e-commerce, the future belongs to town centers, main streets, and mixed-use development—not to yesteryears strip mall, says ULI’s Ed McMahon.
03-01-11

Video: Tony Malkin Offers Advice to Owners, Developers and Policy Makers on Green Retrofitting of Commercial Buildings

Anthony E. Malkin, president of Malkin Holdings, LLC, argues for the view of energy conservation as an energy alternative, using his green retrofit of the Empire State Building as an example. Malkin also offers advice to owners, developers and policy makers regarding green commercial retrofits.
03-01-11

The Way Up for Mixed-Use Affordable Housing

South Los Angeles, known for urban blight, high unemployment, and poverty, has a new bird’s-eye view of affordable housing.
02-28-11

Monday's Numbers: February 28, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders remained unchanged; financing appears available at attractive rates (5.25% - 5.50%).
02-25-11

Redevelopment R.I.P.? California’s Radical Proposal to Abolish RDAs Could Derail Urban Infill Statewide

One proposal is calling for all 260 redevelopment agencies in California to be abolished—which would greatly hinder affordable housing, economic development, and infrastructure development there.
02-24-11

Empire State Building Retrofit: A Window on Going Green

Anthony E. Malkin explains that a window refurbishing, along with various other steps taken to retrofit, will reduce the Empire State Building’s energy use by 38 percent, save $4.4 million annually, and avoid 105,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions over the next 15 years.
02-24-11

Top 10 Metros for Retail Market Recovery

Commercial real estate services firm Grubb & Ellis forecasts U.S. retail sales and leasing to “ramp up gradually” this year, with most of these metros on the East and West Coasts, with Washington D.C. and Los Angeles leading the way.
02-24-11

2011 Annual Clean Tech Investor Summit

A lack of a national energy policy is a major drag on momentum in the U.S. clean-technology sector and a signal of market instability for investors, say attendees at the Clean Tech Investor Summit.
02-23-11

Emerging Trends Predicts Asia’s Return

As many other global regions continue to deal with aspects of the economic crisis, many Asian economies have returned to pre-crisis performance, according to the newest Emerging Trends in Real Estate Asia Pacific.
02-23-11

The U.K. Residential Council Holds Inaugural Meeting

The inaugural meeting of the U.K. Residential Council, held at CBRE in London, highlighted the interest among senior ULI members in a forum specifically focused on this topic at a national level.
02-23-11

ULI Urban Investment Network Partners Debate City Resilience

With the global population increasingly moving to urban areas, construction and investment in cities that are both resilient and adaptable are necessary in order to ensure their long-term success.
02-23-11

Planning Communities for 2020

The definition of planned communities must expand to include existing communities making the transition to serve the needs of the changing population in existing infill and edge locations.
02-23-11

Repositioning Urban Corridors

It is time to start looking at strip centers as potential linear villages so that what forms over time is a better balance of uses with transportation options to enable people to move about the corridor.
02-23-11

Homeownership: Deferring the Dream

Demographic trends, high levels of foreclosures, high unemployment and underemployment, and tightened mortgage financing standards will continue to affect the number of new homes sold going forward.
02-23-11

Residential Market in Spain Elicits Caution, Not Pessimism

Speakers at a recent ULI U.K. meeting on the state of Spain's property markets highlighted Spain's need to deleverage and identified the residential market as the place where the problems started. They were adamant, though, that the vision for 2011 is cautious, not pessimism.
02-22-11

Reforming America’s Housing Finance Market: The Administration’s Proposal

John K. McIlwain notes that for the first time in 70 years, an administration has backed away from an all-out commitment to homeownership and even pulled its support from Fannie and Freddie, says a recent U.S Treasury paper.
02-22-11

Monday's Numbers: February 21, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders came in a “few” basis points (0.09%); financing appears available at attractive rates.
02-16-11

ULI Europe: Europe and the United States - the Next Ten Years

In addressing their economic woes, Europeans see problems that cannot be fixed, while Americans see challenges for which solutions have not yet been found, said Ireland’s ex–prime minister recently.
02-16-11

Another View of Closed-End Funds

Jeremy Newsum, ULI chairman, has some pointed criticisms of closed-end funds and their role in the financial crisis. Simon Treacy, Group CEO of MPGA, and a ULI member, offers his views on the topic of closed-end funds and their role in providing investors access to otherwise inaccessible markets.
02-16-11

Tackling Energy Efficiency Regulations

The diversity of building forms, uses, and ownership presents a challenge for all levels of government seeking to encourage and motivate people to curb energy consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
02-16-11

Changing Policy Priorities Have Mixed Implications for Commercial Real Estate

In the effort to rebalance toward private economic activity, fiscal restraint and the unwinding of the federal government’s recession interventions will figure prominently in the agenda of the new Congress.
02-16-11

Small & Smart

Identifying better uses for properties—such as adapting underused or vacant spaces, strip malls, and parking lots for use as mixed-use buildings— can diminish blight, strengthen a community, and activate a new tax base, thereby increasing migration back to cities.
02-15-11

ULI Awards for Excellence: No One-Size-Fits-All Solutions for Winners

The three 2010 ULI Awards for Excellence winners—all dynamic, large-scale projects—revitalized the neighborhoods where they are located and brought benefits to their respective cities as a whole.
02-15-11

ULI Europe: Making Sense of the Global Economy in 2011

American banks are starting to lend to businesses again, but that’s not the case in Europe, say participants at a session at ULI Europe’s Paris 2011 annual conference in February.
02-15-11

ULI Europe: Around the World in 60 Minutes - Places People Are Investing

At the ULI Europe Paris 2011 annual conference in February, real estate insiders divulged that there is money to be made in both developed as well as emerging markets and described the opportunities.
02-14-11

Attractiveness of European Commercial Property

Thanks to attractive valuations and the relative transparency of the real estate markets there, commercial property in Europe is believed to be a sound investment over the medium to long term.
02-11-11

Planning for a Racially Diverse America

America’s changing demographics call for an increase in women and minorities in the land use and development professions, plus a focus on deal making that is rooted in principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion.
02-11-11

Competing for Multifamily

As development teams look now to deliver viable projects a year or more ahead in a recovering economy, lenders are competing for deals in strong markets such as Boston, Dallas, Houston, and Washington, D.C.
02-10-11

Federal Restructuring of Fannie and Freddie Ignores Underlying Cause of Crisis

Last week, the White House issued a white paper with ideas for the restructuring of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mae. Christopher Leinberger writes that the feds need to understand that both housing and transportation costs must be used in underwriting.
02-10-11

Shaun Donovan’s Demand: Embrace Sustainability, If You Want Federal Money

Shaun Donovan tells Kenneth Harney and ULI that the message to private developers, planning agencies, and local governments is straightforward, “If you want competitive money, we’ve set sustainability as a criterion for all of our funds."
02-09-11

Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities Report

The 60-day delinquency rate on Fitch-rated cmbs offerings reached 8.59% as of January 31, 2011, as compared to 8.23% a month earlier. Steve Blank says to look for multifamily deals with financial problems followed by hospitality, industrial, then retail, and then office..
02-09-11

Doing It Nature's Way

In creating two new communities, HOK and the Biomimicry Guild are using principles of biomimicry, a way to understand and apply a location’s “genius of place” to designing buildings and communities.
02-08-11

Home Sizes Inching Up Again

Lew Sichelman notes that, though the size of the average home is increasing once again, after peaking at 2,520 square feet (234.3 sq m) in 2007, an analyst at the NAHB warns against believing the downsizing trend is over.
02-08-11

ULI Snapshot: Charlotte, North Carolina

Host city of 2012’s Democratic National Convention, Charlotte—the nation’s second-largest banking center by assets—is attracting numerous corporate relocations thanks to state and local tax benefits.
02-07-11

ULI Real Estate Business Barometer -- February 2011

The real estate economy is continuing to turn in the right direction, albeit slowly and with a long way to go. Compared with one year ago, 55 percent of 64 key indicators were better in January 2011. Read more about the economy, real estate capital markets, housing, and commercial/multifamily investment property.
02-07-11

Monday's Numbers: February 14, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders remained basically unchanged with an all-in cost of 5.50% remaining very attractive.
02-07-11

Monday's Numbers: February 7, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders remained unchanged as a decrease in spreads was offset by an increase in 10-year Treasury bonds. An all-in cost of 5.25% - 5.30% remains very attractive.
02-04-11

2011: Year of the Possible, says "Schecky" Schechner

Schecky Schechner states that the conventional wisdom is that, given the current fundamentals, commercial real estate has reached bottom and the sector appears headed upward.
02-03-11

Zero-Energy Homes for the Masses

Both custom and production builders are beginning to offer new zero-energy homes that produce as much energy as they use, at price points comparable to those for traditionally built homes.
02-03-11

The Rebirth of a Postponed Project: Perseus Realty’s 14W Development in D.C.

A new mixed-use project comprising 178 apartments, 170 below-grade parking spaces, and a 44,000-square-foot YMCA facility once again is rising out of the ground—partly because of a multiyear delay.
02-03-11

Urban Recycling: A New Model for Conserving Both Energy and Community Resources

Long Beach, California’s Environmental Education Center—a best-practices model for low-cost sustainable development—helps local at-risk youth through work, conservation, and education programs.
02-02-11

Investing in Arts Development

There is a growing body of evidence that thoughtful investment in arts and culture initiatives can generate significant economic benefits for cities large and small.
02-02-11

Making the Most of Transit

With determined and focused local and regional planning, mixed-income housing at transit stations can be a triple play: supporting transit ridership, promoting regional inclusiveness, and revitalizing underused areas.
02-01-11

Regional Spotlight - Pacific Northwest

Like the proverbial tortoise, the Pacific Northwest area of North America is experiencing slow and steady economic growth, having avoided the wild real estate sector swings felt in other areas of the nation.
01-31-11

Monday's Numbers: January 31, 2011

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders remained unchanged; both sides of the market (borrowers and lenders) seem content for now with spreads and rates where they are.
01-28-11

Reduce, Reuse-Renovate

With continued tight capital and weak markets for greenfield projects, adaptive use is increasingly attractive to savvy developers and governments. But formidable challenges remain.
01-27-11

Campus Martius Park

Campus Martius, a public park in Detroit that has spurred two major office buildings, housing, and restaurants, has drawn $500 million of investment since plans for its construction were announced.
01-27-11

ULX Transformative Use

Ten infill residential developments, all completed in the past five years, help strengthen the urban fabric with contemporary architecture that responds to community needs and the surrounding context.
01-26-11

What Do Private Equity Providers Want?

As U.S. commercial real estate markets continue to recover, debt financing has become harder to get. A recent ULI workshop discussed private equity, which has gained prominence in the capital stack.
01-26-11

Private Equity for Small- to Medium-sized Commercial Real Estate Firms

Geared to commercial real estate firms, a recent private equity workshop at ULI headquarters discussed everything from investment strategies to how operators can market their projects and expertise.
01-25-11

ULI Snapshot: Nashville, Tennessee

Employing an approach that includes adaptive use, mixed-use development, and a new convention center, Nashville, Tennessee, is seeing successful redevelopment of both its urban core and waterfront.
01-25-11

Kenneth Harney: Tax Reform and Deficit Reduction?

Ken Harney writes that when President Obama’s bipartisan Commission on Fiscal Regulation and Reform released its report last month, it couldn’t even command the 14 out of 18 votes needed from its members to send it in legislative form to Congress. With Republicans now in control of the House, the plan may be as moribund as even some of its most ardent proponents assume.
01-25-11

Top 10 Metros for Office Market Recovery

Grubb & Ellis’ Top 10 office markets for 2011-2015, scored on a 0-to-100 scale based on 13 property, economic and demographic variables.
01-24-11

Monday's Numbers: January 24, 2010

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders remained unchanged. Wait another two weeks and we’ll see how things shape up after the first round of 2011 deals are committed.
01-20-11

What Do Developers and Architects Want Each Other to Know?

Recently, a lively exchange sprang up among architects and developers on ULI’s LinkedIn group. Members of each group were posting what they would put into a “how-to” book about real estate development for design/construction professionals. What do YOU think?
01-20-11

Top 10 Trends from REIT Café

Each quarter, REIT Cafe's editor notes top trends and themes in the real estate investment trust space. Read a summary of the editor’s strategic trends and company picks for the first quarter of 2011.
01-20-11

Federal Reserve Board Beige Book Economic Survey

All 12 Federal Reserve Districts reported some level of improvement in economic activity during the most recent survey period (mid-November to Mid-January) as well as for 2011, including improved hiring plans.
01-19-11

4Q (2010) in Review, a.k.a., Something for Everyone

Regardless of your investment or operating quadrant—public or private real estate equity or debt—or property sector (multifamily, office, industrial, retail, or hospitality), 4Q 2010 turned out to be pretty okay.
01-19-11

Top 10 Major Metros With Lowest Foreclosure Rates

Foreclosure activity across the United States continues on an upward trend. Among 206 metropolitan areas tracked by RealtyTrac, 65% had year-over-year increases in foreclosures during the third quarter of 2010.
01-18-11

Urban Agriculture: Practices to Improve Cities

The distribution processes for food are complex and lead to serious questions concerning food and its path to the table. What can be learned and built upon for the practice of urban planning and design?
01-17-11

NAHB/Orlando: Single-Family Forecasts Less Than Rousing

With hardly anywhere else to go but up, the NAHB’s chief economist, David Crowe, is predicts a 21% increase in single-family housing starts this year, but warned that such a big percentage jump will not result in much of an improvement.
01-17-11

Monday's Numbers: January 17, 2010

While transaction volume is still “meager” when compared to the heady days of 2007, it represents an inflection point; whether it will be defined as the “beginning of the end” or the “end of the beginning” is immaterial.
01-13-11

NAHB/Orlando: Severe Apartment Shortage Looms

NAHB chief economist David Crowe is projecting a 16 percent increase in multi-family housing starts this year and a 50 percent jump in 2012 . But the 336,000 units developers are expected to produce over the next 24 months still won’t be enough to meet demand.
01-13-11

Small-Scale Development Outlook

Members of ULI’s three Small-Scale Development Councils speak about the advantages small-scale developers have and the challenges and opportunities they face in the current troubled economy
01-13-11

Emerging Trends in Real Estate Asia Pacific 2011 - Executive Summary

Improving economic conditions across the region brought an end to declining rents and prices in most Asia Pacific countries in 2010, with some markets (such as Japan) still groping for a bottom and others (such as China) moving so fast they are sparking talk of a bubble.
01-12-11

Notes from the January 9, 2011 issue of “The Punch Line…”, published by Abraham Gulkowitz

Despite growing evidence of acceleration in the recovery, the latest employment reports offered some sobering reality checks. The ranks of the long‐term unemployed rose by 113,000 in December.
01-12-11

NAHB/Orlando: Finance News for Home Builders

News from the NAHB, which is met in Orlando, Florida last week at its annual convention: The inability to obtain and hold on to financing to buy land, turn it into building lots and build houses is now the single most important issue facing the nation’s home builders.
01-12-11

ULI Snapshot: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota

Thanks to their diversified economy, Minnesota's Twin Cities' real estate activity is picking up. Minneapolis-based firms such as 3M, Target, Cargill and Carlson Companies as well as government and healthcare are starting to drive job growth.
01-12-11

Survey: How Will You Use Social Media in Your Business in 2011?

Help ULI develop and share feedback on your strategies for use of social media by letting us know how you are using, and will be using social media in our industry or how your employer is using, and will be using it. Take our 5-question survey. We will publish the results here on Urban Land.
01-11-11

The 2010 Census: How Is America Changing?

The 2010 U.S. census provides a glimpse of where the country is heading demographically. Already it is clear that change is being propelled by two engines: immigration from abroad, and the aging of the large baby boom generation.
01-10-11

ULI Real Estate Business Barometer -- January 2011

This month’s data are a mixed bag best approached with a healthy dose of perspective. Read more about the economy, real estate capital markets, housing, and commercial/multifamily investment property.
01-10-11

Monday's Numbers: January 10, 2011

2010 ended on a strong note with all-in 10-year mortgage spreads in 5.25%+/- range which should have proved attractive to all but the most jaded investors.
01-06-11

The Rebirth of Houston’s Phoenix Tower

The problem: The value of the 629,000-square-foot, 34-story Phoenix Tower in Houston was declining. Energy costs were rising alarmingly. The solution: Extensive retrofits that increased the value of the property. The savings: More than $200,000 annually.
01-06-11

Who Are You Calling a Senior?

It is unlikely that the boomers will be looking for traditional retirement housing for at least ten to 15 years. When they do, expect them to want a very different style and organization of seniors’ housing.
01-05-11

Generation Y: America's New Housing Wave

Generation Y’s homeownership dreams are strong. Two-thirds of Gen Y respondents to a ULI survey expect to own a home within five years, including over half the people who will still be in their 20s in 2015.
01-05-11

ULI Snapshot: Coastal Carolinas, a Recovery in Progress

After several years of being in the doldrums, the real estate market in the coastal Carolinas is experiencing some much-needed activity, especially in the second homes market as well as in residential, retail and institutional.
01-04-11

Top 10 Major Metros for Dining Out and Entertainment Spending

Spending in the United States declined by 3% in 2009, including a 3% drop in dining out and a 5% drop in entertainment – two areas of interest to ULI members involved in retail and mixed-use developments.
01-04-11

The Next 75 Years

The world of land use is in the midst of change. Dramatic changes related to demographics, the economy, and the environment, amongst others, are necessitating a major overhaul in what and where we build, and we will continue to adapt to these changes in the decades ahead.
01-03-11

2010–2011 Daniel Rose Fellows Take Unflinching Look at Tough Urban Land Use Challenges

Each of the four mayors selected for the Daniel Rose Fellowship is leading a team from his or her respective city that will spend the year focusing on a selected land use challenge.
01-03-11

Monday's Numbers: January 3, 2011

This week's Monday's Numbers should be subtitled: “Credit Suisse Group Sells $2.8 Billion European Commercial Property Loan Portfolio for $1.2 Billion”
01-03-11

The Silo Approach

The structural answer to protect a developer’s position and possibly eliminate any remaining personal guarantees may be a “silo” isolating the cash flow related to the silo lender’s collateral.
01-03-11

Raising Capital during Tough Times

While seemingly every deal that closed in 2010 was marked with challenges, investors can take certain steps to better position themselves in 2011 as they attempt to navigate a changed capital market.
01-02-11

Americans' Desire for High-Speed Rail Good for Real Estate

Results of an American Public Transportation Association (APTA) survey late last year that showed that nearly two-thirds of adults said they would definitely or probably use high-speed rail service for leisure or business travel if it were an option.
12-28-10

Back to the Basics: Marketing and Social Media Tips To Boost Activity

Sales are slow. Leasing is sluggish. ULI members say don’t skimp on team motivation, put away preconceived notions of what we like and what we think is the best way, and really focus on what matters to customers, and incorporate social media tools to the fullest.
12-21-10

2011 Trends Report Points to Era of Less

Participants in the survey for Emerging Trends in Real Estate® 2011 are preparing for an “Era of Less,” but they finally feel some relief and respite from weakening property fundamentals.
12-21-10

ULI Real Estate Capital Markets Forum, London

ULI holds a series of invitation-only, real estate capital markets forums each year. This article is a summary of the key themes and takeaways from the most recent forum, recently held in London.
12-20-10

Monday's Numbers: December 20, 2010

This week's Monday's Numbers should be subtitled: $13 Billion of CMBS Deals Already in 1Q Pipeline.
12-19-10

Retail Investment in China

China’s retail development and investment opportunities are progressively spreading to large second- and third-tier cities – all with populations above 1 million – which puts added importance on building the right contacts and partnerships in China’s real estate market, advises Rong Ren, chief executive officer of Harvest Capital Partners.
12-18-10

Top 10 Metros for Single-Family and Multi-Family Building Permits

Industry experts say the housing market is slowly reviving after a downturn related to the expiration of the home-buyer tax credit in the spring. With varied activity across the nation, things bode well for Texas in the single-family permits, and bode well for the East and West coasts in multi-family permits.
12-17-10

To the Rescue

With medical facilities becoming increasingly central to the U.S. economy and to stabilizing local economic growth, what opportunities exist for the private real estate developer for hospital and medical real estate development?
12-17-10

The Time for Leadership

What a ULI Europe Leadership Retreat in Istanbul, Turkey, and the 2010 ULI Fall Meeting in Washington, D.C., had in common was this: a shared goal of providing members high take-home value not available from any other land use or real estate organization. In both cases, this goal was not just met, but exceeded.
12-13-10

Monday's Numbers: December 13, 2010

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders came in slightly during the most recent survey period was unchanged. Not much is expected to happen during the next two weeks so we’ll sit on the sidelines and wait for January’s allocation to re-fill lender’s coffers.
12-08-10

What Does the New Congress Mean for Housing Finance?

Among other issues to watch, the new Republican majority in the House is likely to bring forward a bill calling for the abolition of the GSEs within the next several years and likely will not call for the creation of any new federally sponsored entities to replace them, contrary to the proposal the Administration is likely to put forward.
12-08-10

Is Workforce Housing Doable in the New Tysons Corner and Elsewhere?

No one on the panel disputed the need for workforce housing across the nation. And, Thomas S. Bozzuto said that in their pro forma they found it would cost $325,000 per unit for a high-rise rental building with a return on today’s cost of about seven percent.
12-08-10

Top 10 Metros for Office Space Growth

The upshot for ULI members is that the overall recovery in the U.S. office market is expected to be slow and long. Here are lists of major metros with the best year-to-date net absorption in downtown and suburban Class A office space.
12-08-10

ULI Snapshot: Austin, Texas

Austin is one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation, and has relatively low unemployment and a housing market that was spared the recession's worst impacts. The city’s economy is doing fairly well in spite of the downturn.
12-06-10

Monday's Numbers: December 6, 2010

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders was unchanged. There seems to be an all-in cost of 5.0% “glass ceiling” in place. For the survey period, average all-in cost equaled 4.80 percent.
12-06-10

ULI Real Estate Business Barometer -- December 2010

This month, the data offer little to support broad-based momentum in the economy. Read more about the economy, real estate capital markets, housing, and commercial/multifamily investment property.
12-02-10

European Development Finance: How to Convince Your Banker

To secure development finance in any capacity, among other things, you need to have a good track record and realistic leverage aspirations; at least 60 percent pre-let; de-risked construction aspects; as well as the means and resources to manage the project.
12-02-10

Adaptive Use Best Practices: An Interview with David Haresign

Before embarking on adaptive use projects, the key thing is to understand the existing building in every way possible. That includes contextual constraints, such as zoning requirements and use limitations, and legal constraints.
11-30-10

Hospitality Upswing: More guests, higher occupancy

Those who can develop hotels early in the cycle, and do it with all equity or who have some debt sources, will be the ones who make a lot of money, especially those who can sell their hotel assets before the industry passes the peak of the cycle.
11-30-10

Regional Spotlight: Southeast

With Florida and Georgia experiencing major shifts in the real estate sector, developers, designers, and financiers are targeting niche markets, as well as exploring untapped ones.
11-30-10

Pasco County Embraces ULI Recommendations for Change

ULI’s Advisory Services panel recommendations for Pasco County, Florida, are fast becoming a blueprint for change. The report on those recommendations lists three keys to success.
11-23-10

Green Adaptive Use: The Hotel Palomar

The Hotel Palomar in Philadelphia was successfully able to bring together both sustainable design and adaptive use in a boutique hotel that opened in the fall of 2009.
11-23-10

Housing Gen Y: The Next Challenge for Cities

Simply put, generation Y represents the future of every region’s economy. Any city or metropolitan region that cannot provide affordable, walkable, and attractive neighborhoods in which gen-Yers can afford to live will simply lose the best of them to those regions that have such neighborhoods.
11-23-10

Developing the Center for Life Science Boston: Three Angles

The collaboration between public, private, and nonprofit stakeholders made The Center for Life Science | Boston possible and resulted in coordinated design of common spaces, the building of an appropriately serviced and flexible core and shell, and a structure that allows a payment in lieu of taxes.
11-22-10

Maximizing REO Asset Profits

With the jump in commercial real estate loan defaults, many lenders have become reluctant owners of real estate–owned assets (REOs). This checklist can increase a distressed project's value and sales price.
11-22-10

This Time Is [Not That] Different by Buzz McCoy

Crises often occur in clusters, and many are global in nature. Financial crises are viewed as extraordinary and rare, though they turn out to be far more common and similar than most observers think.
11-22-10

Monday's Numbers: November 22, 2010

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders narrowed slightly in response to widening in the yield of 10-year Treasury bonds.
11-19-10

The Place Making Dividend

Place is more than just a location or a spot on a map. A sense of place is a unique collection of qualities and characteristics – visual, cultural, social, and environmental – that provides meaning to a location as well as increased revenues.
11-19-10

Development Evolves to Embrace Our Future

Patrick Phillips, CEO of ULI, finds that perhaps one of the bigger lessons learned from the recent decade of downtown development is that there is a demand for at least some aspects of this type of development that stretches beyond downtown cores and into outlying suburbs—not inevitably sprawl.
11-18-10

Taking Sustainability to the Next Level

The current rollout of LEED 2012 for its first public comment process began November 8 and will continue through the end of the year. USGBC expects to release the new standard in mid- to late 2012.
11-18-10

Cross-Sector Partnerships for Equitable TOD

Participants at a recent forum identified ways to more effectively plan for and implement TOD projects, and avoid repeating mistakes like those made when the Interstate Highway System was built.
11-18-10

Health Care Avenues

An expected explosion in patient demand will require health care facilities to adapt and expand. One opportunity is to reuse area retail and dark big-box locations to provide medical services.
11-17-10

Connecting Florida

The Connecting Florida initiative by five ULI district councils illustrates both the progress and the challenges involved in planning improvements to Florida’s transportation system.
11-17-10

ULX - Transformative Use

Ten projects fully or substantially completed in the past five years, all involving renovation of historic buildings, juxtapose past and present in inventive ways.
11-15-10

Monday's Numbers: November 15, 2010

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders narrowed significantly (17 basis points on average) with multifamily spreads breaking the 200 basis point barrier between sanity and complete madness. During the period, 10-year Treasury bond yields were flat, with average all-in cost equal to 4.66 percent.
11-11-10

Making the Argument for the Preservation of Affordable Housing

Sienna Green and Riverside Plaza, in strikingly different ways, both demonstrate the inherent value of preserving well-located affordable housing units as being critical to the overall housing supply in the Twin Cities.
11-11-10

Commercial Property Equity Gap: How to Cope

What will happen when a large share of the $1.3 trillion in commercial mortgage loans made from 2000 through 2007 comes due in the next few years?
11-11-10

Health Care Done Right

As more developers bring their expertise to developing medical facilities, they are finding that health care projects present a range of new challenges not present in more traditionally developer-driven building types.
11-11-10

Instant Message: Data Centers Are Hot

Doug Hollidge’s, of North Carolina–based Five 9s Digital, cautions that the development team must have a good history with a very solid technical understanding of the client’s needs and specific requirements, and then be able to execute with a full team of experts.
11-11-10

Advice from a Real Estate Veteran: Think Long Term

Richard A. Kessler, chief operating officer of Benenson Capital Partners LLC., also chairman of ULI New York, tells readers not to put all your eggs in one basket. “Diversify, not only in property type, but also with tenants and geography.”
11-11-10

Lessons from California for a New National Bank for Infrastructure

As the Obama administration and Congress begin to flesh out how a new national infrastructure bank will function, the California I-Bank’s strong track record and focus on infrastructure make it worth a close look.
11-11-10

Top 10 Metros for Job Growth & Declining Unemployment

Employment is one of the key drivers of the economy in general and the housing market in particular, so from a ULI perspective, positive employment trends potentially hold out hope for future residential and commercial real estate activity.
11-11-10

Triple-Net Leases: In Demand by Investors, an Opportunity for Developers

While triple-net properties have suffered during the recession, they have been less affected than other types of real estate, with prices falling about 15 percent since 2007, compared with 40 percent for other classes of property.
11-10-10

Planned Communities: What Lies Ahead?

It is probable that the future holds considerable challenges to the viability of master-planned communities, and that market trends will require new and even more expensive development patterns.
11-10-10

Looking for a Few New Ideas for Employment Growth

Christopher Leinberger proposes that activating the building of the built environment is required to both increase GDP growth but also put the less educated back to work—the workers who build transportation improvements and housing.
11-09-10

ULI Real Estate Business Barometer -- November 2010

In this month’s ULI Barometer the high unemployment rate and the weak housing market just won’t budge, but there are positive signs in other sectors. See more than 60 key indicators of the economy, capital markets, housing, and investment property.
11-09-10

Notes from the October 20, 2010 issue of “The Punch Line…”, published by Abraham Gulkowitz

In the wake of the global financial crises, a renewed plunge in property prices in Japan has fueled expectations of a new era of distressed asset fire sales, an opportunity specialist funds have been hungrily eyeing.
11-08-10

Ackman-Ziff's Fourth Quarter Equity Survey

See what investor appetites and sentiments, investor total return targets, investor underwriting approaches, and availability of equity capital are today.
11-08-10

Monday's Numbers: November 8, 2010

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders was mixed with some widening and some narrowing between October 22nd and October 29th. During the period, 10-year Treasury bond yields came in 5 basis points.
11-05-10

Commercial Property Prices: What Trajectory?

There is a good deal of up and down variation in prices in recent months within some of the indices, suggesting that a smooth upward glide pattern in commercial property values and prices from recent lows should not be assumed.
11-05-10

Energy Efficiency Retrofits

Given the manifest economic and environmental benefits of energy efficiency renovations, two questions arise: why are they not happening faster, and does the government have a role to play?
11-05-10

Repurposing Distressed Commercial Assets

Repurposing of distressed properties demands commitment and creativity. An adaptive use requires vision, a keen understanding of the local marketplace, and the marketing expertise to find a different category of tenant.
11-05-10

Health Care and Life Sciences Outlook

Members of ULI’s Health Care and Life Sciences Product Council discuss potential impacts of health care reform on real estate, financing strategies for development, and the effects of demographics on real estate.
11-05-10

Integrating Modern with Historic

A San Francisco project involving a modern building adjacent to historic icons suggests that linking separate problems then integrating their solutions can lead to optimal results.
11-05-10

Health Care Development

In the midst of economic and regulatory uncertainty and change, health care providers face an almost unquestionable need to expand. Learn the factors that will determine which facilities get built or renovated.
11-05-10

The Industry: A Year Later

The real estate industry’s sense of panic last year has turned to resolve and renewal. The “new normal” is about focusing on what is important and prioritizing what is meaningful, both as humans and as organizations.
11-05-10

Health Care/Life Sciences Development: Both Sides Speak

Three ULI members, on both the developer and the institutional sides, who were organizers of ULI’s new Health Care and Life Sciences Council, offer some best practices for successfully developing and managing medical and life sciences real estate.
11-04-10

Certain Provisions of CALGreen go into Effect January 1, with More on the Way

The California Green Building Standards Code is intended to help reduce greenhouse gas by cutting water usage in buildings, reusing construction waste, and requiring low-polluting interior paints.
11-04-10

Top 10 Metro Areas with Senior Population Growth

The leading edge of the Boomers are growing in and moving to many of the same metro areas as seniors and Brookings experts expect impending Boomer seniors to primarily choose to live in suburbs rather than central cities.
11-04-10

Silk Purse or Sow’s Ear: Navigating the Busted Deal Landscape

Often priced at 40 or 50 percent or less of the original note, broken projects may offer tremendous upside potential for investors willing to finish and hold them until the market turns.
11-04-10

Key Sectors and Markets Offer Opportunity, Say ULI Fall Meeting Panelists

ULI’s Fall Meeting in Washington, D.C., presented high-level panels and research that are typical of ULI meetings. Read what a panel of industry veterans says federal policy must do in the area of housing.
11-01-10

Ackman-Ziff's Fourth Quarter Lender Survey

See what lender appetites, lender underwriting approaches, and availability of debt capital are today.
11-01-10

Monday's Numbers: November 1, 2010

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders was mixed with some widening and some narrowing between October 15th and October 22nd. During the period, 10-year Treasury bond yields widened 5 basis points.
10-29-10

Real Estate Up Down Under

A robust economy fueled by a strong mining industry, continued export demand from countries such as China, cautious lending policies and a scarcity of office and retail space in some cities is fueling continued real estate expansion in Australia.
10-28-10

Songdo: Sustainable City of the Future

Songdo International Business District (IBD) in Incheon, South Korea, is designed as a model for future, sustainable city-scale developments across the globe, the developers of which intend to bring the smart sustainable development to other markets.
10-28-10

Energy and D.C.'s Height Restrictions

Washington’s height limit is a study in unintended consequences. Just a slight vertical stretch of the envelope could allow the next generation of buildings to be more energy efficient and more aesthetically compelling, the author argues.
10-27-10

Real Estate Investing: Commonsense Lessons From Glenn Rufrano

Glenn Rufrano, president and chief executive officer of property consultant Cushman & Wakefield, advises that a back-to-basics approach is the most sensible route for investors to take in the current climate.
10-26-10

Basel III Banking Regulation and the Effects of Increased Reserves on Investment

Weaker European banks will have to raise hundreds of billions of euros in fresh capital over the next few years and more risky investments will become an even less viable prospect for banks, financially, as a result of new Basel III banking regulation.
10-26-10

Reston Town center: 45 Years in the Making

Reston Town Center, in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., celebrated its 20th anniversary on October 18. However, the foundation for the project was laid over 45 years ago when Robert E. Simon assembled the 7,400 acres (3,000 ha) for the development he named Reston in 1961.
10-26-10

ULI Expands Efficiency Exchange with LessEN Initiative

Cooperation, sharing, and transparency are behind a ULI initiative that went into beta development last year: the ULI Energy Efficiency Exchange. The exchange creates a pan-European web portal for energy efficiency.
10-26-10

Expo 2010: Theme Pavilions

The Zone A pavilions at Expo 2010 portray their messages through visual and auditory stimulation rather than the written word. The architecture of these three theaters in particular is reminiscent of Disneyland, combining images with background sound effects.
10-25-10

The Power of a Park: Urban Open Spaces as Value Generators

Parks in New York, Detroit and Houston have spurred development by including key ingredients such as plentiful seating, food, a performance stage, and appropriate programming, as well as surveying users of the parks.
10-25-10

Monday's Numbers: October 25, 2010

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders widened between October 8th and October 15th. During the period, 10-year Treasury bond yields remained flat.
10-22-10

Entrepreneurial Infill Development Strategies

While the presentations made it clear that developing significant infill projects is incredibly challenging, they also revealed the many factors—including high barriers to entry, limited competition, and strong demand—that can also make them incredibly economically rewarding, even in today’s difficult marketplace.
10-21-10

Resorts 2.0: The New Normal

The panelists’ vision for the future of the resort industry was cautiously optimistic. The “new normal” for those developing and operating second-home and resort communities will require them to focus more on domestic opportunities, Gen-Xers, better-informed consumers, and choice.
10-21-10

Game Changers: Projects that Transform the Urban Fabric

Leaders of three transformative urban projects offer this: Now is the time for the public sector to be investing, to lay the ground work for the private sector.
10-21-10

Green Retrofit Financial Strategies

The theme unanimously agreed upon as imperative by the panel at this Fall Meeting session for the full-scale arrival of the green retrofit market is the return of time series performance data for large retrofitted commercial projects.
10-21-10

The Impact of Energy on the Future of Real Estate

Panelists discuss several key barriers to achieving scale in the marketplace from a finance perspective, including the “split incentive” issue, the difficulty of deploying and implementing certain technologies which would create dashboards for landlords and tenants alike, and using commercial space efficiently.
10-20-10

An Urban Design Proposal for the Sustainable Revitalization of Havana

A group of international architects and planners propose a master plan of waterfront revitalization, reinforcement of the existing polycentric structure, increasing public space, a new public transportation system, and upgrading infrastructure to revitalize Old Havana.
10-20-10

Global Power City Index-2010

The Global Power City Index (GPCI), issued annually by the Institute for Urban Strategies at the Mori Memorial Foundation in Tokyo, aims to serve as a tool that identifies elements city leaders can use to establish strategies and create policies to help a city achieve its full potential.
10-20-10

Get Ready for “Super Gridlock” Following Mid-Term Congressional Elections, Sabato Tells ULI

Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, offered his predictions for the upcoming election and beyond, including his prediction of “super gridlock” because of the resulting shift in control to Republicans in the House.
10-20-10

“There Were Many Keys to This Bomb and We Held One”: ULI Chairman Jeremy Newsum on Real Estate’s Missteps, Opportunities for Future

According to Jeremy Newsum, the “new normal” for the industry is one that is focused on the operators – the creators and owners of real estate who view their businesses as a long-term investment. The “old abnormal” was real estate being the “puppet of finance,” he said.
10-20-10

Federal Officials Describe Impact of 2009 Stimulus Bill

The $787 billion Recovery Act had at least three main themes—it needed to be large enough to produce jobs, it had to quickly fund shovel-ready projects, and it focused on promoting green jobs and industries.
10-20-10

New Sustainable Water Paradigm

“Plants and bacteria work for free; people and machines do not,” said one panelist. The panel concluded, among other things, that if the new water paradigm is to be established, it will have to be funded by the private sector.
10-19-10

New Melting Pot and Sunbelt States Reflect Trends in Immigration, Domestic Migration That Will Change Urban Growth

William H. Frey, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, discusses some of the implications of early findings from the 2010 Census. Frey feels that the way immigrants and baby boomers are “spatially rearranging themselves” provides an indication of which states might reap the most development and investment opportunities.
10-19-10

Continued Federal Assistance Necessary to Jumpstart The Economy: D’andrea Tyson Tells ULI Members

D’Andrea Tyson tells ULI that, although at odds with the “developing political momentum,” continued federal efforts to jumpstart economic growth through consumer spending initiatives and aid to state and local governments represent the most likely means of creating more jobs and expediting the economic recovery.
10-19-10

Leading in Uncertain Times

Gadi Kaufmann, Jeremy Newsum, Lawrence Corson, Michael Fascitelli, and Constance Moore share their experiences of the last two years and offer advice about how to survive in this real estate market and economy and offer their perspectives on the future of both.
10-19-10

Sourcing Equity in Today’s Environment

Leaders from ING Clarion Partners, The JBG Companies, and AvalonBay Communities discuss their companies’ various investment strategies and provide detail examples of various investments.
10-19-10

Bill Marriott Sees Big Growth, Especially Overseas

The hotel sector is coming back slowly in the U.S., led by business travelers, but most of the growth in the full-service hotel market is overseas, said Bill Marriott, Chairman and CEO, Marriott International at ULI’s Fall Meeting.
10-18-10

Factoid: Dodd-Frank Act Ignites Necessary Job Creation…At the Regulators

New laws and regulations to be promulgated as a result of Dodd-Frank will likely create many jobs.
10-18-10

Renewed Retail Opportunities

Panelists provide examples and advice for developers who are undertaking retail property repositioning projects.
10-18-10

The Decade of the Consumer

The next decade will be a reinvention of single family housing, leading to a wave of multifamily rental developments that will be designed according to consumer preference, and the old model will fade away over the next decade.
10-18-10

Master Planned Communities: What Does the Future Look Like?

A session titled “Master Planned Communities 2020” at ULI’s 2010 Fall Meeting concluded with 20 predictions for how changes in the market, the industry and the world will reshape the location and design of master planned communities.
10-18-10

Banking on Energy Efficiency in Real Estate

In light of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's announcement that borrowers with Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans would not be allowed to refinance or sell their properties, panelists discuss alternatives to PACE to finance green retrofitting.
10-18-10

The U.S. Economy: A Long Slow Climb

The U.S. economy is in for “a long, slow climb out of a deep hole,” said former Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Dr. Donald Kohn, who stepped down from the Fed only five weeks ago after a 40-year career.
10-18-10

In the Era of Less, Less Becomes More

We are hitting the bottom of the cycle and entering the “era of less,” said Mitchell M. Roschelle, partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers, in his opening remarks at the Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2011 session. But, he said, “it’s getting better.”
10-18-10

Monday's Numbers: October 18, 2010

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders widened between October 1st and October 8th. During the period, 10-year Treasury bond yields declined 17 basis points.
10-17-10

I want to relocate, but who will buy my McMansion?

Panelists at ULI's 2010 Fall Meeting offered their insights into John McIlwain's recent publication, "Housing in America: The Next Decade," and the hurdles and shifts it predicts.
10-17-10

Hot New Trends in Hospitality: Moving from Summer to Sizzle

As the hospitality industry starts to recover from the low point it reached over the past couple of years, some trends have emerged that show changes in consumer preferences, particularly at the ultra-luxury level.
10-16-10

Where the Jobs Are

At a ULI Fall Meeting 2010 panel on “Regional Economic Drivers,” panelists extrapolated current and past trends to predict the future, while noting that lower long-term job growth is most likely going to be the “new normal.”
10-16-10

Restructure…Don’t Dump

Sheila Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), was quite clear about her preference for restructuring loans rather than “dumping” them all on the market in distressed sales, and getting them “over with” when she spoke at ULI's 2010 Fall Meeting.
10-16-10

Surviving: Small Scale

Four smaller scale developers shared stories at ULI's 2010 Fall Meeting of what they have been doing to survive during the current downturn.
10-16-10

The Making of Washington’s Biggest Deal: Constitution Square and the Art of Urban Development Today

It took a Canadian bank without exposure to the U.S. subprime mortgage market to save the biggest real estate deal in Washington, D.C. It was Walton Street’s relationship with the Canadian TD Bank that enabled it to get the financing it needed.
10-14-10

Is It Time for a Federal Moratorium on Foreclosures?

The lack of new jobs and the high rate of unemployment especially among the "Echo Boomers" who should be buying their first homes, estimated by some to be over 30%, will keep household formation, now a quarter of what it would normally be, low and housing demand stalled.
10-14-10

How the D.C. Area Is Beating the Commute

The District of Columbia has the highest daytime population change due to commuting of any major city in the U.S. i Congestion due to workforce commutes negatively impacts the lives of everyone in the region, and thus planners in the D.C. area have developed new ways to help people move from place to place.
10-14-10

Innovative Financing Tools to Support Mixed Income Transit Oriented Development

Complex new partnerships between philanthropic foundations, non-profit community development organizations, government and private lenders are emerging to provide much-needed financing for mixed-income transit oriented development in regions around the U.S.
10-14-10

What Housing Crash? The American Dream is Alive and Well with Gen Y

Gen Y holds a high view of the American Dream – despite the housing market collapse - with the majority of respondents expecting to own homes within five years.
10-14-10

Federal Housing Policy– Need to Strike a Balance Between Homeownership and Renting: ULI Panelists

Panelists shared their thoughts on how federal housing policy might be reshaped to strike a better balance between homeownership and renting following the recession.
10-14-10

Time to Reprogram That Master Plan?

Many deals that looked great from a 2005 perspective just won’t “pencil” anymore. Developers at ULI’s 2010 Fall Meeting shared tips on how to adjust your residential master plans to reconcile them with today’s economic realities.
10-14-10

Who Says Commercial Real Estate Isn’t a Social Media Industry?

Firms in commercial real estate are increasingly using social media to connect with customers, said panelists at ULI’s 2010 Fall Meeting. This is true not only for consumer-facing segments, but also business-to-business segments.
10-14-10

Infrastructure in the Trenches: ULI Chicago Identifies Game Changers

ULI Chicago’s Infrastructure Committee came up with a process that identifies infrastructure “game changers.” The process inventories projects recommended in existing plans, evaluates the projects according to five criteria.
10-12-10

The Global Market: End of the "Old Abnormal"

The real estate market faces an uncertain recovery, said ULI Chairman Jeremy Newsum, because it follows the fragile world economy. But he does see an end to the “old abnormal” behaviors which made real estate the puppet of finance.
10-12-10

Finding Certainty in Uncertain Times: ULI Senior Resident Fellows Look Ahead

Finding Certainty lists several urban areas as showing promise, based on their ability to attract talented workers and new investment; transform their economies from manufacturing to service-oriented sectors; offer a variety of housing options; capitalize on natural resources as amenities; and demonstrate political and civic leadership.
10-11-10

Can Urban Sprawl be Hazardous to Your Health?

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University and the RAND Corporation found that construction of a light-rail system in Charlotte, North Carolina resulted in increased physical activity and subsequent weight loss by people served by light-rail.
10-11-10

Top 10 Metropolitan Areas with Rising Home Prices

The National Association of Realtors reported the national median price of existing single-family homes rose 1% in August after rising almost 4% during the first half of 2010.
10-11-10

Top 10 Metropolitan Areas for Immigrant Population Growth

The largest U.S. metropolitan areas continue to be home to the largest number of immigrants, with more than 1 million in places such as New York, Los Angeles, Miami and San Francisco. But the major metros with the fastest-growth immigrant populations were mostly in the southeast region of the country.
10-11-10

Monday's Numbers: October 11, 2010

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders widened between September 24th. During the period, 10-year Treasury bond yields declined 12 basis points.
10-09-10

ULI Washington Selects Top Ten Noteworthy DC Buildings

In August 2010, the Urban Land Institute convened a panel of Washington, D.C., real estate and design industry professionals to select 10 Noteworthy Buildings recently completed in the city.
10-08-10

ULI Real Estate Business Barometer -- October 2010

This month’s Barometer shows fluctuations in both directions, but even the most positive gains are still weak compared to historical trends. See more than 60 key indicators of the economy, capital markets, housing, and investment property.
10-07-10

ULI EMEA President William P. Kistler to Leave Post

Bill Kistler is leaving his post as president of ULI Europe, Middle East and Africa after more than six years leading ULI’s expansion into those areas. Read about the results he has achieved for ULI, and what lies ahead in his career.
10-05-10

What Policies Are Needed to Solve Auto Congestion in Suburbs?

If politicians are wary of voter backlash against anti-sprawl measures, how can they sell the benefits to their constituents – especially when those benefits are regional or even national? Read more from a Capitol Hill briefing October 4.
10-05-10

Next Generation Master Planned Communities – Planning for the New Homebuyers

There has been a drastic drop in U.S. household formation from an average of 1.6 million a year through 2007 to under 400,000 for the past several years and the current trends will affect design of master planned communities.
10-05-10

Vornado’s Fascitelli Sees Capital Markets Coming Back

Michael D. Fascitelli, President, Chief Executive Officer of Paramus, N. J. -based Vornado Realty Trust, and a trustee of the ULI, discusses a recent commercial mortgage backed securities (CMBS) deal and the future of the CMBS market.
10-05-10

Uncovering New Opportunities: Keys to Success in Tenant Retention

One way to distinguish your property from that of the competition is to invest time and energy – not necessarily dollars – in a tenant relations program.
10-04-10

Monday's Numbers: October 4, 2010

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders was unchanged. During the period, 10-year Treasury bond yields declined 9 basis points.
10-01-10

Transforming Neighborhoods through BIDs

Washington, D.C., has seven BIDs and one community improvement district; together they raise more than $20 million annually to ease the burden on city government and provide services that make their areas successful.
10-01-10

ULI Europe Conference Explores Property Market Trends

The ULI Europe Trends Conference gave the 263 people attending a forum at which to explore political and economic trends that will shape property markets this year and beyond.
10-01-10

Enriching Environments

The winners of this year’s ULI Awards for Excellence: Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) competition share a common element: each is an innovative example of land use that significantly enriches its environment.
10-01-10

Ultracompact Minimodules

Architect Michael Katz has produced a modular system at only 220 square feet (20 sq m). In an effort to make the L41 sustainable, affordable, and innovative, Katz chose to construct the unit using cross-laminated timber (CLT), a new wood building product.
10-01-10

Redevelopment Roundtable: What potential does redevelopment hold in the current economy?

Five real estate development experts discuss trends in redevelopment in the United States, including which properties are right for adaptive use, where to get financing, and how to dovetail with sustainable design.
10-01-10

Staying Power

For five decades the JBG Companies have made tough decisions and challenged the status quo in commercial real estate and investment. Today the JBG lion’s-head logo is a familiar sight, especially near Washington, DC’s Metrorail stations.
10-01-10

A Blueprint for the National Mall

A debate is taking place right now on how best to protect and preserve one of America’s national treasures, the National Mall, and ensure that it remains what Pierre L’Enfant first imagined it to be—an open space featuring statues and memorials to honor worthy citizens.
09-30-10

An Urban Artist: Mayor Richard M. Daley, 2010 Laureate, ULI J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development

Mayor Richard M. Daley, of Chicago, was today awarded the Urban Land Institute’s prestigious ULI J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development for 2010.
09-29-10

Real Estate Markets Will Recover, But More Pain to Come in Short Term, Says Vornado’s Fascitelli

With rental rates relatively flat and no new demand for office space materializing, Michael D. Fascitelli, a ULI trustee, predicts there will be significant heartache in the U.S. real estate sector in the coming months.
09-29-10

ULI California High Speed Rail Conference Looks to France and China

Key aspects of both French and Chinese high speed rail systems are discussed and provide insights for the U.S. in its development of high speed rail.
09-29-10

Can Community Outreach Save High Speed Rail?

If the U.S. – California specifically – can remove development and funding speed bumps, the placemaking mojo of high-speed rail stations will be unlike anything in the American rail transportation experience.
09-28-10

Changing Course for Continued Success: Lenox Village

In 2007, Nashville-based developer David McGowan knew a change of course was necessary to ensure continued success at Lenox Village, a mixed-use, new urbanist development in southeast Nashville, Tennessee.
09-28-10

Spreading Risk and Reward

With funding sources fewer and farther between nowadays, developers and investors are embracing public/private partnerships (PPPs) with more openness than ever before—casting an even wider net.
09-28-10

A Window into the Future

It requires more than a knowledge of statistics to appreciate China’s role in the future of development practice—and Expo 2010 provides a window into that future.
09-27-10

Lender Appetites, Lender Underwriting Approaches, and Availability of Equity Capital

See what lender appetites, lender underwriting approaches, and availability of equity capital are today.
09-27-10

TOD Redux

Voters in Los Angeles County responded to concerns about ongoing congestion and global warming in October 2008, passing Measure R, despite the economic crisis, to provide $40 billion in funding for transit projects over the next 30 years.
09-27-10

TOD Placemaking: Well-Designed TODs and Future Guidelines

Experts at California's High-Speed Rail TOD Marketplace stated that high-speed rail could be a catalyst for community building in California if we are able to “unlearn” what we currently know.
09-27-10

Monday's Numbers: September 27, 2010

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders trended higher with average spreads up 8 basis points. During the period, 10-year Treasury bond yields declined 14 basis points.
09-27-10

Regional Spotlight Mid-Atlantic

The real estate development sector in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region is clearly bottoming out, says Henry Lucas, a founder and chief executive officer of Chantilly, Virginia-based ECS Group of Companies. “We’re definitely at the bottom, and the trend we are seeing is up,” he says.
09-27-10

Development, Innovation, and the Connected World

In conjunction with Expo 2010, the ULI served as a knowledge partner in the Partnership for Urban Innovation, held in Shanghai. The conference asked a cadre of public and private leaders to share knowledge and experiences in how cities use information and technologies to reduce carbon emissions.
09-22-10

Five TOD Questions to Ask about Bus Rapid Transit in Your Community

Transit-oriented development (TOD) is typically associated with rail transit, but bus rapid transit may open opportunities to coordinate transit service with demand for compact, mixed-use, walkable development.
09-22-10

Federal Reserve: Wait and See Strategy

While the Federal Open Market Committee took no direct action at today’s meeting, it clearly telegraphed its willingness to continue quantitative easing by restarting large purchases of U. S. Treasury Bonds.
09-22-10

FACTOID: Where Are Housing Property Prices Still Holding Up?

According to an analysis in Bloomberg Businessweek, home prices in Asian cities, together with some Scandinavian countries, significantly increased during the first quarter 2010.
09-22-10

Basel III Rules: A Regulatory Guideline for Monitoring the Financial Health of Banks

The core of the Basel III regulations is the requirement that banks maintain equity (or “Tier I Capital”) equal to 6.0 percent of total assets. Banks must also maintain a capital conservation buffer equal to 2.5 percent.
09-22-10

Notes from the September 15, 2010 issue of “The Punch Line…”, published by Abraham Gulkowitz

There is a subtle reassessment underway whereby consumers and companies consider a downgraded outlook for the rest of the year and into 2011.
09-21-10

Green Market Value

Recent studies have indicated that commercial office buildings with a green rating have lower operating costs, higher occupancy rates, higher lease rates, and higher resale values.
09-21-10

What Conservation Development is Not

There are misperceptions about what conservation development is and what it is not. Excerpts from a new book explain what it is not.
09-20-10

Monday's Numbers: September 20, 2010

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders continued to trend lower with average spreads down 5 basis points. During the period, 10-year Treasury bond yields increased 4 basis points.
09-20-10

Permit Extension Law: Economic Stimulus or Unnecessary Maneuver?

Four states have already enacted legislation that extends expiring building permits for additional periods of time, while several others currently debate the issue.
09-17-10

World Cities Summit Speaks to a Green Future

Fifty years ago, Singapore’s prime minister focused on imagining his third-world country as first-world, and on not polluting the environment. At a recent Singapore summit, other cities were lauded for balancing growth with livability.
09-17-10

Must Read - Makeshift Metropolis: Ideas About Cities

Walk through centuries of city design and planning with Witold Rybczynski, a professor of real estate at the University of Pennsylvania. Read about the people and their ideas, the successes and failures, in this primer on planning history.
09-17-10

1000 Homes in Action

To become a truly vibrant, livable, pedestrian-friendly city, Los Angeles must address chronic homelessness, said members of the “1000 Homes Committee” of ULI Los Angeles, which gathered recently to recognize leaders in this effort.
09-15-10

Jeremy Newsum Opinion: Land Use and Stewardship

Jeremy Newsum, chairman of Urban Land Institute, proposes we look at land use as a form of "stewardship" for future generations.
09-14-10

Public/Private Partnerships for Developers

Three members of ULI’s Public/Private Partnership (PPP) Council (Gold Flight) offer insights into navigating the intricacies of PPP ventures based on their extensive experience.
09-13-10

Monday's Numbers: September 13, 2010

The Commercial Mortgage Alert Trepp weekly survey of 15 active portfolio lenders continued to trend lower with average spreads down 5 basis points. During the period, 10-year Treasury bond yields increased 9 basis points.
09-13-10

Federal Reserve Beige Book Economic Survey: Mid-June to Mid-July

The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book Economic Survey confirmed what many already suspected: the pace of economic recovery is slowing and it is becoming more likely that the current recovery will be “jobless”, which is bad news, especially for the real estate economy.
09-13-10

Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities Delinquencies Reach 8.48 Percent

Fitch Ratings prediction from earlier in the year that commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) delinquencies would reach 12 percent by year-end is unfortunately looking “spot on” as delinquencies reached 8.48 percent.
09-13-10

Metro Streamlines Joint Development Process

The Joint Development Program of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is making changes to make the program more developer friendly and market sensitive.
09-13-10

Mass Transit to the Sea

Los Angeles County is poised to finally have a mass transit line to the sea. The Metro Exposition Light-Rail Transit Line (Expo Line) Phase I, running from the Seventh Street Station in downtown Los Angeles to Culver City, is slated to open in summer 2011 at a cost of close to $900 million.
09-10-10

Green and Affordable: A Good Combination

In New York City’s South Bronx, a new 47-unit complex is proving that green and affordable can go together. Fox Point is showing that environmentally sound homes for lower-income households can be a model for the future.
09-10-10

Katrina: Five Years Later, Five Questions for Joseph Canizaro

Joseph Canizaro, the past chair of the Bring New Orleans Back Commission and a past ULI chairman, discusses what New Orleans has done right over the past five years and what the most significant aspects of rebuilding that still remain to be done are.
09-10-10

Katrina: Five Years Later, Five Questions for Pres Kabacoff

Pres Kabacoff, CEO of New Orleans–based development company HRI Properties and a member of the ULI Public/Private Partnership Council (Blue Flight), discusses what New Orleans has done right over the past five years and what the most significant aspects of rebuilding that still remain to be done are.
09-10-10

Katrina: Five Years Later, Five Questions for William B. Bradshaw II

William B. Bradshaw II, cofounder and president of the New Orleans–based real estate development firm Green Coast Enterprises, discusses what New Orleans has done right over the past five years and what the most significant aspects of rebuilding that still remain to be done are.
09-09-10

Time to Restore the Home Buyer's Tax Credit?

Sales of existing homes plunged in July to their lowest level in at least a decade, prompting some calls for a restoration of the federal housing tax credit. But many housing experts want the federal government to stop tinkering with the housing market.
09-08-10

It’s Not Over until It’s Over: Housing Finance after Dodd-Frank

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 4173) is the most sweeping legislation regulating the U.S. financial services industry since the Great Depression, including the provisions relating to securitization of mortgages.
09-07-10

ULI Real Estate Business Barometer -- September 2010

ULI's Real Estate Business Barometer is a monthly summary of more than 60 key indicators of the economy, employment, and the real estate market.
09-03-10

Lender Survey Reflects Shift in Lender Appetites

The lender survey for the third quarter 2010 reflects shifts in lender appetites, lender underwriting approaches, and availability of debt capital.
09-03-10

Federal Reserve Releases Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey

With the Federal Reserve's recently released results of its Senior Loan Officer Opinion survey for the third quarter 2010 comes both good news and bad news.
09-02-10

Reviewing Treasury's August 17 Meeting Regarding the GSEs

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner began the August 17 meeting by asserting that there will be fundamental changes to the two GSEs, but rather than delineate specifics, he went on to identify the four key policy challenges.
09-02-10

REITs Rule...at Least for Now

REITs are outdistancing the competition, providing returns in the low double digits while the balance of the equity markets are showing losses in the mid-to-low single digits.
09-02-10

Capital Markets Update: Economy

Notes from the August 23, 2010 issue of “The Punch Line…”, published by Abraham Gulkowitz. What will the economy that emerges from this recession look like?
09-01-10

Walkable Urbanism

Ten changes found in the Washington, D.C. area will be coming to a metro area near you. Read about the rise of walkable urbanism in the nation’s capital, and how these changes may affect other U.S. cities, big and small.
09-01-10

Federal Stimulus Kick-Starts Development

Projects that benefit from federal stimulus funds are driving big increases in U.S. construction spending, and adding value to real estate in all four corners of the country—and many places in between.
09-01-10

Sovereign Wealth Funds

Managers of sovereign wealth funds have been looking closely at the U.S. market in the wake of the Greek financial crisis -- in part, as a hedge against currency depreciation, but also because they see projected economic growth.
09-01-10

Reading the Tea Leaves on Transportation Reform

Where does a new surface transportation bill stand? The most important effort in Congress to date has been the draft bill, released in June 2009. The bill would double the size of the transportation program, but does not identify where additional money would come from.
09-01-10

Gap Financing Helps Develop Artists’ Lofts

With gap financing linked to the federal stimulus program, plus support from a local dance school, a working class neighborhood of Washington, DC will provide 41 affordable live/work apartments for working artists.
09-01-10

Bringing Development Out of Downtown

Washington, D.C., can serve as an example for how to engage communities outside the core in planning for successful mixed-use development, including substantial commercial uses that might normally be found downtown.
09-01-10

ULX: Public/Private Pursuits

Read about ten projects where cash-strapped city and state governments got new or refurbished public facilities, while private partners benefited from higher home prices and enhanced foot traffic for retail, entertainment, and dining.
09-01-10

Inspiring Imagination

Winners of ULI’s 2010 Awards for Excellence: Asia Pacific are Dragon Lake Bridge Park in China; Greenbelt 5 in the Philippines; Rouse Hill Town Centre in Australia; and Newton Suites and the Southern Ridges in Singapore.
09-01-10

Transportation Proposals Endeavor to Create Vibrant Communities

“Our Cities Ourselves,” an exhibition on display in New York City, explores ways to stem the spread of car-based urban planning in developing countries, in favor of alternatives that include Bus Rapid Transit and bicycles.
09-01-10

Collaboration is Key

Going forward, Washington's ability to maximize its potential depends on collaboration rather than competition. As in many urban areas, land use planning is fragmented among the various jurisdictions that comprise the whole.
09-01-10

Cherry-Picking Deals in Europe

Equity-rich sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are one of the few investors in a position to take advantage of real estate opportunities presented by the global financial downturn, and have been cherry-picking the best deals in Europe.
09-01-10

Believing in a Future

With new investments, new leadership and new partnerships between the citizens and their government, New Orleans has made remarkable progress since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It is a city and a citizenry empowered.
09-01-10

Federal Government Drives Nation’s Recovery

Federal programs that create jobs also create demand for office space. Read about where federal tenants are setting up shop to carry out programs driven by economic recovery, Homeland Security and financial reform and regulation.
09-01-10

Adding Uncertainty to Uncertain Times

July’s Dodd-Frank financial reform bill will affect commercial real estate in several ways, including risk retention for the CMBS market, and how nonfinancial (“end user”) firms manage risk with over-the-counter derivatives.
09-01-10

Redeveloping in Difficult Times

What opportunities exist in today’s market? Redevelopment in urban neighborhoods accounts for much of the new construction this year. However, due to scarce financing, developers must partner creatively with city and state governments.
09-01-10

A Model for Growth

The Washington, D.C., metro area has established patterns of development that will help the region achieve further success in the next decade, providing a model for other growth areas around the country.
09-01-10

The Business of Sustainability

Two issues, cost and return, are critical for real estate investment and development decision making. What can a developer do to ensure his or her investment in sustainable design is a successful one?
08-24-10

Mortgage Interest Deduction Poll

Some housing analysts have suggested limiting the mortgage interest deduction, contending that it is an unneccesary benefit for the affluent and too expensive to make available to all homeowners.
08-01-10

Q&A with Joel Ross on Private Equity

The principal of Citadel Realty Advisors and author of the Ross Rant newsletter discusses the private equity markets, including current challenges and what lies ahead.
08-01-10

Supply and Demand

It seems that everyone in the commercial real estate (CRE) industry is attempting to retool their operations to launch a fund in anticipation of the much-anticipated CRE bust and resulting flood of distressed supply supposedly just over the horizon.
08-01-10

Missing in Action: The Private Mortgage Market

For the past two years, 96 percent of all financing for housing in the United States has been provided by the federal government. The private mortgage market has become little more than a memory now.
08-01-10

Neighborhoods Where Housing Is Appreciating Again

In 2009, the median price of an existing single-family home in the United States declined by 12.5 percent, the largest single-year drop since tracking began in the late 1960s. Stronger neighborhoods tended to depend on the traditional strengths of the metropolitan area as a whole.
08-01-10

Regional Spotlight: Texas/Gulf Coast

“Resilient” seems to be the best word to describe the U.S. Gulf Coast real estate industry.
08-01-10

Modular Net-Zero-Energy Townhouses

U.S. architects are experimenting with designing net-zero-energy buildings—those that produce as much energy as they consume.
08-01-10

Must Read - The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050

As the economy finally—perhaps—emerges from the prolonged recession, it is difficult to imagine a future in which the United States continues to lead the world— technologically, innovatively, and economically.
08-01-10

The New Vision

Perched on the threshold of economic recovery, American cities whose housing markets crashed and burned during the recent recession are struggling like modern-day phoenixes to rise from the ashes.
08-01-10

Today’s Manufactured-Home Community

Today’s land-lease communities are nothing like the mobile home parks of the past.
08-01-10

Facts and Figures

One of the primary challenges facing U.S. urban and suburban governments is the growing need for high-quality affordable housing.
08-01-10

Adaptation Costs of Climate Change Risks

Climate change is the leading environmental issue of our time, one that likely will be around for decades to come.
08-01-10

Happier Hotels Ahead

Hotel fundamentals are improving as panic and capitulation give way to a slow-growth environment. Yet, the global response to the economic crisis threatens to yield to sovereign risk in Greece and Spain and undermine a gradual, nascent recovery.
07-01-10

Federal Program Helps Cities Address Neighborhood Revitalization

Has the federal role in neighborhood revitalization shifted in the face of the current urban landscape of older, distressed cities?
07-01-10

Fogelman Gift to University of Memphis Promotes Real Estate Sustainability Program

The Fogelman family of Memphis, long associated with real estate and development, has given $2 million to the University of Memphis to help it become a world leader in sustainable real estate.
07-01-10

TOD Takes Center Stage in L.A.

The Obama administration will back Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s 30/10 Plan, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) announced at the ULI Los Angeles TOD Summit 2010, held in Hollywood in June.
07-01-10

Housing Adults with Autism-Related Disorders

A growing group of developmentally disabled children and young adults will need housing that allows them to live away from their families but still provides the medical, therapeutic, and vocational support they need.
07-01-10

Leaders and Laggards

Development aligned with specific tenant demand and improving sectors presents the best opportunities for office development, office market expansion, and long-term economic growth.
07-01-10

Job Transitions

In the current economic downturn, job prospects in the real estate development industry can seem scarce. However, development has always been about reinvention to meet a constantly changing market.
07-01-10

New Value Resorts

In the resort, recreation, and tourism industry, numerous trends identified through experience and expectations are emerging to influence how and where people will buy and use resort real estate.
07-01-10

Solution to Homelessness Wins ULI L.A. Competition

To many people, the idea of modern design as a solution to homelessness might seem impractical, if not paradoxical.
07-01-10

Pockets of Opportunity

The number of distressed residential properties spilling onto the U.S. market is expected to depress the national median price for a single-family home another 5 to 10 percent before bottoming by year-end or early 2011
07-01-10

Bus Rapid Transit and Land Use

Successful transit-oriented developments (TODs) meet demand for compact, walkable, mixed-use development—the same markets that are also likely to see an important amenity value in easy access to high-quality transit service.
07-01-10

A Force for Change

The real estate industry has reached a pivot point, one at which land use is as much or more about the management and redevelopment of existing space as it is about new development.
07-01-10

New Capital for Urban Growth

Two megatrends are currently shaping what will become the new normal after the prolonged period of recovery for the U.S. economy.
07-01-10

Bus Rapid Transit Areas Undergoing Innovation

The National Bus Rapid Transit Institute identified seven elements as those undergoing innovation in bus rapid transit.
07-01-10

New Niche for Homebuilders

When Michael Maples, principal and chief executive officer of Trumark Homes, was asked at a recent real estate conference about his company’s competitive advantage, the answer was unexpected.
07-01-10

Conservation Communities

Once an anomaly, communities like Prairie Crossing—a masterplanned conservation community outside Chicago that combines responsible development, extensive open-space preservation, environmental restoration, and organic agriculture—are becoming much more common across America.
07-01-10

Where & How Will We Live?

Five leaders in residential real estate development discuss U.S. housing development trends.
07-01-10

The Transportation Calculus

Though less clear, Transportation costs are second only to housing expenses in a typical family’s budget. But efforts to make transportation costs more transparent are underway.
06-01-10

Repositioning Retail

In the current recession, thousands of stores have been shuttered, new projects have been shelved, rents have been pared, property values have cratered, and retail workers have been sent packing in legions: more than a half million lost their jobs alone in 2008.
06-01-10

Resuscitating Dying Malls

Efforts to find creative solutions for dying malls have increased in these economic times as consultants, city officials, and new urbanists are called on to walk the lonely corridors of the dozens of half-vacant facilities in the United States.
06-01-10

Confronting America's Water Challenge

Out of necessity, states and metropolitan areas are getting more involved in integrating watershed policies with local land use decisions, and are considering restricting new projects in areas without ample future water resources.
06-01-10

Working Solutions

The latest winners of the recent Awards for Excellence: the Americas competition, announced in April at the 2010 ULI Real Estate Summit at the Spring Council Forum in Boston, reflect a balance among economic viability, ecological stewardship, and social equity.
06-01-10

Recharging Retail

With consumer confidence low and vacancy rates high, shopping centers across the globe face a challenging economic climate.
06-01-10

Regional Spotlight - California/Pacific Northwest

After months of uncertainty, the California, Oregon, and Washington real estate industry appears to have stabilized. That’s good news. The even better news is that the real estate sector is starting to improve, albeit slowly.
06-01-10

Are REITs a Leading Indicator for a Commercial Real Estate Recovery?

Real estate investment trust valuations are likely to continue to increase—but with ongoing volatility—until property fundamentals clearly enter the recovery phase. What does this mean for the commercial real estate industry?
06-01-10

Proactive in Practice - Where are the Careers in Real Estate?

As commercial property development and homebuilding practically came to a standstill last year, many real estate companies laid off employees.
06-01-10

Harvard Wins 2010 MIT Boston Open

The Harvard Graduate School of Design won the 2010 MIT Boston Open, a real estate competition hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Real Estate Alumni Association and held this year at the Prudential Center during the ULI Real Estate Summit at the Spring Council Forum in the city.
06-01-10

Amanda M. Burden: 'When Done Right, the Payback Is Enormous'

The award was created with ULI, Burden says, because of her belief “in the power of well-designed public space to be a focal point for cities, bringing together residents of all income, race, age, and social status.”
06-01-10

India, China Lead Global Real Estate Recovery

India and China are leading the global real estate recovery after a further slowdown in transaction volumes in 2009.
06-01-10

Needed: An Underlying Ethic

The Urban Land Institute needs to be a fixed point where one can look for aid in avoiding the incrementalism of bad practice and misaligned values.
06-01-10

LEED for Retail Due to Be Launched This Year

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) this year will release two new Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) retail rating systems, LEED for Retail: New Construction and LEED for Retail: Commercial Interiors—the seventh and eighth members of the growing LEED family.
06-01-10

European Commercial Real Estate Markets Heat Up

European commercial property was buoyed in the first quarter of this year by further growth in demand, particularly from foreign players, improving debt market sentiment, increasing interest in larger lot sizes, and spreading interest to new areas.
05-01-10

Keeping at the Forefront of Leadership

The retail real estate market currently suffers from an oversupply of space—the result of overbuilding before the financial crisis struck in 2008—plus a dearth of retailers now willing and able to fill space.
05-01-10

Retail Futures

What will be the changing role of retail in the current economy? Six leaders in the area of U.S. commercial and retail real estate development discuss the retail market in the wake of the current recession
05-01-10

Campus Martius Park Wins First ULI Amanda Burden Urban Open Space Award

In a city more often characterized by hardship than success, Campus Martius Park in Detroit has received national recognition as the first winner of the ULI Amanda Burden Urban Open Space Award.
05-01-10

Retooling Industrial Development

Deals will tend to be build-to-suits as companies streamline, consolidate, and take advantage of locations near multimodal transportation options.
05-01-10

Q&A with Schecky Schechner on CMBS

The managing director and U.S. head of real estate investment banking at Barclays Capital discusses the state of the commercial mortgage-backed securities market, including new programs and how to recognize real values.
05-01-10

Team from Two North Carolina Universities Wins ULI Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Award

A team of students representing North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) won the $50,000 top prize in the 2010 Urban Land Institute Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition with a redevelopment plan for a San Diego neighborhood that emphasizes neighborhood diversity, affordability to families of mixed incomes, and walkability.
05-01-10

Greening Retail: Working through the Disconnect

The retail industry has lagged behind the sustainability curve for some time, but is now quickly catching up as developers, landlords, and tenants seek to “green” their retail facilities to realize operational gains, demonstrate environmental stewardship, and capture increasingly conscientious consumers.
05-01-10

Consensus at ULI's Real Estate Summit at the Spring Council Forum: Industry Poised for Gradual Recovery

The prevailing mood at ULI’s recent Real Estate Summit at the Spring Council Forum in Boston ranged from cautiously optimistic to outright optimistic.
05-01-10

Inaugural Larson Leadership Summit Held at ULI's Spring Council Forum

The inaugural Robert C. Larson Leadership Summit was held as part of the ULI 2010 Real Estate Summit at the Spring Council Forum in Boston.
05-01-10

Value-Add and Opportunistic Investment

The future of value-add and opportunistic investment in commercial real estate assets is almost exclusively dependent on a general economic recovery.
05-01-10

Drivers for Town Centers

The retail real estate market currently suffers from an oversupply of space—the result of overbuilding before the financial crisis struck in 2008—plus a dearth of retailers now willing and able to fill space.
05-01-10

Land Use Implications of High-Speed Rail

Development of high-speed passenger rail will undoubtedly be among the Obama administration’s transportation legacies.
05-01-10

The New Geography of International Development

For much of the past decade, buoyed by a vibrant real estate market, readily available credit, and acquisitive consumers, international retail investors and developers enjoyed healthy growth, in both developed and developing economies.
05-01-10

The Year of Positioning

Though vacancy rates at shopping centers in the United States are not expected to peak until 2011 at around 12.2 percent, the going consensus is that for the most part, the worst of the retail crisis has passed.
03-01-10

Blueprints for Change

As recovery from the current deep recession begins, creating strategies for reinvesting in the world’s urban areas—where half the planet’s population lives—will require an understanding of development options.
03-01-10

Q&A with Catherine L. Ross on Megaregions

The director of Georgia Institute of Technology’s Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development and an adviser to the Obama administration’s White House Office of Urban Affairs discusses the implications of megaregions for future development and how best to develop to compete globally.
03-01-10

Quantifying Climate Policy: Planning for Change

The U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen may have ended without an international commitment to specific greenhouse gas reduction targets, but the development community still needs to prepare to meet stringent targets in the next five to ten years. Both California and the U.K., among others, have already started down the path that the rest of the world is likely to soon follow.
03-01-10

Tie Infrastructure to Land Use

The future of cities could be considered the centerpiece of the Urban Land Institute’s entire program of work. How and where we will live and work and how we will get from one place to another in the decades ahead are issues that will shape urban growth patterns and change our approach to planning, design, and development
03-01-10

Finding Ways to Make Housing Projects

A focus on affordable living considers both housing costs and commuting costs, an element the federal government now says it is serious about using as a benchmark.
03-01-10

A Glimpse into the Postcrash Environment

The future looks a lot more female for residential developments that correlate with income and educational attainment.
03-01-10

Insitutional Investors Commit New Capital

Institutional investors will not be abandoning real estate as an asset class in 2010. Instead, they will be retrenching, rethinking, and carefully dipping their toes back into the water.
03-01-10

Boston: Growth Game

Well positioned for near-term recovery, Boston is starting to address impediments to development and the city’s high cost of living in order to facilitate longer-term growth.
03-01-10

Replanning Small-City Downtowns

Given the demographic and behavioral shifts, as well as the supply competition, expected to continue after the economic recovery, what steps should small cities take to boost their downtowns?
03-01-10

New Tools Activate the Urban Environment

As cities embrace promising new technologies, innovative ideas have prompted an exploration of the potential of virtual architecture.
03-01-10

Climate Positive

The Clinton Climate Initiative’s Climate Positive Development Program intends to demonstrate workable solutions for sustainable urban growth through pilot projects in ten countries on six continents.
03-01-10

Encouraging Architectural Continuity in Cities

Miami’s new code, known as Miami 21, marks the first time a form-based code has been adopted for an entire major U.S. city, and it is likely to accelerate the trend.
03-01-10

LukezParis

The problem of city making today does not so much concern making new ones as it does transforming those that already exist-especially suburbs-and edge-city developments. What can the United States learn from French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his goal to remake Paris?
03-01-10

A New Era of Innovation: Boston Tests New Strategies to Take City Into the Future

The visual evidence of Boston’s approach to planning and development, from preserving its historic character to planning for the future, showcases the city’s best assets. One of the nation’s greenest cities, Boston is a biotech hub and has one of the most improved public education systems in the country.
03-01-10

Leveraging Models: The 63-20 Process

Participation in the 63-20 bonding process offers ample incentives for developers.
03-01-10

Little Infill

Small, mixed-use infill projects are becoming favorites of the planning and development industry because of their compact urban scale, innovative design, and positive impact as catalysts for their neighborhoods.
03-01-10

Where Are Cities Headed?

Five experts from the fields of real estate development, architecture, and urban planning discuss the role of cities in an urbanizing world and offer insights into how cities are—and should be—shaping future development as the recession ends.
03-01-10

Hotels Remaking History

Ten renovation and retrofit projects make over structure to meet the needs of the contemporary hospitality industry and tap the place-specific power of older buildings.
03-01-10

LONDON: Standing Firm

Though London’s economy has been hit hard by the global recession, the city stands firm alongside New York City and Tokyo as one of three global financial centers and remains unrivaled as the business capital of Europe.
03-01-10

Creating Value Out of Air

Three-dimensional airspace subdivisions can add value to real estate developments.
03-01-10

Regional Spotlight Northeast

Atlantic Wharf, a mixed-use development scheduled to include a waterfront plaza, 30,000 square feet (2,787 sq m) of retail and public spaces, and a 31-story, 750,000-square-foot (69,677-sq-m) Class A office tower, is taking shape in the capital of Massachusetts.
03-01-10

Developing for Water Scarcity

Developers are applying novel conservation strategies to prevent water shortages from triggering building moratoriums.
03-01-10

The Foreclosure Crisis and Neighborhoods

Four U.S. mayors discuss strategies to tackle rapidly declining neighborhoods that have been hit with vacancies and foreclosures.
03-01-10

Vancouver: Going for the Green

While the transportation component of Vancouver’s Winter Olympics is being watched closely by planners of the 2012 summer Olympics in London, Vancouverites saw the event also as an opportunity to reframe the city’s long-range transport picture, particularly in the context of a greener future.
01-01-10

From Vacant Properties to Green Space

A land-based approach to solving America’s economic crisis would enable municipalities to acquire vacant properties to develop into parks and green space.
01-01-10

A Flight to High-Quality Real Estate

Last year was momentous for the real estate debt and equity markets as both exhibited signs that investors are slowly beginning to return. This year should be no less interesting.
01-01-10

Energy Upgrade Incentives in Cities

Sustainable energy financing districts offer commercial building owners and homeowners low-interest loans for energy-efficiency projects—a creative way for owners to finance solar, wind, or geothermal energy upgrades to their properties and for cities or counties Energy to meet their mandated need to reduce greenhouse gases and be energy independent.
01-01-10

The University of Wisconsin’s New Path to Leadership in Global Real Estate

Over the past two years, world economies have become more interdependent than ever before, as shown by the unraveling of financial markets across the globe. The real estate program at the University of Wisconsin School of Business has created a new global real state master (GREM) program tailored to meeting the needs of the next generation of industry leaders.
01-01-10

Surviving 2010

What is looking like a jobless recovery will spell a tepid economic rebound that will not fill buildings. The shakeout period for commercial real estate is now expected to extend several years. Unlike the last crisis, in which overbuilding affected new product, this time around vacancies are affecting the entire built environment, new and old alike. Owners without long-term leases to bridge the downturn will have a hard time surviving 2010.
01-01-10

Where’s the Equity?

With the current undersupply of available joint venture equity capital, operators need to speak with the full array of potential equity investors, as well as with their existing joint venture equity partners.
01-01-10

Cargo Containers as Commercial Space

Reuse of cargo containers as building blocks in a small Seattle hybrid commercial building helps contain costs and speed construction.
01-01-10

The End of the Beginning

Despite some initial signs of a return to stability, conditions in the U.S. commercial real estate capital markets are as severe as ever—and likely to remain that way.
01-01-10

Benefiting From Special Districts in Cities

With U.S. cities increasingly strapped for cash, it comes as no surprise that community benefit districts (CBDs) are gaining in popularity. But will CBDs redefine America’s cities of the future? A growing number of property owners think so.
01-01-10

A Short History of CBDs/BIDs

Community benefit districts (CBDs) were first developed in Maryland during the 1980s, but business improvement districts (BIDs) date back to the early 1970s in the Canadian city of Toronto.
01-01-10

Sustainable Makeovers for Exisitng Buildings

Ten renovation and retrofit projects transform existing buildings into showcases for sustainable strategies.
01-01-10

Europe's Office Forecast

Yields are stabilizing in certain european office markets, but investor caution continues, particularly in eastern europe.
01-01-10

Pass It On

As we enter the second decade of the 21st century, it’s clear that the land use industry globalization so prevalent during the past ten years will become even more expansive in the years ahead.
01-01-10

Real Estate Education: Still on Course in a Crisis?

Prospects for maintaining U.S. real estate education programs appear to be weathering the crisis in real estate finance.
01-01-10

A sampling of Real Estate Programs at U.S. Universities

The Directory of Real Estate Development and Related Education Programs, 11th Edition, published by the Urban Land Institute, describes the main features of real estate education programs at 54 universities, all but nine located in the United States.
01-01-10

What to Do Before Defaulting

Owners facing the numerous problems in the commercial real estate market have several exit strategies for cash-flow problems before foreclosure or bankruptcy.
01-01-10

Meeting the Lender

The first meeting between lender and borrower is critical. This is an opportunity not only for the two parties to get to know one another, but also for the borrower to demonstrate competence and the ability to identify and manage any difficulties facing the building.
01-01-10

Renewable Neighborhoods

As the concept of sustainable design spreads, and tools like the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system expand in acceptance and application, a movement is taking shape that is driving sustainable design toward a more holistic and systemic approach: ecodistricts—neighborhoods that generate all their energy from on-site renewables.
01-01-10

As Developers Default, Receiverships Multiply

A partially constructed property development, frozen in time behind a chain-link fence, a site that has been empty of an operating business and lifeless for months. Who owns the property, why is it sitting there half-built, when is somebody going to do something with it?

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