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Seasoned executive shares passion for the built environment

A recent announcement from the Atlanta city government has once again sparked conversation around the redevelopment of a once-vibrant mall in Atlanta’s historic West End neighborhood.

Real estate economists’ outlook on the U.S. economy and real estate markets improved throughout the year as economic data remain strong and real estate values and performance seem to be nearing bottom. Survey responses indicate that a soft landing has become the consensus view. The Fall 2024 ULI Real Estate Economic Forecast, a semiannual survey of economists and analysts, marks a shift toward greater optimism for real estate performance in the near term, with recovery taking shape in 2025.

Joseph E. Brown, a pioneering landscape architect, urban planner, and ULI Life Trustee who championed innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration to solve challenges in the built environment, has passed away at the age of 77. A ULI member for more than three decades, Brown served in many leadership roles in the organization and was a tireless champion of his home district council, ULI San Francisco.

“Investors are increasingly looking at airports as lucrative opportunities,” said Steve Forrer, chief investment officer at Aviation Facilities Management Company. “When you position an airport development correctly, it can draw in a wide range of businesses, from tech startups to established global firms,” he said.

Conversions of office buildings for residential uses are becoming increasingly viable in some regions. According to Steven Paynter, a principal at Gensler who leads the firm’s global building transformation and adaptive use practice, office-to-residential conversions are viable in 25–30 percent of the buildings his team analyzes.

Home to almost 700,000 people, Vancouver is known for its gleaming residential towers, striking natural beauty, and dense development. However, like many progressive urban centers on the west coast, it has also struggled with significant issues that threaten the quality of life for its residents, including persistent homelessness and lack of affordability.

By leveraging multifaceted expertise, teams can develop robust solutions that address multiple challenges with less effort. This approach leads to design interventions that generate co-benefits, strengthening resilience by considering it in every aspect of the project.

The outlook for the European real estate market is cautiously optimistic despite growing geopolitical uncertainty and concerns about economic growth, with London, Madrid, and Paris emerging as the standout performers, according to a new report by PwC and the Institute.

On Wednesday, during the ULI Fall Meeting’s final day at Resorts World Las Vegas, a panel of commercial real estate experts gathered onstage in the Resorts World Theater to forecast the industry’s trajectory through 2026.

The ULI Terwilliger Center for Housing has announced two winners for this year’s Jack Kemp Excellence in Affordable and Workforce Housing Award, as well as two winners for the Terwilliger Center Award for Innovation in Attainable Housing.

Las Vegas, the driest major metropolitan area in the U.S., exemplifies the challenges of urban water management in arid regions, according to Colby Pellegrino, deputy general manager of resources for the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), the local water provider for the greater Clark County area, which serves about 2.3 million residents and 41 million annual visitors.

Released during the Institute’s 2024 Fall Meeting in Las Vegas, Emerging Trends in Real Estate® North America predicts Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami as leaders in 2025

The Institute’s Terwilliger Center for Housing has selected the state of Florida’s ‘Live Local Act’ as the winner of the 2024 ULI Robert C. Larson Housing Policy Leadership Award

Covid-19 may have caused a precipitous decline in convention crowds in 2020, but it did not halt long-range plans to overhaul and expand convention centers in a number of key U.S. cities. Today that foresight is bearing fruit with grand new facilities able to host larger industry and trade gatherings than ever before.

Against the iconic backdrop of Hong Kong’s skyline, a room filled with cross-disciplinary real estate experts engaged in a lively display of unprecedented collaboration. Brightly colored sticky notes plastered across the floor-to-ceiling windows mapped out an intricate web of relationships between developers, tech providers, facility managers, investors, utilities, and more. The pioneering systems change workshop was piloted by ULI APAC Greenprint and aimed to address a critical challenge: how to accelerate climate tech implementations that will lead to long-term sustainability.

According to the second annual C Change Survey, 93 percent of respondents report incorporating transition risks into their real estate investment decisions, indicating the industry’s growing awareness and commitment to integrate climate-related financial risks into decision-making processes.

As we approach Election Day on November 5, issues such as the shortage of affordable housing and climate change are top of mind for many voters. When it comes to the cost of living, an unprecedented increase in home prices and surging rent are affecting both renters and homeowners. Adaptive reuse, particularly in urban areas, must be considered as a solution to mitigate these pressing matters, especially in an older city such as St. Louis, Missouri, which was founded in 1764.

Once a sprawling expanse of uncharted land, Las Vegas, Nevada, has evolved into the entertainment capital of the world, a gaming super-hub, and a premier destination for sports. This remarkable transformation didn’t happen overnight; it stemmed from decades of strategic planning, investment, and visionary zoning recommendations.

A new report by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and Heitman, a global real estate investment management firm, explores the impact of rising insurance costs on commercial real estate, strategies for managing those costs, and related considerations for industry participants.

Obsolete buildings will constitute up to 50 percent of all new housing in cities

The construction landscape has largely held steady across the United States and Canada.

The term “Environmental, Social, and Governance,” or ESG, has been around for two decades, first being coined by the United Nations Global Compact in 2004. However, the rise of the framework has led to increasing political backlash, with some states outright banning ESG in investment decisions.

Some commercial real estate owners face rising costs due to climate risk

Developers and hyperscalers apply myriad solutions to meet climate goals

Industry CPPI data suggests that property prices may be at—or near—bottom. The three major indexes from MSCI Real Assets, CoStar, and Green Street all showed an increase in CPPI in August. After rising 1.6 percent in August, Green Street’s recently released Commercial Property Price Index remained unchanged in September. Green Street’s all-property index—a measure of pricing for institutional-quality properties—is up 3.3 percent year-to-date through September.

Given the pressing challenges real estate is facing globally on advancing building decarbonization, ULI is honored to announce that 10 District and National Councils have been selected to participate in the fourth Net Zero Imperative (NZI) Cohort. NZI is a multiyear initiative to accelerate decarbonization in the built environment and is a significant aspect of ULI’s work to advance its net zero mission priority.

Aberdeen, South Dakota’s rich history as a bustling hub with a vibrant downtown provides a strong foundation for revitalization. Historic photos of Main Street from the early 1900s could easily be mistaken for scenes from Brooklyn, New York, of the same era. Understanding why the town moved away from this dynamic core, and lost its historical vibrancy, is essential.

AI, redefining what is possible

As Baby Boomers continue to retire, having a concrete plan ensures businesses will continue to thrive