Recent Articles

• Leadership on Net Zero Mission Earns ULI an 2023 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year Award for Sustained Excellence

  March 29, 2023

  ULI has earned a 2023 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the third consecutive year. ULI has received the award for its efforts promoting energy-efficient and sustainable buildings and for its thought leadership on net zero and energy conservation throughout the real-estate sector.

• Zoning for More Transit-Oriented Housing Development in Massachusetts

  March 29, 2023

  Last year, Massachusetts passed the Multi-Family Zoning Requirement for MBTA Communities (also known as Section 3A). When fully implemented, the law will impact the 175 municipalities—half of the total in the Commonwealth—that are served by the state’s mass transit system. Section 3A mandates that there must be at least one zoning district where multi-family housing is allowed “as of right.”

• AFIRE Survey Shows Investor Preference for American Assets in 2023

  March 27, 2023

  AFIRE, the association for international real estate investors focused on commercial property in the United States, has released its AFIRE International Investor Survey: Q1 2023 Pulse Report, underwritten by Holland Partner Group. U.S. market shows stability as preferred global destination for investment with allocations up 6 percent from 2022, relative to a 5 percent decline in European investment.

• Creating Resilience Along the Waterfront: Thinking Forward about Nashville’s East Bank

  March 27, 2023

  Opportunities to rethink the waterfront in a concerted and holistic manner have been few and far between. The Imagine East Bank Plan, a strategic vision plan adopted last fall by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville, offers a rare opportunity to reimagine how development, land use, transportation, recreation, and resilience can come together to create a more resilient and sustainable urban waterfront.

• ULI Report: Why Retail Location Is No Longer Everything

  March 24, 2023

  There’s perhaps no more famous saying in retail than “location is everything.” But is it? Based on ULI’s recently published report, Successful Retail: How 14 Shopping Centers Are Thriving Today, in a post-pandemic retail world, location is indeed an important driver of success—arguably the key driver—but it is not the be-all and end-all.

• ULI Convenes Executives from Construction and Developer Industries to Build Stronger Partnerships to Reduce Embodied Carbon

  March 24, 2023

  The first ULI Executive Convening on Embodied Carbon—held on January 17th at ULI’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., and hosted by ULI’s Decarbonization Program—launched the first of many convenings to build stronger partnerships across the industry enabling accelerated advancement on sustainability improvements and beyond.

• Six Developments Changing the Landscape for the Carolinas in 2023

  March 23, 2023

  At the 2023 ULI Carolinas Meeting in February, six developers working on complex projects in North and South Carolina talked about their work and plans for the future. In varied ways, they’re all taking advantage of current environments: they’re tuning into the natural world, connecting with existing popular amenities, or highlighting the region’s rich history.

• Uncertainty and Lack of Finance Causing Extreme Caution and Holding Back Real Estate Transactions, say ULI and PwC

  March 21, 2023

  Emerging Trends in Real Estate® Global Outlook 2023 sets out global real estate sector leaders’ expectations for the year ahead. Released at the MIPIM international exhibition, the report from ULI and PwC is a key indicator of sentiment in global real estate and investment and development trends across the globe.

• Reshaping the City: Zoning for a More Equitable, Resilient, and Sustainable Future

  March 20, 2023

  A new ULI report shares promising insights and examples of zoning regulations from across the United States.

• How Newer Construction Homes Fared in Florida’s Hurricane Season

  March 17, 2023

  After another active hurricane season, Florida’s resilience continues to be a huge and growing practical and financial priority. Strategic planning focused on strength and durability is helping mitigate wind and flood damage.

• Popularizing Mass Timber Construction in the Southeast

  March 17, 2023

  Development experts gathered to discuss the growth in popularity of mass timber at the 2023 ULI Carolinas Meeting in February.

• Leveraging Federal Funds to Reduce Car-Dependence in North Carolina’s Growing Cities

  March 16, 2023

  City planners across North Carolina’s rural, suburban, and urban environments assert that a vibrant walkable downtown is their goal. They’re aiming to put that value into practice using a broad range of transportation options with help from the funding in the 2022 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

• A New Forgivable Loan Program Targets Oregon’s Private Brownfield Owners

  March 14, 2023

  A member of ULI Northwest highlights Oregon’s $5 million Brownfields Property Redevelopment Fund, which offers forgivable loans to private owners and operators to support remediation at sites that are contaminated or perceived to be contaminated. 

• In Memory of Architect Gene Kohn

  March 13, 2023

  Eugene “Gene” Kohn, one of the founding members of the global architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), has died at 92 after a yearlong battle with cancer. In his long tenure with KPF, Kohn’s firm designed some of the most famous skyscrapers in the world, including New York City’s Hudson Yards development, the World Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C., 333 Wacker Drive in Chicago, London’s Covent Garden, the Shanghai World Financial Center, Hong Kong’s International Commerce Centre, and most recently, the Manhattan office tower One Vanderbilt.

• Cracks Emerging in U.S. Office Sector Lending; More Pain Ahead?

  March 13, 2023

  Office property owners who were able to weather the worst of the pandemic are crashing into a hard reality wrought by sharply lower demand and higher interest rates. Undercurrents of stress are now emerging in the form of defaults.

• Content Creation by Influencers Adding to Demand for Studio Space

  March 9, 2023

  Americans are voraciously consuming digital content. The Consumer Technology Association estimates that consumers will spend $151 billion on technology services (the category for video, gaming, audio, and apps) in 2023, marking five consecutive years of growth. Entertainment companies are hurriedly working to meet this demand by ramping up television and film production.

• Making Four Affordable Housing Developments Pencil Out in Southern California

  March 8, 2023

  A member of ULI Los Angeles shares how his company is harnessing creativity and a lot of hard work to build attainable housing that is within reach of most renters.

• UL Interview: Brian Swett, Americas East Leader of Arup

  March 8, 2023

  Brian Swett, a longtime member of ULI Boston and Arup’s Americas East Leader, has been announced as the chair of the ULI Randall Lewis Center for Sustainability. Working with ULI staff, Swett will serve a two-year term with the Lewis Center. A former chief resilience officer for the city of Boston, Swett recently spoke to Urban Land about the opportunities he sees in the coming months.

• Build-to-Rent Projects Weathering Higher Interest Rates, Shifting Strategies

  March 8, 2023

  In a market that’s been disrupted by rising interest rates and unsteady financial markets, single-family rental investors and developers haven’t lost sight of the bigger picture. Demand for housing still exceeds supply.

• HKS, UNStudio, and Gehl Team Selected to Create Systemwide Architecture and Urban Design for Austin’s Light Rail

  March 6, 2023

  The Austin Transit Partnership announced a partnership with an international design team led by HKS, UNStudio, and Gehl to create systemwide architecture and urban design for the light-rail program of Project Connect, a major expansion of Austin’s public transit system. Project Connect is a transformative, voter-approved investment that includes light rail, expanded bus routes, and more services across the city.