Michele Lerner

Michele Lerner is a freelance writer, editor, and author covering real estate, personal finance, and business topics for such publications as the Washington Post, USA Today, and others.

Issues and Trends

San Francisco

ULI District Councils: H2H New Partnerships to Tackle Homelessness in Four Markets

ULI’s Homeless to Housed (H2H) initiative, launched after publication of the report Homeless to Housed: The ULI Perspective in 2022, highlights the numerous real estate-driven solutions that have been undertaken in recent years to tackle the problems of affordable housing and homelessness in cities across the country.

December 5, 2025

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Michele Lerner

Development and Construction

Adaptive Use and Building Reuse

Underutilized Federal Real Estate: A Road Map

Best practices for acquisition and redevelopment

December 2, 2025

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Michele Lerner

Resilience and Sustainability

Climate Week

The Potential Impact of NOAA Budget Cuts on Commercial Real Estate

The Trump Administration is proposing further budget cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for fiscal year 2026, which begins October 1. The agency, a branch of the U.S. Commerce Department, lost about 30 percent of its funding in 2025, and it is set to spend 14 percent less for climate research than Congress mandated. Real estate professionals often rely on NOAA data to make informed investment decisions, and the possible impact of the budget cuts could be significant for the industry.

September 25, 2025

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Michele Lerner

Resilience and Sustainability

Climate Risk Management: Improving approaches to reduce asset and portfolio threats

A panel of experts, moderated by Katie Wholey, director of climate resilience at Enterprise Community Partners, gathered at the 2025 ULI Resilience Summit in Denver to discuss how climate risk assessments are informing asset and portfolio management.

August 25, 2025

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Michele Lerner

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Issues and Trends

Multifamily

Converting Housing from Market-Rate to Deeply Affordable

Existing properties get makeovers to provide sustainable options for vulnerable populations

April 15, 2025

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Michele Lerner

Development and Construction

Housing – Active Adult Senior and Retirement Communities

Creative Solutions for the “Forgotten Middle” in Senior Housing

Demand is surging for senior housing as America’s population ages, but supply continues to lag. That gap is one reason investors in ULI’s 2025 Emerging Trends report rated the sector second highest for the best risk-adjusted returns over the next three years. Supply and demand dynamics don’t tell the whole story, though: senior housing development tends to thrive at the upper end, where seniors with means can afford to live in a continuing care retirement community.

February 18, 2025

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Michele Lerner

Philanthropic Impact

Leadership

Rick Reinhard Chosen as Winner of ULI’s Apgar Thought Leader Award

ULI has selected Rick Reinhard, principal of Niagara Consulting Group, as the recipient of the 2023–2024 ULI Apgar Thought Leader Award, which recognizes the authors of outstanding works written for Urban Land magazine.

December 2, 2024

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Michele Lerner

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Capital Markets and Finance

Affordable Housing

Rethinking How TIFs Work: Innovative Financing Tool Addresses Blight to Boost Affordable Housing

The city of Baltimore has approximately 13,000 abandoned houses and 20,000 vacant lots that create health, safety, and financial hazards for nearby properties. Although it might seem simple to fix and flip these homes, the math doesn’t easily compute.

September 6, 2024

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Michele Lerner