As creative placemaking has proliferated in the real estate industry, questions regarding its costs and benefits have often surfaced: What is the cost and what is the business case? Does it enhance the value of real estate? And what value is delivered?

ULI’s Art in Place program has expanded with the addition of ULI France and ULI Germany, bringing the total number of participating district and national councils to eight. The program aims to connect artists, developers, and community voices to promote creative placemaking, which integrates art, culture, and creativity as levers of community revitalization.

Despite challenges, there is momentum in commercial real estate for capital to be raised and invested in underserved communities across the nation, according to a panel of Dallas/Fort Worth developers at the Fall Meeting in Dallas. The primary example they used to illustrate success is the National Juneteenth Museum in Fort Worth.

With help from a $350,000 gift from former global governing trustee Michael Spies, ULI is launching an innovative program in which artists will be invited to work with developers in the early stages of real estate projects. The Art in Place program will help developers form creative partnerships with artists in fields ranging from painting and sculpture to dance, theater, music, and even culinary arts.

Early engagement with the community and inclusion of culturally significant art can create developments that benefit the existing community and lead to greater return on investment.

Ten venues provide places for community members to gather, play, compete, learn, and enhance wellness.

Located in Foshan, Guangdong, China, Lingnan Tiandi (LNTD) Lot 1 is the largest city-core historic preservation project in China. Lot 1 is a 13.8-acre (5.6 ha) project at the center of a larger 128-acre (52 ha) development that has revitalized the historic Chancheng District.

More than 3,000 ULI full members are expected in Nashville, April 16–18, to attend the 2019 ULI Spring Meeting. Music City was ranked fifth among markets to watch in Emerging Trends in Real Estate ^© 2018. Don’t miss these five tours of both the past and the future of Nashville.

Perhaps it is no coincidence that both Craig Robins, president and chief executive officer of real estate development company Dacra, and Kieran Bowers, president of Swire Properties, were schooled in the humanities before becoming real estate developers. Both spoke at the ULI Miami Investor Symposium about their careers and the influence of creative placemaking on their projects.

Weaving creative and artistic elements into a project from its earliest stages can yield long-term benefits.