Christina Contreras, the ULI/Martin Bucksbaum Senior Visiting Fellow, discusses how she and ULI staff are researching how privately owned and managed “third places” can better contribute to individual and community health and well-being.

Registration is open for the 2020 ULI Virtual Fall Meeting, being held October 13–15. An ambitious program is being offered, including tours and networking opportunities that will be facilitated online.

A ULI member from the San Francisco Bay area weighs the pros and cons of converting the HVAC system of a 1960s-era office building.

Demonstrating social value and the impact of real estate on a community is becoming more integrated into the decision-making and investment strategies for real estate. During a ULI Europe webinar, panelists said that the biggest challenge was addressing how the multifaceted nature of social impact can be measured accurately.

ULI has appointed David Faulkner as its new president for the Asia Pacific region. Faulkner, who most recently was managing director, valuation and advisory services, at Colliers International in Hong Kong, takes the position immediately, leading the Institute’s activities across Asia Pacific. Faulkner will lead members and staff to deliver impact programs such as Advisory Services and UrbanPlan, as well as the region’s virtual and in-person events program, including the REImagine virtual forum, the ULI Asia Pacific Convivium, and the ULI Asia Pacific Summit, which next year will be held in Tokyo in May.

Jonathan H. Brinsden, chief executive officer of Houston-based real estate investment and development firm Midway, has been appointed ULI Americas Chairman. Brinsden, who succeeds Jack Chandler, founder of Majesteka Investment Holdings, will serve on a voluntary basis for a two-year term and will join the ULI Global Board of Directors.

While the various segments of the Greater Boston commercial real estate industry grapple with how to return to operations safely as the global pandemic persists, the region’s life science sector continues to thrive. Acquisition, development, and leasing of laboratory properties remain robust in Boston and Cambridge as well as in the submarkets, according to a panel of life science property owners recently assembled for a ULI Boston webinar.

A new update from ULI to the Reshaping Retailreport, which was published earlier this year prior to the coronavirus pandemic taking hold across Europe, forecasts that the impact of COVID-19 will accelerate the restructuring of the retail property sector, particularly in the United Kingdom. The need for stable cash flows has been identified as the main overall trigger point needed to spur the investment market.

Sidewalk Labs recently announced that it would withdraw from a proposed smart city project in Toronto. But Sidewalk is already in talks to repurpose those innovations, said participants in ULI’s Spring Meeting Webinar Series.

Innovations in medicine and trends in health care delivery are affecting the design and development of health-related facilities, services, and amenities in Arizona, panelists said during the “The Future of Healthcare and Biotechnology” session at the 2020 ULI Arizona Trends Day.