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.

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.

Amazon has announced plans to provide more than $124.4 million to build 1,060 affordable homes near four public transit sites while working in partnership with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and Sound Transit to complete the developments. This is part of Amazon’s $300 million transit commitment from 2021 to create 3,000 new affordable homes in collaboration with the transit agencies in each region.

The Dodge Momentum Index, a leading indicator for U.S. commercial real estate activity, increased 4 percent in February to 158.2, from the revised January reading of 151.9. In February, institutional planning rose 9 percent, and commercial planning moved 1 percent higher.

Four students from the London Business School have been announced as winners of the second ULI Hines Student Competition–Europe. The pan-European virtual real estate competition challenged teams to present their vision of a future workplace, based on the redevelopment of an office site in Amsterdam.

ULI has announced the launch of the Curtis Infrastructure Initiative, a multiyear initiative to identify and promote infrastructure solutions to create equitable, resilient cities and enhance long-term community value. The initiative aims to provide research and practical tools to help ULI members advance infrastructure investment and identify new solutions to local infrastructure issues, as well as directly support member engagement at the local level through the Institute’s 52 district councils.

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.

Developments showcased at the 2020 ULI Carolinas Meeting included transit-oriented affordable housing, gleaming new downtown office towers, an opportunity zone development for technology tenants, and a new recreation center for Clemson University students using mass timber.

The best bets for real estate investment and development—including markets and industry sectors—for next year will be highlighted at the 2019 ULI Fall Meeting, set for September 18–21 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. These predictions and other observations on industry trends are included in the 2020 Americas edition of Emerging Trends in Real Estate ^®, the highly anticipated real estate forecast copublished each year by ULI and PwC.

Tightening availability of tech talent in leading markets has spurred hiring momentum in smaller and upstart markets in the United States and Canada—such as Tucson, Arizona, and Waterloo, Ontario—as expanding tech employers seek additional labor pools, according to CBRE’s annual Scoring Tech Talentreport.