Seasoned executive shares passion for the built environment

As the Fed began a series of rate hikes in 2022, the apartment market went from one of frenzied growth and optimism to a market characterized by decline, be it declining sales volume, declining occupancy, or declining values. As we near year’s end, stability and even positive momentum have begun to take hold, and there is good reason to expect them to carry into 2025 with the return of large, open-ended funds and an improved debt environment.

The outgoing global chair of the ULI has urged the real estate industry to collaborate rather than compete in the battle to decarbonize and be more proactive over information and knowledge-sharing, particularly to investors who are less well-capitalized. Peter Ballon, who is stepping down as global chair in July, told delegates at the ULI Europe conference in Madrid in June: “We want everybody to figure [decarbonization] out. This is not where we want to compete.

And, according to bestselling author, entrepreneur, and futurist, Martin Ford, who delivered the closing keynote address at the ULI Asia Pacific Summit 2023, artificial intelligence, or AI, will soon “touch, impact and influence” every aspect of our daily lives.

As part of the 2023 Net Zero Week, ULI Young Leaders share their excitement about a decarbonized future for the industry.

It’s been over a decade since the U.S. Energy Star Portfolio Manager benchmarking tool has updated its dataset for scoring energy and water performance of multifamily assets—and Fannie Mae has launched a survey to address that.

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.

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 Landabout the opportunities he sees in the coming months.

In mid-January, ULI New York convened three panels of top real estate experts to unpack local real estate trends for 2023.

In May 2022, the Hayti Heritage Center of Durham, North Carolina, co-sponsored a ULI Advisory Services panel with the Institute’s Foundation. The goal of the panel was to identify opportunities for intentionally inclusive development.