Markets
Chicago
Since assuming office in 2018, Assessor Fritz Kaegi has overseen the assessment of all residential and commercial properties in Cook County, the region in northeastern Illinois that includes Chicago.
Developer Quintin Primo, who has done more than $14 billion worth of transactions over his decades-long career, is currently eyeing revitalizing Chicago’s Loop in his hometown, among other projects.
Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate was awarded first place in the graduate division of the 13th annual Harold E. Eisenberg Foundation Real Estate Challenge, which culminated with final presentations in April at the offices of Holland & Knight, 150 N. Riverside Plaza in Chicago.
Dallas
The COVID-19 pandemic made 2021 a historic year for the shipping and logistics industry, as rising e-commerce sent large retailers and general merchandisers scrambling for warehouse space to hold their inventory, supply-chain issues delayed shipments, real estate developers strained to keep up with demand, and local governments struggled to issue permits quickly with employees working from home.
Alternative lenders increased their market share in the commercial real estate debt sector in 2018, panelists said at a ULI North Texas event in March. That trend is likely to continue this year as competition among all types of debt providers heats up capital markets.
Texas markets are meeting a healthy demand for multifamily housing from millennials who are reaching renting age and baby boomers who are downsizing, while attracting investment from around the United States. At a recent conference, speakers said that fundamentals were generally strong with higher cap rates possible in tertiary markets such as Midland-Odessa, Waco, and Lubbock.
Los Angeles
Los Angeles attorney George Fatheree III—who made national headlines for aiding members of the Bruce family in the return of beachfront property that was taken from their ancestors, nearly a century ago, through eminent domain—is embarking on a new venture, his own social impact fintech, ORO Impact.
Ten projects take advantage of financial tools that promote environmentally positive development
Neglected yet historic department store remade into a vibrant destination anchored by buzzy health food grocer Erewhon.
New York City
The term “Environmental, Social, and Governance,” or ESG, has been around for two decades, first being coined by the United Nations Global Compact in 2004. However, the rise of the framework has led to increasing political backlash, with some states outright banning ESG in investment decisions.
How seven U.S. cities are tackling the future of downtowns
This year’s Net Zero Buildings Week is Sept. 16-20. The virtual event series supports partnerships and collaboration across the built environment industry to collectively advance net zero buildings.
San Francisco
While some big-box retail stores are closing, some developers are eyeing opportunities with retail-to-life science conversions or additions.
These 10 hotels embody environmental sensitivity plus energy and water efficiency.
BREEAM, the sustainability assessment method developed by BRE Global (‘BRE’), has announced that Mountain Technology Center—MetLife Investment Management’s development featuring five state-of-the-art manufacturing warehouses in Tracy, California—is the first U.S. development to earn BREEAM International New Construction (‘INC’) certification.
Toronto
As the world struggles to deal with the threat posed by climate change, Toronto provides a template for how cities can dramatically reduce emissions at an urban scale, in a way that is sustainable from a business standpoint, according to panelists at the 2023 ULI Spring Meeting in Toronto.
Shopping malls, the once-bustling hubs of commerce and community, are now facing an uncertain future in light of relentless urbanization and population growth. But as the city evolves, so too must these giants. At the 2023 ULI Spring Meeting in Toronto, industry leaders tackled this very question in the panel titled “Reimagining the Mall: The Final Urban Frontier.”
Toronto’s deep-lake water cooling system stands as an example of the “third wave” of urban energy.
London
Despite economic and political uncertainties, a host of market pressures—such as growing connections between sustainability and financial performance, increasing regulations, extreme weather events, and the importance of health and social equity—are driving real estate companies to prioritize sustainability like never before.
Regulatory environment among the barriers to more adoption of modular construction techniques in Europe.
10 structures showcase the lightweight, carbon-sequestering power of mass timber.
Paris
The mayor of Paris is embracing the ville du quart d’heure—translated as 15-minute city—the first time that a leading politician in France’s largest city had backed the idea, particularly as a reelection strategy.
Despite the political uncertainty across Europe and around the world, European real estate remains a desirable asset for investors globally. That is the bottom line of the new Emerging Trends in Real Estate® Europe 2020report released by the Urban Land Institute with PwC in Brussels. The coming 2024 Olympic Games were cited as a big draw for Paris, but the Grand Paris project was also mentioned many times by panelists.
Jon Lovell, cofounder of Hillbreak, a consulting firm in the United Kingdom, discusses his recent paper L’Accord de Paris: A Potential Game-Changer for the Global Real Estate Industry, published by ULI.
Hong Kong
Despite the monetary headwinds and continued economic uncertainty around the world, there is a strong belief that the global real estate industry is at a “pivot point,” with improving prospects ahead for renewed investment activity, according to the latest Emerging Trends in Real Estate® Global Outlook 2024 from PwC and the Urban Land Institute.
The Dasha River Ecological Corridor focuses on the ecological restoration project in the Nanshan district of Shenzhen, China. The project, led by China Resources Land and master planned by AECOM, aims to restore the watercourse that connects the coastal Nanshan district to the northern mountainous area of the city.
ULI Asia Pacific report builds the business case.
Singapore
As the world’s population continues to grow, there will be a need for increased urbanization to accommodate more people. The question is how and when should urban planners decide to regenerate, when to expand and when to create new cities, for sustainable growth and development of future cities, since each approach comes with its benefits and its drawbacks.
Curating and creating great spaces is at the heart of what industry players in the built environment sector do every day. Placemaking is the “art and science” of turning the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Set against an urban landscape of concrete, steel, and glass in Tanjong Pagar, Singapore’s central business district, Oasia Hotel Downtown (OHD) stands out with its red silhouette clad in lush greenery. An integrated hotel/office development comprising a 27-story, 314-room business hotel and 100 new-age offices, OHD responds to the government’s vision for the precinct earmarked as the island’s next waterfront city with a mix of business, commercial, and residential activities.