Ten years ago, San Antonio’s bond program dedicated a mere $10 million to downtown improvements. By 2012, that number had jumped to $90 million, and the most recent bond initiative, passed in May, earmarks $170 million for downtown projects.

With a handful of WELL-certified projects now in operation and hundreds in the certification pipeline, real estate owners and developers are starting to take a hard look at the business case for healthy building certification.

Delegates at ULI Japan’s recent Spring Conference, held in Tokyo, heard from a number of landlords operating a number of different models for office occupation about how their operations worked and their thoughts on the future.

Central Hong Kong and London’s West End topped the latest list of prime office occupancy costs, according to CBRE Research’s latest annual Global Prime Office Occupancy Costsreport. “The global top ten list reflects the ongoing strength of global gateway cities in attracting and maintaining a successful occupier base,” said Richard Barkham, global chief economist at CBRE.

As job growth in the professional services sector has increased substantially over the past several years, office real estate investment trusts (REITs) have benefited from strong leasing fundamentals. However, more office construction and oversupply concentrated in major metro areas such as New York City, Houston, and Washington, D.C., continue to concern those in the market. Plus, interest rate survey data from Trepp.

Three of the primary participants in the creation of Amazon’s headquarters in downtown Seattle came together during the 2017 ULI Spring Meeting for a discussion of the long history.

Some of America’s largest and oldest industrial powerhouses are moving their headquarters locations from bucolic suburban office parks to vibrant downtown neighborhoods, positioning themselves for growth in the digital age. Two such relocations—Weyerhauser and General Electric—were discussed at the ULI Spring Meeting in Seattle.

Hong Kong remained the world’s highest-priced office market last year, according to CBRE Group’s latest survey. Four of the top five fastest-growing markets for prime office rent were in Europe, with Stockholm, Berlin, and Dublin joining Belfast on the list.

In a survey released in January by the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate, Boston ranked third in desirability by foreign investors among U.S. cities (behind New York and Los Angeles). ULI Boston/New England recently hosted a program in which panelists discussed the thought processes of the leadership of the companies and investors who are wagering heavily on the continued success of the region.

Hines is widely known for building glass-and-steel skyscrapers. So, it would seem that the developer is going a bit against the grain in its latest endeavor with a boutique office property in Minneapolis made largely of wood.