ULI Blog
We are proud that immediate past ULI Houston Chair, and current ULI Trustee Jonathan Brinsden, President and CEO of Midway, and past ULI Houston chair Ed Wulfe, CEO of Wulfe & Co.s, have accepted Mayor Annise Parker's invitation to serve on a task force led by Fred Griffin of Griffin Partners and reporting to Andy Icken, Chief Development Officer for the Mayor. The Mayor's Task Force is charged with "aggressively seeking all options to increase the amount of retail and supporting parking in downtown," according to a press release from the Office of the Mayor.
The task force will work in cooperation with the Downtown Management District, whose President, Bob Eury, also is a long-standing ULI Member. Fellow Task Force member Marvy Finger was honored with a ULI Houston Development of Distinction Award in 2010 for One Park Place, and Brinsden and Wulfe each won Development of Distinction Awards in 2012, for CITYCENTRE and Gulfgate Center, respectively.
ULI relies heavily on the experience of its members, who commit to "observe the highest standards of integrity, proficiency, and honesty in my professional and personal dealings." The Institute has long been recognized as one of the world’s most respected and widely quoted sources of objective information on urban planning, growth, and development.
We applaud all ULI Houston members who generously volunteer their wealth of knowledge to create better places in our hometown.
Cities with the Highest Rent Spikes in 2012-Fortune Magazine
Still renting? With apartments and rental homes in short supply, rents are rising quickly here in Houston. According to David Jarvis, Houston Director, Metrostudy, “This is bad news for renters, but good news for apartment owners and operators. Secondarily this is also good news for our home builders who market to renters.”
Read the full article from Fortune Magazine here.
Did you miss the Luncheon on October 11th? See what you missed!
No matter which party wins in November, Houston will be on the leading edge of healthcare. Hear how these healthcare real estate leaders meet challenges of delivering medical care in a fast-moving environment with regulatory uncertainty and ever-changing technology.
Marshall Heins - Memorial Hermann Healthcare System
Lisa Helfman - Texas Children's Hospital
Tanner McGraw - Marcus & Millichap
Nick Ro - Kelsey-Seybold Clinic
Dear Houston Real Estate Leader,
I am looking forward to seeing you at the largest annual forecast for ULI and the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M, the morning of Nov. 1 at the Westin Galleria, Houston.
As a past conference sponsor, I’ve found special value in the exclusive VIP sponsor briefing before the conference opens to the public. This unique opportunity delivers candid, unscripted discussion with program headliners—this year, Gary Maler, Director of the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M, and Steve Murdock, PhD., Director of the Hobby Center for the Study of Texas at Rice University, will pose the tough questions and challenge our assumptions.
The conference continues with presentations and a roundtable discussion with top people in real estate explaining how they stay ahead of the curve. The program concludes with a keynote luncheon.
Paul Murphy, CEO of Cadence Bank, will give the opening address. Industry veterans, Murry Bowden, with The Hanover Company, Jim Casey, with Trammell Crow Company, Brad Freels, with Midway, John Mooz, with Hines, and Tom Murray, with Toll Bros., will share with moderator Tom Fish of Jones Lang LaSalle Capital Markets Group how they’re anticipating and adjusting to changes in their respective real estate sectors. Peter Rummell, ULI Global Chair, and former Chairman of Walt Disney Imagineering as well as former CEO of the St. Joe Company, will deliver the keynote address.
As a Texas A&M Mays Business student’s Dad, I also appreciate a distinct feature of this program. Each year, ULI and Texas A&M professors pair Aggie graduate real estate students with a “Mentor for a Day.” To be a Mentor, you simply invite a promising young person to share lunch at your table. A small thing for you, but an incredible learning opportunity for them.
I urge you to step up! Sponsor the conference on behalf of your company. Commit to be a mentor for a day to one of our future industry leaders. You’ll be very glad you did.
Sincerely,
Reid C. Wilson
Managing Shareholder
Wilson, Cribbs & Goren
ULI Houston Governance Committee
Former Chair, ULI Houston
With a sold out crowd of real estate professionals that have a commitment to our future leaders, ULI was able to provide $10,000 in scholarships for the 2nd year in a row to the University of Houston Graduate Real Estate Program. Please join us in congratulating our tournament winners.
Sporting Clays Team Tournament Winners:
- Wylie Consulting Engineers
- Old Republic Title
- Rogers Moore Engineering
Sporting Clays Team Flurry Winners:
- Balfour Beatty Construction
- Rogers Moore Engineering
- Wylie Consulting Engineers
Sporting Clays Top Gun Shooter:
- Troy Malish - Moody National Companies
Thank you again to our Presenting Sponsor:
Shown here is Joel Ambre , LEED Green Associate, Director of Development, Skanska USA Commercial Development, speaking at the ULI Houston August luncheon.
Where's the low-hanging fruit? If you pay a premium for a more sustainable building design, technology or development approach, what's an acceptable pay-back period? Is there an energy-saving or more environmentally friendly technology you considered in the past, opted not to use it then, but are using it now, either because technology has improved, or more performance data has validated the decision?
Questions like these kept more than 230 attendees in their seats and listening to stories from those who have "Been there. Done that." with sustainable development:
Moderator: Kathleen English, AIA, LEED AP, Principal, English + Associates
Joel Ambre , LEED Green Associate, Director of Development, Skanska USA Commercial Development
David DeVos, AIA, LEED AP, Global Sustainability Officer, Prudential Real Estate Investors
Mike Talbott , Director, Harris County Flood Control District
Joel Ambre with Skanska said technology can do a lot, but capturing the biggest reductions in energy use still requires people to change behavior.
Turn off that computer in the evening. Consider whether the thermostat really needs to be set on "deep freeze" in mid-August, or whether merely icy cold will do.
PREI's David DeVos agreed. 'You can't just deliver a LEED-certified building and sit on your hands. That property has to be managed and operated properly, too."
Although the $56 million in value generated by Prudential Real Estate Investors' sustainable initiatives amounts to essentially a rounding error in its massive portfolio, DeVos said a modest 2% gain in value through strategies like renting out roof space on self-storage facilities and industrial buildings for solar installations, and retaining happy tenants who extend leases in more sustainable surroundings, "would add $1 billion a year to the bottom line."
Companies that require trust from communities, regulators and business partners in order to operate need to send "signals of responsibility" to gain and maintain trust. Operating in an environmentally sustainable way, in addition to excellent governance and a sterling social track record sends signals that heighten trust.
Mike Talbott said investments in greener storm water management can also create quality of life benefits. "We may only need an area to flood one or two days a year, and the rest of the year it can provide benefit to the community, health and wellness, by incorporating trails and parks."
Watch video of these presentations and Q&A with moderator Kathleen English and ULI members online now
We are watching with interest to see what Midway makes of three big city blocks in downtown, which are now known as The Pavilions. Whatever changes Midway brings, we imagine the task at hand can't be as daunting as transforming a moribund traditional shopping mall into CITYCENTRE, one of the liveliest, most walkable activity magnets in Houston. Midway tackled that feat during the worst economic downturn in decades.
For video of Development of Distinction Award-winning CITYCENTRE, click here
Riding a stronger economy, Midway now packs a track record of having created a hipster mecca that shifted the geographic center of sprawling Houston. We wish them well with their new acquisition, because The Pavilions can play a key role in continuing downtown's evolution from a nine-to-five business center into a vibrant, livable beehive of 24/7 energy. And that could also bring a brighter smile to the face Houston shows the world--or at least that part of the world arriving on downtown's doorstep, whether they are coming to do business in an office tower, or before the bench in one of the court houses, as convention-goers at the George R. Brown, or just making day trip to enjoy the vibe at Discovery Green.
Missed the luncheon? Click HERE to view Tony Salazar's presentation from the June Luncheon: Urban Innovation Toolkit - Houston's Historic Third Ward
Click HERE to watch the podcast.
Ed Wulfe and Elise Weatherall, both founding members of Wulfe & Co., shared their philosophy with ULI Young Leaders on using a multi-phase approach for the completion of BLVD Place as well as provided an update on current and pipeline projects for the prestigious Galleria area development. BLVD Place Phase I was completed in 2009 and will account for just one-tenth of the final proposed build-out of the 21-acre site.
To see more about BLVD Place click here
Urban Land Institute’s Executive VP Maureen McAvey presented the newly released book “What’s Next? Real Estate in the New Economy” to a full crowd at Dynamo’s new BBVA Compass Stadium in downtown Houston. Maureen highlighted the US outlook on the economy, categorizing it in six groups: Work, Live, Connect, Renew, Move and Invest.
A group of panelists moderated by Jonathan Brinsden, ULI Houston Chair discussed Houston’s present and future outlook. The panel included: Ed Wulfe, Wulfe & Co.; Tim Williamson, Cadence Bank; Reid Wilson, Wilson Cribbs & Goren PC; John Landrum, MHP Investors; Jim Noteware, Noteware Development.
Attendees walked away with a free copy of Ms. McAvey’s book and fresh perspective on where the economy is headed.
To order a copy of the book, click here
To view the podcast and event photos, click here
The 2012 ULI Spring Meeting, an exclusive member conference, brought members together, top decision-makers and industry experts from every sector of real estate. To connect to key presentations and details about this year’s conference in Charlotte, NC, click here.
Twenty-five Young Leader Group members received the VIP treatment as they enjoyed a hard hat behind-the-scenes tour of Ashton Rice Village. The Hanover Company hosted tour and discussed the latest happenings at this exciting 379-unit, multi-family development in the heart of Rice Village.
To learn more about the Young Leaders Group, click here
WASHINGTON— A joint team of students representing the University of Colorado and Harvard University has won the $50,000 top prize in the 2012 Urban Land Institute (ULI)/Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition with a long-term redevelopment plan for a new downtown Houston district that includes public open space, integrates into the existing fabric of the surrounding neighborhoods, and brings residential units into the city’s core.
The joint team edged out teams from University of California-Berkeley, Columbia University, and the University of Michigan in the final round of the competition, held April 6 in Houston. The three finalist teams split $30,000 in prize funds. The competition was created in 2003 to encourage cooperation and teamwork–necessary talents in the planning, design and development of sustainable communities–among future land use professionals and allied professions, such as architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, historic preservation, engineering, real estate development, finance, psychology and law. World-renowned real estate developer Gerald D. Hines, chairman and owner of the Hines real estate organization, established the competition and has funded it in perpetuity with a $3 million endowment. He attended the final round and the announcement of the winner.
Read more here
Looking at our weekly activity report from Facebook, I see the number of "friends of fans" is 67,799.
That means if we connected with all the friends of people who have "liked" our ULI Houston Facebook page, we would have reached 67,799 PEOPLE. That's pretty astounding when you realize ULI Houston has about 140 Facebook friends--and we appreciate and cherish each and every one.
You 140 friends of ULI have incredible potential impact.
In fact, that exceeds the approximately 50,000 people who attended ULI District Council programs in the 51 District Councils across the US, Canada and Mexico since July 1. Which is an impressive reach for ULI District Councils (without counting people who attend the big Fall and Spring national ULI meetings).
Small wonder then, when social networks get exercised about some issue, whether it is child soldiers victimized by African civil war, or companies advertising on Rush Limbaugh's radio program, they spark immediate action.
Two years ago, we saw this locally. News of a potential real estate project leaked over a hot, sleepy July 4th weekend. Before Tuesday morning, a Facebook group opposing the project had formed and had over 2,000 "Friends."
Likewise, when someone really, REALLY likes something, it spreads like wildfire. I certainly had no idea what a slow loris was until my daughter mentioned it--yes, on my Facebook page. And when I (of course) Googled it, I went to a You Tube video that had been viewed 4,317,749 times.
They used to say when you lived in a small town, everybody knows your business. Social media can quickly turn the whole world into a small town.
So, all of you Fans of ULI Houston, we'd love to meet more of our neighbors in this small town. Please help us meet more friends of friends. And follow us, if you haven't already. We'd love for you to invite them to join the conversation, although we probably couldn't handle all 67,799 of you at once.
http://www.facebook.com/ULIHouston
Ann Taylor, ULI Houston Executive Director
Held on April 4th at the Sugar Land Marriott Town Square, “Fast Forward: Developing Dynamic Communities” was well attended by top Houston area real estate executives. Panel speakers covered topics ranging from Houston population growth, water supply, top communities in the area and the state of the economy.
Check out the podcast, photos and presentation here.
Evolving Uptown - This luncheon focused on the Uptown area and how it has kept up its vibrant and lively feel, followed by a panel discussion on exciting new projects ahead.
Featured speakers included: Kevin Batchelor, Hines; Patty Bender, Weingarten Realty Investors; John Breeding, Uptown Houston District; Steven Lerner, The Redstone Companies; Adil Noorani, Hines.
To view the podcast, click here
WASHINGTON– Graduate-level student teams representing the University of California-Berkeley, Columbia University, the University of Michigan, a joint team from the University of Colorado and Harvard University have been selected as finalists for the tenth annual Urban Land Institute (ULI) Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition. This year’s finalists were charged with proposing a long-term vision for creating a distinct identity for Houston’s old US Post Office site near downtown.
A grand prize of $50,000 will be awarded to the winning team; and each of the remaining three finalist teams will receive $10,000. This year, applications were submitted from 139 teams representing 64 universities in the United States and Canada, with 695 students participating in total.
Click here to see the full ULI press release, Culture Map article, and KUHF radio story.
Urban Land Institute’s Houston District Council hosted its annual Development of Distinction Awards at the Rice Crystal Ballroom. Winners named during the sold-out event were CITYCENTRE, Gulfgate Center and Mandolin Gardens Park.
To view press coverage and more about the event, click here.
ULI exists for you, our members, and the larger community we serve. This is your web site, and we encourage you to make it your own.
Use the “Ask Anything” box any time you are seeking information or want to make a suggestion.
Contribute your opinion pieces or educational articles to this blog—we would be delighted to publish work by our members that will inform our wider community about issues of concern. We are especially interested in material that invites further investigation, creates opportunities to collaborate, challenges conventional wisdom, or invites us to see a familiar landscape with new eyes.
The shared wisdom and experience of you, our members, is what makes ULI unique. Will engaging in ULI as an active member give you connections and tools to be more successful, to make bigger and better deals? Yes. But in addition, being a ULI member brings the responsibility of leadership. Are you up for the challenge of being a leader? Are you ready to be a person of influence, or to maximize your influence by joining with others who share your interest?
Then ULI is right for you.
We’re looking forward to what’s next.
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