2011 ULI Urban Marketplace Conference Will Discuss the Role of Real Estate in Economic Development

The ULI Los Angeles Urban Marketplace is a unique conference on investment opportunities and development strategies for Southern California's emerging lower-income and distressed neighborhoods. Attracting nearly 5000 real estate and related professionals as well as community and government leaders to its case studies, roundtable discussions, and exhibits, Urban Marketplace attendees learn best practices and solidify relationships with key professionals and leaders at the forefront of revitalizing the inner city.

This year's focus is Successful Real Estate Strategies- Real Estate’s Role in Economic Development. The program will include an Economic Development Panel of Regional Leaders and a keynote address by Wayne Ratkovich, President/CEO, The Ratkovich Company.

The Urban Marketplace 2011 Conference will be held on March 16 from 7:00 AM - 1:00 PM at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. For more information or to register for this event, visit the ULI website here. 

Report from VantageForum 2011 - Real Estate's View

FORM was media sponsor for the Vantage Forum 2011, an annual day-long symposium put on by UCLA Ziman School and ULI this January 11. It was a series of panel discussions featuring high-powered people from real estate divided roughly into 4 topics: Housing, Office, Retail, and Capital Markets.

I can’t say there was any earth-shattering news. We all suspect that the economy is recovering via some combination of government stimulus, cash too long on the sidelines, and simple recession fatigue. Nevertheless, there were a lot of great take-aways that might be guiding principles for marketing strategies in the design business.

First and foremost, where is the money? It turns out the retailers have it--not retail developers, but retailers like Safeway. Fascinating story: Safeway needed to expand, but the developers that normally build their centers could not get financing. Safeway had regular cash flow and started its own development company. It uses its highly tuned in-house demographics operation to ID compatible partners (eg. Target) to build new centers with.

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Inspired Match - How Patronage Drives Architecture

From Medici to Marx, how patronage drives architecture and what we can learn from it today.

By John Gendall
Nottingham Science Park, Image: Martine Hamilton-KnightHistorians position the Renaissance’s birth in Florence, Italy around the year 1400. They give it this coordinate in place and time because of a perfect storm of conditions: a wealth of talent pouring out from several accomplished workshops (Lorenzo Ghiberti, Fra Angelico, and Filipo Brunelleschi), a thriving economy owing to bustling trade, and, importantly, an ambitious and tasteful patron of the arts, the Medici family, willing to invest in provocative new art and architecture. In the midst of the Bubonic Plague, the revelation of the Florentine patrons served as a guiding light, paving they way for the exquisite work of the high renaissance. In other words, without the Medicis, there would have been no Michelangelo.

The same relationship between patron and architect carries through architectural history, with nobility, religious leaders, business owners tapping

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What Color Is Your Lease? - Beyond the Grid

Green leases offer sustainable and financial benefits for landlords and tenants alike

By Ina Drosu

In an environment where the ecological lobby is prevalent, and the general economic downturn begs for practical innovation that reduces operating costs, green leases are steadily gaining the interest of landlords and tenants. Profitability is key to survival of commercial ventures; without it, loftier concerns fly out the window. What better way to harness broad improvement potentials than a lease structured as economic driver accommodating comprehensive environmental regulations and allowing for necessary changes over time?

According to a study done by CRD&MI, energy costs are 29 percent of landlord
operating costs while less than one percent is paid for by tenants.

Alan Whitson, president of Corporate Realty, Design & Management Institute, created a model green lease to serve as more than a “token gesture to sustainability.” The lease provides incentives for landlords to build cost-effective peak-performance buildings that address energy and water efficiency, emission reduction, and waste minimization. According to a study done by CRD&MI, energy costs are 29 percent of a building’s operating costs while less than one percent is paid for by tenants. Most commercial leases leave energy efficiency out of the equation. He adds, “in a booming market it’s easy to be green, but now, savvy people realize it is part of an economic strategy to improve performance and productivity.”

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