Small miracles pop up in the most unlikely places at the most unexpected times. Take two weeks ago, when I sat through a discussion on Tax Increment Financing. Years ago, I thought maybe, just maybe I had left TIF-related matters in my rear-view mirror. I figured I’d paid my penance, having covered TIF issues for […]
Tag Archives: Urban Land Institute
A few days ago, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley was named the 2010 laureate for the Urban Land Institute J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development. Through my ongoing writing engagements for the ULI’s Chicago District, I had the privilege of being at the Art Institute of Chicago to chronicle the event. In addition to […]
In the wake of a gridlocked transaction market these last couple of years, “thawing out” only begins to describe what’s most recently been happening in the real estate investment acquisition market. That’s the start of my summary of the April 29, 2010, meeting of the Urban Land Institute’s Chicago District Council, whose members gathered at […]
A new writing client of mine is NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association. The acronym, by the way, rhymes with “skytop.” It’s a fitting memory device, considering my first assignment, in March, was to write a summary of “A View from the Top: The Nation’s leading Real Estate CEOs Provide Insight Into The Industrial […]
A year ago, I began writing summaries of panel discussions of the Urban Land Institute’s Chicago chapter. Two days ago, after a summer hiatus, the ULI resumed those meetings with “The Future of U.S. Retail-How a Changed Consumer Will Affect Retail Real Estate.” As usual, the speakers were brimming with insight, which I did my […]
A few weeks ago, I had my latest writing assignment with the Chicago chapter of the Urban Land Institute. The session covered the “State of the Industrial Market: Past, Present and Future Opportunities” in the Chicago area. You can also check out prior blog posts about ULI topics I’ve covered, from talks the organization held […]
If you’re not growing, you’re shrinking. I am a firm believer in this truth, and it’s part of what fuels me every day to learn as much as possible. This morning, as I listened to Malcom Gladwell’s “Outliers”–the supremely talented author reads the book himself–I was struck by his mention of the three elements that […]
Freezing temperatures and the Urban Land Institute: the two will be forever linked in my memory. That’s because last Thursday, very possibly the coldest day of my life (it was about 20 degrees below zero), I trekked to the Union League Club to cover a meeting of the Urban Land Institute’s Chicago chapter. The topic: […]
I receive zero compensation for sick days and vacation, I pay for my family’s medical insurance out of my own pocket, and my boss–the guy I see in the mirror–often orders me to show up for work before 7 a.m. But as I approach my 10th anniversary of self-employment, I wouldn’t have it any other […]