2024 Winter Issue of Urban Land - 8

thisissue
Building-and Financing-the Future
Our winter cOver depicts the 49-story (220
m) Hekla Tower in La Défense, a major business
district within the Paris metropolitan area and
Europe's largest purpose-built business district,
covering 1,400 acres (560 hectares).
The prismatic tower speaks to modern ways
of approaching the reinvention of cities-the
ability of humans to live and work in spaces
marked by suitability, wellbeing, and inspiring
innovations. Developed by Hines and AG Real
Estate and designed by Jean Nouvel, the concept
for the steel and glass tower was shaped
by six young French creatives-specialists representing
the fields of philosophy, sports, universal
accessibility, artificial intelligence, restaurants, and
design. The Hekla features 39 levels of office,
four service levels, and three housing levels.
Our interview with ULI's 2023 winner of
the ULI Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development
(p. 23) is with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo,
known for her urban planning initiatives that
have transformed Paris into a walking city with
" car-free " zones. " The conviction and the facts
are there: Large cities are the main emitters of
greenhouse gases, " says Mayor Hidalgo. " This
is where we must find solutions to limit global
warming. We have the biggest impact and
therefore have the biggest responsibility. "
This issue of Urban Land also focuses heavily
on finance. Leading with a 30-year retrospective
on the highly confidential McCoy Symposium
on Real Estate Finance (p. 10), we also present
the key insights from Emerging Trends in Real
Estate, ULI's flagship forecast publication. " The
good news is that we have more clarity, more
certainty, but the bad news is we don't like what
we see, because the rates are higher for longer, "
says one leading investment banker interviewee.
The report, now in its 45th edition, features
proprietary survey data and insights from more
than 1,250 leading real estate industry experts.
Readers also can find new federal funding
opportunities for sustainable development in
a feature (p. 49) penned by Matt Norris, ULI
senior director for the Randall Lewis Center for
Sustainability in Real Estate, and Chris Perkes,
8
URBAN LAND WINTER 202 4
Paris Mayor Anne
Hidalgo promised
to make the Seine
swimmable in time
for the Olympic
and Paralympic
games next year. " I
promised them that,
next July, I would
also dive into the
Seine, " Hidalgo says.
senior manager with ULI Greenprint. " The IRA
and the BIL potentially provide a once-in-a-generation
investment in sustainability, equity, and
resilience, but some uncertainties linger around
accessing IRA funds for buildings as the rules
get clarified, " they write.
Then, in " Accessing Capital: Solutions for
Black developers to overcome funding challenges "
(p. 55), S&P 500 editor and Urban Land
contributor Carisa Chappell presents a foundational
piece with a full-page table of select funding
sources. From institutional capital and big
banks to programs and initiatives, top industry
voices provide insight on how Black developers
can profitably get their projects funded.
For our Back Page, in " Finding Liquidity: Why
agencies should exercise caution to prevent a
perfect storm of regulation, " Clifton E. Rodgers,
Jr. of The Real Estate Roundtable writes
that amid rising interest rates and a $2.6 trillion
wave of maturing debt over the next four years
" financial regulators are pushing for a significant
increase in capital requirements-by as much as
20 percent-for the nation's largest banks via
the Basel III 'endgame.' It will result in material
costs to real estate credit and capital markets-
as well as to the broader economy-that will
not be outweighed by any marginal financial
stability benefits. "
Urban Land will continue to follow the fluid
lending environment, tapping ULI's key leaders
and other industry experts who can provide
exclusive insights on regulations and navigating
the threat of a credit crunch to the global
financial markets. UL
SIBLEY FLEMING is editor in chief of Urban Land.
GUILLAUME BONTEMPS
2024 Winter Issue of Urban Land

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2024 Winter Issue of Urban Land
