What is the Urban Land Institute (ULI)?
A 501 (C)(3) non-profit organization providing leadership in responsible use of land for our 30,000 members worldwide. We publish books, perform research and conduct educational programs that advocate for responsible real estate development.
Originally, we were only based in Washington D.C. and then about 25 years ago people started to realize real estate is a local business. The Atlanta office is one of 50 district councils, but one of the top five in terms of membership and activity. We oversee Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee.
Where is your office located and what are some of the activities conducted in this office?
We are located at 300 Galleria on the first floor. Our office is called the Atlanta Resource Center. We have a small staff that assists about 1000 members in our region. Members can come in for meetings and research resources. Our location was formerly a bank, so we like to call our resource center “The Knowledge Vault,” which is a great example of adaptive reuse.
Does your office experience a lot of traffic?
We are a member-driven organization, so we have a fair amount of traffic. If you take all member zip codes and put them on a map, the geographic center of ULI Atlanta’s territory is located in the Galleria area. We love the Galleria because it’s easy for our members to access, parking is free and there are many spaces to hold meetings.
How many meetings do you host?
We traditionally have 24 meetings a year, not including committee meetings.
How does someone become a member? What are the requirements?
There are no requirements to be a member. A person can join as a student, young professional, or as a full member. Each has its own benefits, all listed on the website. Some of the benefits are access to real estate industry leaders, customized research, member-only publications, meetings and getting invited to serve on technical assistance panels.
What is your role?
I am the executive director. I oversee staff and members on education programs, technical assistance panels, research, career and professional development.
What type of resources do members of ULI have access to?
“The Knowledge Vault”, a career center, webinars, panels, educational programming and publishing. We also have networking time built into all of our meetings.
What are some real estate trends you are seeing?
During the recession, companies have figured out how to operate efficiently through less employees or less space. The brick and mortar of the future will be different from before. You will see more office space sharing or other clever ways to reduce cost.
Tell me a little about the ULI foundation.
The foundation is our philanthropic source to give gifts for land use projects. For example, ULI gave a grant to Emory University to come up with a model for walkable campus communities.
How can Galleria tenants get involved?
If any Galleria tenant has a passion for learning about the growth of this region or how to improve areas, walk in our front door. They can talk with a staff member, look through “The Knowledge Vault” and get a program schedule for upcoming meetings. Tenants can also find more information at ULI.org.
What do you like most about having offices in the Galleria?
Let me count the ways. It’s so easy to get to different parts of town. I like to walk around in the gardens and there’s a real sense of community here, physically and virtually.
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Posted by: strata community | 09/14/2011 at 09:06 AM