Dear Fellow ULI Tampa Bay Members,

As Summer 2020 winds down and our ULI Fall season begins, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on where we have been as we head into 2021.

One year ago, ULI Tampa Bay was rocking it. We were grounded in the optimism of the Tampa Bay market, 600+ engaged members, committed sponsors believing in our mission, and a dedicated staff supporting us every step of the way. Fast forward to today. We remain THE organization for the real estate industry and an organization dedicated to building diverse and inclusive communities in Tampa Bay.

As we head into 2021, our industry leaders are confident that our real estate market will continue to grow at a healthy rate. Some predict our growth will outpace many parts of the country. Our membership levels remain steady and our sponsors continue to invest in us. A shout-out to each one of you. Your belief in ULI is what keeps us together in these distancing times.

And, in spite of a pandemic shaking our world earlier in the year, our innovative committees and ingenious staff continued to deliver relevant programs throughout the year. Within days after shut-downs were announced, we debuted the first virtual town hall meeting with a panel of local industry leaders offering their responses to possible impacts of COVID on the real estate market. Attendance at our virtual events outpaced our live ones, giving us access to outstanding speakers on timely topics. We have, however, come to recognize that the best virtual event cannot replace the energy of a buzzing StimULI Breakfast, a WLI Meet Up, a YLG Happy Hour, or our electrifying Holiday Party. A live networking opportunity loses something in translation when delivered via Zoom.

We are all anxious to return to our live events – to network, bump into friends, or take a hardhat tour. Safe alternatives continue to be our highest priority as we balance re-entry into the post-COVID world. We continue to seek out new ways of getting together consulting with other district councils. I ask for your creative and innovative ideas for programming and engagement and I also ask for your patience as we continue to strike this delicate balance of how we share together and stay six feet apart. The one thing we know for sure is that we can pivot back to live events on a moment’s notice.

The ULI Difference – Thoughtful, Edgy and Relevant

At ULI Tampa Bay, facts and trends start conversations. Last year, we offered our annual capital markets update to our members as a part of our StimULI Breakfast series, and we brought real estate market trends and a deep dive into demographic shifts in Tampa Bay at our annual Trends Conference. But then we asked how? Why? Or, why not? At that Conference in January, speakers connected the dots on cannabis sales and the real estate market, sea level rise and the insurance industry, and the frightening pace of technology disrupting our industry. We welcomed controversial topics such as the newly-adopted Minneapolis zoning code and its impact on equity, affordability and addressing racial disparities. Separately, we dug into the restaurant industry and its impacts on real estate and place-making. We turned multi-family, industrial and office sectors inside out to understand them better. We got into niche markets such as small-scale development. Virtually we brought you speakers like Spencer Levy, Senior Economic Advisor for CBRE, and Jeff Speck, Author of Walkable City and Principal of Jeff Speck and Associates.

Backstage Passes

Our members opened doors for behind-the-scene tours to places where no one else has gone before. Sold-out tours of 220 Madison, the NOVA Southeastern Medical School, and the Museum of the American Arts and Crafts Movement were offered by our members and for our members.

Our reputation gave us access to conversations with leaders including Mayor Rick Kriseman on the cool happenings in St. Petersburg, Mayor Jane Castor on her vision for Tampa, and County Administrators on local government responses to the shut-down. Ron Terwilliger, Chairman of Terwilleger-Pappas, offered lessons from his life in the multi-family sector and its impact on affordability to our Leaders Council. And, Membership Circles gave key leaders and sponsors a space to share challenges of the pandemic world in small virtual room settings on suburban, urban, and retail as well as resiliency topics.

Young Leaders met with James Nozar, CEO of Strategic Property Partners, and shared perspectives with members who have weathered previous real estate disruptions. Dr. Joann Quinn Farrell of USF and Dr. Kanika Tomalin, Deputy Mayor of St. Petersburg gave us a better understanding of the role of women in the workplace.

It was a year chock full of really fresh topics and insightful ideas alongside the fundamentals of the real estate world.

Racial and Social Equity

While we face many challenges and uncertainties in the next year, there is one we must address head-on. That is the systemic racial and social inequities resulting from long-standing land use policies, regulatory irregularities, disparate access to financing opportunities, and restrictions to housing choices, to name a few as examples. ULI is poised to lead the industry by example, through education, the faces of our membership and leadership, our programming, and the community impact work we do.

We are convening a group of ULI members to quickly develop a road map for us – to identify immediate steps ULI Tampa Bay can take to anchor our future efforts. I am grateful that Leroy Moore, Senior Vice President of the Tampa Housing Authority and an active member of ULI, has agreed to chair a task force that will develop recommendations by the beginning of October. This will give our committees time to incorporate any ideas into future programming and events for the year. Dr. Eric Eisenberg, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at USF, has graciously agreed to guide us through this initial phase. We intend to be deliberate and thoughtful about our role, our place and our ability to make a meaningful yet sustainable impact.

I invite you to join us and our kindred community partners for a special event on Race, Real Estate and Equitable Cities with Charles Brown, a transportation and equity advisor on Thursday, September 3, 2020.

You make a difference in the places where we live, work and play in Tampa Bay. At ULI, each of us and all of us together can have a profound impact on our communities. As Helen Keller said, “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.”

It is my honor and pleasure to serve as your Chair.

Lucia E. Garsys
Deputy County Administrator, Hillsborough County
Chair, ULI Tampa Bay