ULI Oklahoma Talk Feeds Interest in NWA Chapter

Amid discussions of forming a local Urban Land Institute chapter, Northwest Arkansas developers and business leaders recently met with members of the ULI Oklahoma District Council at a luncheon April 29 at 21c Museum Hotel in Bentonville.

After the meeting, local developers said they were ready to move forward in the process of creating a local district.

“The first step was to gauge interest, and we already know there is enough interest,” said Jeremy Hudson, partner and CEO at Specialized Real Estate Group in Fayetteville. “I’ve been approached by several organizations.”

Hudson said the next step is to apply to ULI and begin forming the local leadership. 

ULI, which boasts 34,000 members, has as its stated mission to “provide leadership in the responsible use of land in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide,” according to its website.

Hudson has regularly attended ULI events since 2013. He was initially struck by the level of expertise at the meetings and networking “for the sake of the greater good and not for the sake of deal-making,” he said, in addition to ULI’s “building healthy places” initiative, which includes a focus on sustainability.

ULI board member Ed McMahon of Washington, D.C., spoke of the pervasiveness of sustainable building, during his speech at the luncheon.

“Who wants to build the last non-green office building in America?” he said.

Ramsay Ball, broker with Colliers International in Bentonville, agreed.

“It’s not rocket science. These things are very important to our future,” Ball said. “Building for healthy living is critical, and it’s a strategic goal for the region.”

SREG and Colliers co-sponsored the event, which capped off the ULI Oklahoma group’s two-day visit to the region.

The council group, which included Oklahoma City-based real estate developers, architects, engineers and brokers, was in town to view the region’s urban areas.

ULI Oklahoma regularly tours metro areas throughout the country in an effort to stay up-to-date on urban building trends. Previous trips have been to San Antonio, Fort Worth and Kansas City, said AJ Kirkpatrick, chair of the council.