We are approaching the end of another active year for ULI Toronto. Our membership grew this year from 550 to 675, and we thank all of our members and volunteers for their continued involvement in and in support of our activities. We also thank all of our sponsors, including our new annual sponsors – DIALOG, Matrix Search Group, Stantec and Wood Bull LLP.

Our programs continue to be popular, and well attended by both ULI members and non-members. Our fall programs included a program on Redevelopment of Transit Corridors in the 905, our Annual Real Estate Trends event, and a program on the Revitalization of Toronto’s Waterfront, presented jointly with Rotman School of Management. We thank PwC for its continued and annual support of the Real Estate Trends program.

ULI’s fall meeting in Chicago occurred in early November and attracted over 6,000 attendees, including over 30 from Toronto (many of whom attended a ULI Toronto member’s reception). Congratulations to Laurie Payne, of Toronto Community Housing Corporation, who attended the meeting on a scholarship from ULI’s Women’s Leadership Initiative. Ed Sajecki, Mississauga’s Commissioner of Planning, and a member of our Governance Committee, spoke on a panel about “Global Cities in the Age of Competitiveness and Innovation”. At the end of the presentation, the audience was asked to select which of the cities would be most likely to attract continued investment, and Toronto came out on top. Ed’s presentation is available on the ULI Toronto blog.

At the fall meeting, ULI launched its Building Healthy Places initiative. ULI Toronto hopes to focus its programming and outreach activities over the next few years in a way that is complementary to and supportive of Building Healthy Places. As part of this, we anticipate focusing on issues that explore the connection between development and mobility.

For those of you who are starting to look forward to 2014, and making travel plans, you might consider heading to Vancouver in April for ULI’s spring meeting. If you are interested in more activities, please see the Coming Soon section of the e-newsletter.

Finally, Bob Millward has determined that he will need to focus more of his time and energy on his continuing consulting practice (RE Millward & Associates), and thus he will not be continuing on as our Executive Director in 2014. We thank Bob greatly for the strategic oversight he has provided ULI Toronto as Executive Director, and we look forward to his continued involvement with us as a long-standing member of the organization. In early 2014, we will commence the search process for our new Executive Director and look forward to updating you on our progress in the coming months.

Best wishes to you all for a happy holiday season, and we look forward to seeing you at ULI events in 2014.

Mark Noskiewicz