The Urban Land Institute of Arizona will host its much anticipated Annual Trends Day Conference Jan. 20, 2016 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort, 5350 E. Marriott Drive, Phoenix, from 7:15 a.m. to 4 p.m.

 

The Urban Land Institute is known for the annual Trends Day Conference, a one-day in-depth seminar with a focus on current state and national real estate trends and what the future holds for land use in the state of Arizona. This year’s event will mark the Arizona conference’s 11th year.

 

More than 25 top industry experts are expected to speak at the event, including Arizona State University President Michael Crowe; Grady Gammage, Jr. of Gammage & Burnham; Sharon Harper, president and CEO of Plaza Companies; and Lisa Atkins, Arizona State Land Commissioner. Guests of the conference will also have the opportunity to catch a “Future of Arizona” presentation given by Gov. Doug Ducey.

 

Stan Shafer, COO of Holualoa Companies and Trends Day 2016 Chair, stresses on ULI’s website that this is a “sought after event.” He’s not exaggerating. Last year, the ULI Trends Day Conference had nearly 1,000 attendees and organizers expect this year to be even bigger. The conference aims “to provide the most relevant and timely information for Arizona decision-makers as they contemplate ways to ensure vibrant and competitive communities statewide,” Shafer says, also boasting that the 2016 event will “be unrivaled.”

 

Heidi Kimball of Sunbelt Holdings adds the annual conference is, “an iconic event.”

 

ULI’s 2016 keynote speaker is Paul Saffo, a Silicon Valley-based forecaster with over three decades of experience and whose essays have appeared in publications such as <I>The Harvard Business Review</I>, <I>Fortune</I>, and <I>Newsweek</I>, just to name just a few. His presentation will focus on getting ready for the future with a lecture entitled, “Exponential Surprise, Exponential Opportunities – What the Future Brings.”

 

This year’s ULI conference topics urge attendees to, as Shafer states on the website, “think holistically about cumulative impacts of the decisions we make every day.”

 

Additional speaker topics for the all-day event range from “The Future of Retail” to “The Millennial Class” and healthcare development. There will also be a debate about the pros and cons of the Phoenix Metro Light Rail.
 

Tickets range from $145 for ULI student members to $450 for private non-ULI members, with a $25 fee added to tickets purchased at the door. Ticket price includes breakfast and lunch.