Wellness real estate has been seeing double-digit growth in recent years, even during the pandemic. All 10 international markets saw that level of expansion in the three years prior to Covid-19’s onslaught, according to the nonprofit Global Wellness Institute, which held its Wellness Real Estate and Communities Symposium this week in New York.

“The pandemic fueled the shift in the real estate and construction industries toward wellness: from 2019-2020, wellness real estate continued to grow by over 22%, even as overall construction shrank,” the organization reported. GWI defines wellness real estate as commercial, institutional and residential properties that incorporate wellness elements in their architecture and amenities.

Participants and presenters during the symposium all defined the wellness real estate market as a continuing opportunity, driven in part from lessons learned during COVID. Doctors, architects and wellness professionals have come together to “introduce preventive medicine intentions” into the way we design the built environment “as a preventative medicine tool,” shared presenter and sponsor Paul Scialla, CEO of wellness technology firm Delos. Click to read more at www.forbes.com.

This month, we are celebrating women in commercial real estate. REDnews connected with some female CRE leaders to gain insight into their successes and get their lessons for future generations.

“All of those organizations have a meaningful purpose,” says Lucy Billingsly, founder of Billingsley Company. “When you’re in smaller groups, I think you can learn a great deal.”

One popular organization, which now boasts more than 12,000 members nationwide, is CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women).

“CREW is an investment in yourself and others, and the payback comes from your engagement and connections,” says Barbi Reuter, CREW’s 2021 president-elect. “There’s stellar career and professional growth for early and mid-career professionals.”

Reuter, CEO & principal with Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR in southern Arizona and Sonora, Mexico, says her involvement with CREW afforded her many opportunities, which are also there for anyone who avails themselves.

“I had a chance to lead my Tucson chapter and build leadership skills, connect with brilliant professionals in multiple disciplines and markets, and be mentored when I needed it the most,” Reuter says. “At one turning point in my career, my CREW mentor guided me to quantify and sell my value at a time when my partners didn’t understand what I did and why it was important. Women often expect others to recognize their achievements and are raised not to toot their own horns. We’ve got to stand up for ourselves and each other.”

Networking, points out Meyer-Nelson, is vital to anyone’s success. Click to read more at www.rednews.com.

Last week data on two important indicators confirmed long-held beliefs that we have repeatedly asserted throughout the year. First, inflation readings through August continued to moderate, supporting our view that inflation would decelerate this year, even as it remained above levels from the last business cycle. Second, consumers spent at a healthy pace during August, supporting our view that consumers would remain resilient throughout 2021 and that nominal advance retail sales would set a calendar-year growth record this year. And while those two things might superficially seem contradictory, they hold with our view of an economy that is gradually managing its way through the release of pent-up demand and supply-side disruptions.

Inflation Decelerating

We have consistently held the view that inflation would subside, not rise to levels like those from the 1970s, but rather settle into a range above that from the last business cycle. Through August we see little if any reason to alter that outlook. In August the headline consumer price index (CPI) increased by 0.3% – robust, but below expectations and well below the rate from recent months. Meanwhile, the core CPI grew by only 0.1%, meaningfully below expectations and the lowest reading since February. Why is inflation starting to ease when many thought it would remain elevated? Three key reasons:

Pent-up demand has eased over time and is subsiding as it does, returning spending to healthy but more normalized levels. Even high prices themselves are helping this process by dissuading some consumers from purchasing goods and services at elevated prices. Click to read more at www.am.jll.com.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk helped St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital reach its $200 million fundraising goal.

Musk pledged $50 million in response to a public call for donations following the successful splashdown of the SpaceX Dragon capsule.

Billionaire Jared Isaacman personally financed the Inspiration4 mission as a fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

Hayley Arceneaux, a childhood cancer survivor who now works for the hospital, joined him on the three-day space tourism mission.

The crew will continue fundraising for the children’s hospital by auctioning off some of the items they took into space, including signed collectibles. Click to read more at www.kktv.com.

(Fort Worth, Texas) – VLK Architects continues to earn numerous acknowledgments for its success in the A/E/C industry and the greater business community. VLK’s honors achieved new heights of recognition for its performance, growth, and company culture during an incredibly challenging 2021.

Among the accolades for growth and performance, VLK was once again recognized for the strength of its company culture and as a great place to work. This year the firm was among the 2021 AIA Houston Emerging Professionals Friendly Firm Award, the Zweig Group’s Best Firms to Work For, and Fort Worth Inc.’s Best Companies to Work For. These awards would not have been possible without the support of our exceptional clients.

While the 2021 rebound brought a considerably more optimistic business climate and an economy in fast recovery, the lingering effects of the global pandemic continue to profoundly impact the A/E/C industry.

“The lessons we learned from the pandemic have made us an even stronger firm,” said Sloan Harris, CEO | Partner of VLK Architects. “Our clients usually don’t have the luxury of flexibility regarding the completion of their buildings. It’s our mission to develop feasible solutions to keep these projects on schedule and within budget despite the industry-wide challenges.”

The whiplash of supply and demand over the last 18 months has resulted in major disruptions in the supply chain for construction materials, resulting in shortages and severe price spikes of critical materials like steel and wood. The construction industry further suffered from a shortage of skilled workers and high unemployment rates, contributing to the struggle to meet scheduling requirements during construction. Finally, extreme weather events like the frigid arctic blast in February and Hurricane Ida in September caused even more interruptions to construction progress.

“Tapping an extensive network of engineering, materials, and construction partners, VLK established systems of new protocols to identify materials alternatives and time-saving approaches,” Managing Partner Todd Lien explained. “These issues became opportunities to demonstrate our agility and resilience as a solutions resource for our clients. It also underscored the value of bringing experts together to collaborate for the ultimate good of our industry.”

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sep. 15, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — River City Bank announces the addition of Curtis Brunton as Senior Vice President, Business Development Officer. Brunton, who is based in Austin, TX, will be responsible for developing new business, with a focus on originating commercial real estate (CRE) loans throughout Texas and specific states in the western U.S. He brings more than 22 years of experience in loan origination and new business development, having most recently opened the San Francisco office for Morgan Stanley’s commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) group in 2017.

“Our team at River City Bank has experienced tremendous success in recent years,” said Dan Franklin, Director of Commercial Real Estate for River City Bank. “Now that we have begun to expand into new markets in Texas and other western states, we are excited to welcome a proven performer like Curtis to our team. We look forward to his business development efforts in growing markets such as Austin, which will serve as his home base.”

TWEET THIS: People on the Move: @RiverCityBank expands CRE lending in #Texas with the announcement of Curtis Brunton as SVP, Business Development Officer based in Austin. He will oversee new business development and CRE lending in Texas and other western U.S. states. #commercialbanking Click to read more at www.wfmz.com.