GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan - Michigan Municipal League CEO & Executive Director Dan Gilmartin will give the keynote address during the 3rd Annual Public/Private/Partnership (P3) Conference in Grand Rapids May 31. The event, taking place at DeVos Place in downtown Grand Rapids, is jointly sponsored by the Urban Land Institute of Michigan and the Michigan Municipal League. (Please note this event was originally scheduled to take place in April but has been rescheduled for May 31).

To register go here. This half-day event will begin at 8 a.m. with a breakfast and keynote address, and will continue through the morning with discussion panels, a case study, and the Metro Marketplace, where exhibitors from non-profit, development organizations, communities, and local governments can market their property listings, development plans, incentives, and services to developers and financiers, and the private sector can showcase their services to the public sector community.

The past two conferences in Rochester and Lansing have been overwhelming successes and attracted more than 450 of the state's leading real estate developers, investors, public officials, academics and professional service provider. Gilmartin will give the keynote address and discuss how to balance community wants with market realities. View the full agenda here.

"It's more important now than ever before that seemingly disparate groups find common ground to build communities that attract our young leaders to live, work, shop and play in Michigan."

Non-members of ULI can save $100 off membership when they register for this event at michigan.uli.org. For registration and sponsorship information, please contact ULI Coordinator, Shannon Sclafani at ssclafani@uli.org or (248) 807-1600. Click here for more details on registering for the event.

Matt Bach is director of communications for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at (734) 669-6317 and mbach@mml.org.

Please Note: Due to unforeseen circumstances, this event has been cancelled and will be rescheduled at a later date.

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan - Michigan Municipal League CEO & Executive Director Dan Gilmartin will give the keynote address during the 3rd Annual Public/Private/Partnership (P3) Conference in Grand Rapids April 19. The event, taking place at DeVos Place in downtown Grand Rapids, is jointly sponsored by the Urban Land Institute of Michigan and the Michigan Municipal League.

The past two conferences in Rochester and Lansing have been overwhelming successes and attracted more than 450 of the state's leading real estate developers, investors, public officials, academics and professional service provider. Gilmartin will give the keynote address and discuss how to balance community wants with market realities.

"It's more important now than ever before that seemingly disparate groups find common ground to build communities that attract our young leaders to live, work, shop and play in Michigan."

Additionally, the ULI will bring buyers and sellers together for Deal Making opportunities where municipalities, schools and nonprofits can unveil their surplus properties and market to prospective investors at Deal Making tables.

Non-members of ULI can save $100 off membership when they register for this event at michigan.uli.org. For registration and sponsorship information, please contact ULI Coordinator, Shannon Sclafani at ssclafani@uli.org or (248) 807-1600. Click here for more details on registering for the event.

Matt Bach is director of communications for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at (734) 669-6317 and mbach@mml.org.

Last week, downtown Flint hosted the annual Urban Land Institute-University of Michigan Real Estate Forum. Former Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy provided a challenge to private and public sector leaders in his keynote address: work together regionally to plan for success and then act on those plans. In particular, Murphy highlighted the need for improvement in 21st Century Community assets such as information technology, green infrastructure, walkability and entrepreneurship. He highlighted the distinction between talk and action, asking "Do you really want to be a high-tech city or do you just like the idea?" Murphy suggested increased investment in entrepreneurship as particularly fertile ground for Michigan, noting that our state ranks high in university research spending but comparatively low in venture capital spending.

In a separate session, Murphy also presented the Urban Land Institute's 2011 "Emerging Trends in Real Estate" report. Based on surveys with real estate professionals across the country, the report identifies walkable urban development, particularly rental housing, as one bright spot in an otherwise dreary picture. Murphy highlighted the historical homeownership trends in America and predicted that the pendulum will swing back toward rentals as a greater proportion of American households.

Listen to a Michigan Now report on Mayor Murphy here.

Luke Forrest is Project Coordinator for the Center for 21st Century Communities. Contact him at 734-669-6323 or by email.