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ULI SF's Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Committee Launches
ULI San Francisco is excited to launch our newly formed Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) committee on August 27, 2020!
From Our Members: Observations and Opportunities
September 2, 2020
Join us as ULI San Francisco members share their experiences and perspectives in this ever-changing world. Their views represent various real estate industry segments and delve into both professional and personal thoughts and ideas in this snapshot in time, and what positive opportunities can be found today, and in the future.
This time, we’ve asked our contributors to share their thoughts around three questions.
Meet this month’s contributors:
Rick Dishnica
President, The Dishnica Company
Q: After the last several months have brought dramatic change, what have you reflected on both personally and professionally during this time?
Reflecting over the past months of dramatic changes, I’m taken aback by the ongoing health and economic chaos, the high level of anxiety felt by many, and the recent events occurring as a result of the heinous deaths happening across the United States. No dinners out, concerts, plays, or parties, and limited or no sports define our life right now. Zoom Meetings are great, but no substitute for getting together in person. Get me out of my house! I’m lucky to be able to go back to the office….to be by myself. I can focus there and get out of my wife’s hair. Vaccinations or herd immunity will rule returning to “normal”, whatever and whenever that will be. We’ve all faced a lot of challenges during our lives, but this one is beyond anything we can control, so we just have to hang in there and learn how to navigate through it.
Q: What has surprised you during this time?
As a consequence of the uncertainty, I’m focused on maximizing liquidity and cash flow while at the same time moving forward prudently with business and personal activities, and investment decisions. One project is on hold and another just got entitled. Processing an application through planning commission and design review hearings electronically was a pleasant and unexpected surprise. I’m also actively involved in a master planned single family community in North Carolina and we’re selling lots like hot cakes. Our builders can’t build their houses fast enough. I remain optimistic, hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.
Q: Where do you see the opportunities as we look to the future?
In times of disruptive change there are always opportunities. I particularly see opportunities in residential markets, especially for-sale housing. The current migration out of large dense cities is related to both the pandemic as well as demographics. The movement to the suburbs, smaller cities, and to rural locations will continue as employers and employees shift gears and adjust to working remotely. How big will this movement be? If we can’t return to the fun lifestyle that draws people into the city, then we’ll need to figure out how to make living and working in cities clean, safe, and exciting again or dense cities will lose their allure.
Christina Briggs
Deputy City Manager, City of Fremont
Q: After the last several months have brought dramatic change, what have you reflected on both personally and professionally during this time?
To use a ‘tech’ term, the last six months have completely disrupted local government. From moving City services into virtual formats, to quickly identifying how to continue offering essential in-person services in a safe manner, cities have had to reinvent themselves. It has been reaffirming, in a wonderful way, to be reminded the work I do supports an array of activities so critical to our community. We keep people safe. We provide for civic engagement and participation in our democracy. And as ULI members will appreciate, we develop and BUILD things!
Personally, I have never been more thankful for my family than during this time. I’ve marveled at my 11-year old son’s ability to adapt overnight to a world where friends cannot be seen and school comes to him via Zoom. And my husband is our rock, continually improving our home environment for work and school, and always injecting much-needed humor into an otherwise heavy time.
Q: What has surprised you during this time?
I’m not necessarily surprised, but I’m so impressed by the resilience I’ve seen in my colleagues, neighbors, and friends. We are a community of fighters! Many of us have been personally and/or professionally affected by the pandemic, the national conversation about policing and race, and by the more recent wildfires. I’m surrounded by people who rise to the occasion, find strength in adversity, and work together to get through things.
Q: Where do you see the opportunities as we look to the future?
Indeed, this time has compelled us all to do things differently, and in some cases, maybe it’s for the better. Perhaps a greater focus on equity and inclusion will make Silicon Valley a true land of opportunity for more of our community, including our vulnerable populations. Perhaps more sustained telecommuting will help our region’s traffic and carbon emissions challenges. Perhaps conducting more routine activities online will save people precious time. We should embrace these positive structural changes that have occurred. However, this time has also reinforced to me what worked well previously and should resume when the time is right. I long for the day when we will see our small businesses and restaurants bustling again, when I can attend an Earthquakes soccer game, and when my son can laugh with his friends on the playground.
Indeed, this time has compelled us all to do things differently, and in some cases, maybe it’s for the better. Perhaps a greater focus on equity and inclusion will make Silicon Valley a true land of opportunity for more of our community, including our vulnerable populations. Perhaps more sustained telecommuting will help our region’s traffic and carbon emissions challenges. Perhaps conducting more routine activities online will save people precious time. We should embrace these positive structural changes that have occurred. However, this time has also reinforced to me what worked well previously and should resume when the time is right. I long for the day when we will see our small businesses and restaurants bustling again, when I can attend an Earthquakes soccer game, and when my son can laugh with his friends on the playground.
Brad Leibin, AIA
Associate, David Baker Architects
Q: After the last several months have brought dramatic change, what have you reflected on both personally and professionally during this time?
Black Lives Matter has been profoundly impactful. The tragedy of so many unnecessary deaths due to police brutality and racism finally and rightfully reached a tipping point. But I think that what was most powerful was that the BLM movement managed to translate pain and outrage to change that extends far beyond the issue of racist policing. It forced so many institutions and individuals to look within themselves and see the ways in which their biases affect others. It certainly forced me to take an honest look at myself. And it forced my workplace to do the same. For example, we have expanded our hiring reach to create opportunities for black people and people of color in our field, rather than assuming that they will find us. I believe that the more we can look like the communities we design buildings for, the more successful we will be serving them. In general, the promotion of equity and diversity in the workplace is increasingly seen not just as the right thing to do, but as a better way to do business.
Q: What has surprised you during this time?
Early on in the pandemic a narrative emerged that cities are the problem, and that density in particular results in more rapid spread of the virus. As time has gone on, this narrative has proven untrue. New York City, once the epicenter of the pandemic, is now one of the safer places to be, while more rural areas in the Southeastern United States have emerged as hot spots. This shows that policy and political leadership — or in many cases lack thereof —is far more of a factor in terms of disease spread than density. We must not forget that density done well is the answer to many of the most pressing issues facing the Bay Area and the world, including global warming and housing scarcity.
Q: Where do you see the opportunities as we look to the future?
The forced transition to remote working has enormous implications. We now have greater flexibility in terms of where and when we work. The collapse of geographic work barriers leads me to wonder whether the Bay Area will continue as the world’s tech epicenter. A dispersal of the well-paid tech workforce to other regions would have enormous economic implications. It could be a boon for regions that are currently struggling economically. And it would certainly affect the local housing market and construction costs in the Bay Area. If wealth and jobs are distributed geographically rather than concentrating in a few hubs, we may see a reprieve from the crisis created by the current jobs/housing imbalance in the Bay Area and find ourselves with an opportunity to think about the problem at not just a local or regional scale, but a national one.
The forced transition to remote working has enormous implications. We now have greater flexibility in terms of where and when we work. The collapse of geographic work barriers leads me to wonder whether the Bay Area will continue as the world’s tech epicenter. A dispersal of the well-paid tech workforce to other regions would have enormous economic implications. It could be a boon for regions that are currently struggling economically. And it would certainly affect the local housing market and construction costs in the Bay Area. If wealth and jobs are distributed geographically rather than concentrating in a few hubs, we may see a reprieve from the crisis created by the current jobs/housing imbalance in the Bay Area and find ourselves with an opportunity to think about the problem at not just a local or regional scale, but a national one.
Samidha Thakral
Vice President, Lendlease Development
Q: After the last several months have brought dramatic change, what have you reflected on both personally and professionally during this time?
These are truly unprecedented times. We’ve been sheltered in place for almost six months, we’ve experience civic unrest and don’t have clean air to breathe due to forest fires. It feels like we’ve been given a global/national time-out, so we can think about what we need to change as a society – from reducing our carbon footprint to creating equality and justice for all.
I am very grateful to be able to do my job remotely. We obtained entitlements for our project 30 Van Ness through a virtual hearing with Planning commission, Rec-Park Commission and the Board of Supervisors. I am sure that it was one of the largest projects to be approved through a virtual hearing.
On the personal front, I love that I don’t have to be stuck in traffic every morning, but I miss the social interaction with colleagues and just being able to walk on a crowded street and enjoy the lively atmosphere instead of worrying about having a mask on.
Q: What has surprised you during this time?
I am surprised to see how happy my three-year-old and eight-year-old daughters have been at home for these last few months. They have happily spent all summer cycling, gardening and doing all kinds of crazy fun activities at home even with both their parents on calls for at least ten hours a day.
Q: Where do you see the opportunities as we look to the future?
COVID has accelerated the adoption of technology in our industry. And this is just the beginning. We have an opportunity to adopt technology in many aspects of what we do to create efficiencies and new business opportunities. This is not easy as it takes some trial and error and an investment of time and capital. It’s a process. I feel optimistic that technology is going to create some impactful changes in our industry in the next few years. I am particularly excited to see what comes up in the construction technology space as it has the potential to be most impactful to what we do.
Finally, I think we have the opportunity and the responsibility to show compassion and empathy to all so we can create a society where everyone feels respected and cared for.