The Bay Area was one of, if not the first, region of the country to shelter in place and we are better off for it. We are now all living in a world of hand washing, home schooling, paper shortages, and video conference calls aplenty. Who among us has not had a barking dog or a screaming child interrupt a work meeting, hopefully met with some empathy and a few smiles from your computer screen?

It was only six short weeks ago that we watched leap day come and go. Most of us had no idea the life we would be living by mid-April or the problems we would be trying to solve personally and professionally. No asset class, no company and no person is untouched by this. As Peter Linneman, the Wharton based economist, said clearly, there is not a scientist, a politician or an economist on earth that knows how this story ends. What we do know is that 2020 is interrupted by the threat of COVID-19 and it will be some time before we all know what the “new normal” looks like.

In the Bay Area, we are blessed to have a robust and passionate ULI community. It is time to lean on our fellow members – there has never been a better time to connect. Everyone is working from home and possibly more available than they typically would be. Take the opportunity to reach out to those that you would normally see and try reaching a few folks you have been meaning to catch up with or introduce yourself to.  We all have common ground now.

ULI has made the decision locally to cancel in-person meetings beyond the current shelter in place ordinance but is offering a myriad of online and virtual content. We have asked many of our seasoned members to write about their experiences, whether it be from the many recessions they have faced or the new work-from-home challenges they have not. Remember, most of our YLG membership has never seen a downturn.  From webinars, online product council meetings, to virtual mentor group meetings; embrace them. We all have something to share and we all have something to learn from one another.

Know that ULI SF will thrive. We are blessed to live in one of the most beautiful and desirable places on earth with some of the most challenging and politically charged land use issues in the nation – and that was before we knew what Coronavirus was. The complications of these crises and the opportunities that they will create are many, and we will face them together.

Stay healthy. Stay connected. We can only get through this together,