On April 26th, we hosted our first annual ULI SC golf tournament at the Charleston muni and it was a huge success with perfect spring weather, fun and camaraderie. The event marked our return to in-person events statewide and a desire to return to normalcy. It felt great to see so many colleagues after a year-long hiatus. But that earlier phrase does beg the question of what is normal?

Steel and lumber prices aren’t just trading at mere percentages higher but two and threefold multiples from 15 months ago. Major uncertainty and questions remain about the future of the workplace and how employers and employees will perfom their jobs. Housing affordability has moved from a serious issue to a crisis in our metropolitan areas. Anecdotes of population shifts from major markets to smaller markets, north to south and west to middle abound. Further, we have seen first hand the vulnerability of our global supply chains and infrastructure systems: whether a deep freeze in Texas, a shipping mishap in the Suez Canal or a cyberattack on a US pipeline.

This is where ULI SC will continue to lead and convene our peers and outside experts to provide guidance and knowledge for our membership. We will help our members answer the following questions: How do we make sense of current materials prices and mitigate the increases with alternative methods and adjusted timelines? What are best practices for public-private partnerships that can help alleviate the affect of housing costs? What will the office space of the future look like and how do we retrofit existing space to meet tomorrow’s requirements? How do we preserve quality of life in South Carolina while welcoming an influx of newcomers?

To tackle these questions, and others, we need help from our entire membership. We are a member led organization that requires our members to be member-leaders. We have plenty of opportunities for members to get directly engaged with the topics that are pertinent to our industry. I’m looking forward to seeing you at our upcoming events as we work together to answer the question of what is normal or maybe better asked does normal exist?