This year’s annual ULI Europe Young Leaders Study Tour was held in Madrid, taking place over two days at the end of September and bringing together 35 Young Leaders from 11 different countries. Organised by ULI Spain Young Leaders, the programme offered attendees a glimpse into some of the city’s most ambitious and exciting urban regeneration projects. Discussions and site visits covered themes surrounding the future of cities and mobility, urban regeneration, public-private collaboration, and ESG.

The tour kicked off with an opening address from the capital city’s Deputy Mayor, Begoña Villacís, who welcomed attendees to the city and set the tone the fascinating two days ahead. This was followed by a panel discussion which explored how Madrid is steadily gaining popularity as a place for urban investment and global talent. The panel was moderated by Carmen Panadero, Co-Founder and former director of the Master in Real Estate Development of the IE School of Architecture & Design and panellists included Paloma Relinque, Head of Capital Markets at CBRE, Spain; Emilio Ortiz, Associate Partner at Foster + Partners; Flavio Tejada, Director at Arup; and Santiago Saura, Councillor for International Affairs and Cooperation of Madrid City Council.

The afternoon’s site visits were first to the Azca complex, an urban regeneration scheme located in the heart of Madrid’s CBD. The office park renewal project aims to transform the financial district and revitalize the surrounding public realm. The city superblock of around 47 acres is currently set to be upgraded with highly pedestrianised public spaces focused around a large central green space filled with native plants that will accommodate various cultural events and recreational activities.

The next stop was a site visit and presentation on the expansive and ambitious Madrid Nuevo Norte urban redevelopment scheme. The project is one of the largest-scale urban renewal and placemaking initiatives in Europe to date – with a total site of 570 hectares. The project focuses on the connection of existing districts, with the redevelopment of the brownfield site around Chamartín station alongside upgrades to railway infrastructure. The site will be connected by a green corridor spanning about 450,000 m² and comprised of parkland, playgrounds, and greenspaces. It is also set to add 10,500 homes, 38% of which would be comprised of affordable housing. The project was presented by Miguel Hernández, Director of the Strategy and Corporate Development area, Distrito Castellana Norte and Alberto Manzano, Corporate Communications Content Manager, CREA Madrid Nuevo Norte.

The day concluded with a bike tour around the riverfront regeneration project, Madrid Río. The project includes the regeneration of over 9 km of public space along the banks of the River Manzanares.

Day two began with a panel discussion on the current-day trends, dynamics, and fundamentals of the Madrid real estate market. Panellists included Alberto Valls, Chair of ULI Spain and Managing Partner of Real Estate at Deloitte Spain & EMEA; Lorenzo Peñalver, Investment Director for Hines, Spain; Joaquín Castellví, Director of Investments & Acquisitions at Stoneweg; and Javier Kindelan, Head of Valuation & Advisory for EMEA at CBRE.

This was followed by a presentation by Lisette van Doorn, CEO of ULI Europe, who shared the key findings from one of ULI, Europe’s most recent research publications, Social impact: investing with purpose to protect and enhance returns. The report was used as a starting point for a discussion to explore how social impact investing can offer investors a compelling opportunity to contribute solutions to major societal challenges and access to investment opportunities that deliver long-term income streams offering beneficial risk-adjusted returns. Speakers included Marta Cladera, Head of Real Estate, Iberia at Nuveen and Carlo Castelli, Head of Cities Solutions, Europe at Jacobs. The session was moderated by Pablo Villarejo, Technical University of Madrid.

The study tour culminated with a walking tour of Plaza de España and its surrounding neighbourhood. Beginning at Plaza de España, the attendees were shown how the plaza had been revitalised as a vibrant social space that has been extensively pedestrianised to increase the site’s connectivity with other relevant surrounding green areas. From there, attendees toured Gran Vía, one of the main axes of Madrid and where the local retail space has been redefined after the redevelopment and success of Plaza de España.