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2025 ULI Fall Meeting 2025 ULI Fall Meeting
, November 04 – 06, 2025

Lessons from My Worst Mistakes

Tue Oct 29 9:00 AM — 10:00 AM (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time Resorts World Las Vegas - Level 2, Jasmine CD
Join John McNellis, author of ULI's bestselling title Making It in Real Estate, as he candidly—and humorously—recounts the hard lessons he's learned from four decades of developing commercial real estate. Not only will John dissect his biggest disaster—the loss of a 300,000-foot shopping center to foreclosure—he'll explain why one should never buy real estate for the wrong reasons; why working on "Goldilocks" deals is critical; why one should be wary of partners, bankers, and investment advisors (basically, anyone with money); why only the track wins horse races; and why successful development is invariably based on taking risk . . . but only after accurately gauging it. John will leave plenty of time for an extended Q&A. Each attendee will receive a free eBook version of Making It in Real Estate.

Speakers

Moderator

Associate Olson Kundig

Matt Boker has over 8 years of experience in mixed-use and residential design. Recently relocated to Seattle, Washington, Matt is currently an Architectural Designer at Olson Kundig Architects. Prior to Olson Kundig, Matt trained in New York City for 10 years in varying typologies, including luxury condos and master plans in New York, mixed-use developments in Washington D.C., commercial projects in Argentina, and a museum…
Presenter

Principal McNellis Partners, LLC

A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and Hastings College of The Law, John practiced law until he co-founded McNellis Partners, a Northern California shopping center development firm, in 1982. John is a decades' long member of the Urban Land Institute—a founding member of its Environmental Task Force—and the ICSC. He is a ULI Governor, has chaired two separate ULI Councils and served…