News and events continue to tell the story of an improving industrial marketplace. Yet there still are varying opinions on how consistent and stable the marketplace really is.
At last week’s AIRE Virtual Tour, Susan Bergdoll from Duke Realty was more reserved in her support of a full blown recovery. Yet other taped comments by Don Schoenheider, Liberty Property Trust, and Kevin Matzke, Clarius Partners as well as Bergdoll presented bullish outlooks for the Chicago industrial marketplace. All three talked further about development opportunities being prime on the list of activities their respective firms are evaluating. Matzke and Schoenheider, whose companies both have buildings with vacancies, are also optimistic about activity in the market over the last number of quarters.
The organizers of the 11th Annual CIP Industrial Summit on April 24 believe that varying opinions and bullish outlooks make for interesting conference discussions. In just over a week, more than 20 experts in the industrial real estate marketplace — representing developers, owners, investors, brokers and advisors — will have a candid discussion about the state of the industrial market just after the close of the first quarter.
The 11th Annual Conference will kick off showcasing the perspectives of Timothy Beaudin, president of IndCor, the industrial arm of Blackstone Real Estate. An active investor across the country, including in Chicago, Beaudin will be interviewed by Chris Gary, vice president of NAI Hiffman and the 2014 president of the Association of Industrial Real Estate Brokers. The discussion will focus on IndCor’s view of the Chicago marketplace and its strategy as an owner/investor here.
Following that kick-off session, the conference will move to panel discussions covering the State of the Market from the brokerage perspective, financing and investing in industrial real estate and the return of speculative and build-to-suit development. Confirmed speakers, in addition to Beaudin and Gary, include: Adam Roth, NAI; Robin Stollberg, JLL; Matthew Stauber, Colliers International; Carter Andrus, Prologis; Dan Fogarty, Conor Commercial Real Estate; Tom Boyle, Transwestern; Jason West, SIOR, Cushman & Wakefield; Howard Green, Meridian Design Build; Kevin Matzke, Clarius Partners; Adam Miller, Summit Design Build; Tim Hennelly, Ryan Companies US, Inc.; John Greuling, Will County Center for Economic Development; Erik Foster, Avison Young; Patrick Sullivan, HFF; Matt Goode, VentureOne; and Alissa Adler, Podolsky|Circle CORFAC International. Additional speakers will be announced as they are added.
The CIP Summit begins with registration, networking and continental breakfast at 7 a.m. Registration is $99 and can be completed on line at www.rejournals.com/conferences or by calling 312-644-2804. For speaking or sponsorship information, contact Mark Menzies, group publisher, Real Estate Publishing Group at 312-644-4610.
