The Association of Industrial Real Estate, AIRE, is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2016 and commemorating the milestone with events and programs to acknowledge its history while also anticipating the future of industrial real estate in Chicago.
In 1956, well before the advent of sophisticated technology offerings, comprehensive databases of information, and big box distribution facilities, a group of industrial real estate brokers gathered for the purpose of sharing information about the marketplace. From this original meeting and continuing on over the next six decades, AIRE has grown to become the premiere association in Chicago that focuses solely on industrial real estate.
“While so much about the industrial market and the commercial real estate industry has changed over 60 years, AIRE continues to thrive on the core principle of cooperation,” Mike Prost, the 2016 President of AIRE and a member of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, said. “Change, in our industry and the world we live in, is a constant, but the guiding principles of AIRE, which also include ethics and education, remain to this day.”
According to Prost, there are a number of ways AIRE will commemorate its 60th anniversary. A slightly modified logo has been created to highlight the milestone. Reflections of the industry’s rich and colorful history as well as perspectives on the future of the industry are being planned in video (60 Seconds of AIRE Time) and print (Profiles in Industrial Real Estate) format.
There also will be special commemorations at regularly scheduled luncheon meetings and special events such as the Golf Outing. Further details, Prost said, will be announced as they are finalized.
“This is another exciting year, following our 25th anniversary celebration of our Frank Mahoney Award in 2015,” Prost added. “It’s a great time to be an industrial real estate professional, and a great time to be a member of an organization that has been dedicated to the success of the industry and its members for 60 years.
