The top names in Louisville’s commercial real estate market gathered Oct. 5 at The Olmsted for the 7th annual Louisville Commercial Real Estate Summit. And the mood at the event? Cautious optimism.
As they have in most markets across the country, commercial real estate pros in Louisville have overcome a series of hurdles during the past two-plus years: the effects of a global pandemic, supply chain disruptions, soaring materials costs and a tight labor market.
Now these same CRE pros are working through soaring inflation and rising interest rates.
But the good news? The brokers, developers and lenders working this market say that commercial real estate has been resilient in Louisville. And they predicted a strong finish to this year and an even stronger beginning for 2023.
Participating in the Critical Commercial Update panel were Mitchell Kersting, Founding Partner and Architect with Work Architecture & Design; Jessica Hardin, Vice President of Sales & Marketing with ID+A; Joseph Dougherty, Chief Executive Officer of Louisville Paving and Construction; and Steve McCarty, Chief Operating Officer of Miranda Construction.
Members of the Apartment Market Updates & Forecast panel were Craig Collins, Senior Director of Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Kentucky; Gregory Solomos, Senior Vice President of BWE; Mark Lechner, Co-Principal and Co-Founder of LDG Development; Jimmy Evans, Senior Vice President Commercial Real Estate Banking with Old National Bank; and Steve LaMotte Jr, Executive Vice President of CBRE.
Speaking on the Louisville Market Sector Update panel were Michael Somervell, Senior Associate of CBRE; Taylor Thompson, Partner and Principal Broker of PRG Commercial Property Advisors; Karen Koch, Senior Director of Source Advisors; Justin Brown, Managing Partner of Lucia Partner/Bespoke Capital; and Robert Walker, Senior Director of Cushman & Wakefield/Commercial Kentucky.
Participating in the Game Changer Projects panel were John Fischer, Principal Broker/Managing Member of FISCHER’s Real Estate Brokerage & Betterment Haus, LLC; Gregg Rochman, Urban Developer for The Rocklee Company, LLC; Rebecca Fleischaker, Executive Director of Louisville Downtown Partnership; and Rev. Dr. Jamesetta Ferguson, President and Chief Executive Officer of MOLO Village Community Development Corporation.
