Brokers and officials from commercial real estate firm Next Realty, which operates a busy office in Chicago, are in Las Vegas this week to attend the International Council of Shopping Centers’ RECon, the biggest convention serving the brokers, developers and managers who build, operate and lease space at shopping centers across the globe.
Next Realty’s Eteri Zaslavsky, who in 2012 led the raise of Next Realty Fund VII, a private equity fund targeting retail and parking investment opportunities, and Rebekah Carlson, director of marketing at the company, are blogging from the convention this week for REJournals.com.
If you build it, will they come? by Rebekah Carlson
Going into a tradeshow, particularly this one, is like a field of dreams. We build a 600-square-foot booth, hoping, anticipating that our presence attracts customers, investors, tenants and deal-makers.
But we are not just building a booth, we’re building an industry. And we, as an industry, build the American dream. Shopping centers for people to spend – gasp! – expendable income. Locations for mom-and-pop entrepreneurs to flourish. Companies to employ thousands.
Even now, early in the upswing of the cycle, it remains to be seen whether the increased activity we have seen is industry-wide or sustainable. What are we building and will it endure?
If you are here, come by our booth at C141 M St. After all, we built it specifically hoping you would come.
