For the 12th consecutive year, Illinois Real Estate Journal and the Real Estate Publishing Group will kick off the new year with a commercial real estate forecast event. This year’s event will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 22 at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers.
Following the new format to open the event, a change that was established in 2012, the event will kick-off with a one-on-one conversation between Deputy Mayor Steve Koch and Shawn Mobley, President, Central Region, Cushman & Wakefield. With the announcement earlier this week that ADM has joined an impressive list of companies relocating downtown, Koch no doubt will provide insights into Mayor’s Emanuel’s strategy for attracting new businesses to the city.
Following the conversation between Koch and Mobley, the conference will feature two general session panels on current real estate issues and trends. In the first session, a distinguished panel of seasoned real estate professionals will discuss the state of the market. The discussion, which will be moderated by Gunnar Branson, President of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers, will look at the strength of the recovery, and what it is expected to look like in 2014.
Featured on the panel will be Tony Smaniotto, Executive Vice President, Colliers International; Steve Schnur, Senior Vice President, Duke Realty; Todd Mintz, Executive Vice President, DTZ; Drew Nieman, Executive Vice President, US Equities; Michael Flynn, Executive Vice President, NAI; and Joe Cosenza, Vice Chairman, Inland Real Estate Acquisitions Inc.
The focus of the second session is loosely being described as the building and rebuilding of neighborhoods and markets. Whether it is pockets within or just outside of the limits of Chicago, or the redevelopment of sprawling suburban campuses into mixed-use developments, there is plenty of activity taking place in the Chicago metro area. This panel will be moderated by Susanne Cannon of The Real Estate Center at DePaul University. Confirmed panelists include Rand Diamond, Principal, GlenStar; Aaron Lanski, Managing Director/Commercial Real Estate, BMO Harris Bank; Michael Drew, Principal, Structured Development; and Daniel Rosenberg, Partner, Managing Director, Cohen Financial.
Following this general session programming, the forecast event will move to breakout sessions covering the standard specialty markets — suburban and downtown office, retail, investment and industrial property. There also will be three themed discussions on the legal issues impacting real estate, data centers and The Bakkens.
Registration can be completed at the conference website, www.rejournals.com/conferences for $89 through Dec. 31. After that, registration increases to $109. Sponsorship and a limited number of speaking opportunities remain available. More information is available at www.rejournals.com.
The Sheraton Hotel & Towers is located at 301 E. North Water St, Chicago, IL 60611.
