will likely further hurt container volumes on the West Coast.
“The Southern California industrial world’s going to be rocked
by these fundamental changes,” he added.
One of the highlights of every RealShare event is its Town Hall
Panel. In this year’s Industrial West Town Hall, EVP Joseph Vargas of Cushman & Wakefield moderated a panel that addressed
the challenges and solutions facing industrial real estate in the
Western US. Panel members included Adon Panattoni, regional
director of Panattoni Development Co. Inc.; regional president
Lang Cottrell of LNR Property Corp.; and EVP Tim O’Rourke of
Jones Lang LaSalle.
Much of the talk in that panel also addressed concerns about
falling container volume at the ports. “Not to be a Chicken
Little, saying the sky is falling, but things are tough right now,”
Panattoni said.
However, Panattoni was among many of the panelists at the
RealShare conference who also expressed confidence that the
Southern California industrial market will not only recover,
but will continue to prosper, and much of that prosperity, most
Master Development; vice president Brian Gagne of KTR Capital
Partners; SVP Erik Hansen of LNR Property Corp.; and first vice
president Patrick Maloney of ProLogis.
Two panels closed out the day: “From Port to People,” which
examined the reconfiguration of the supply chain and industrial
logistics; and “Industrial Crossfire,” in which market leaders revealed the trends, companies and people to watch in 2009.
The first panel was moderated by Chuck Belden, executive
director at Cushman & Wakefield, with panel members Jon
Cross, director of marketing at the Allen Group; Tim Feemster, senior vice president and director of global logistics for
Grubb & Ellis; and Jim MacLellan, director of marketing for
the Port of Los Angeles.
MacLellan, who talked about bureaucratic difficulties in getting projects done, said to compete, the ports have to keep pulling “as many rabbits out of the hat as we can.” He also called for
solidarity from the business community, particularly those who
work in the industrial market, to garner public support for upcoming port initiatives.
Cushman & Wakefield EVP Joseph Vargas (left), Incisive Media vice president of strategic development for real estate Daniel Ceniceros (center) and WCL
Consulting CEO Jon DeCesare took part in the fourth annual RealShare Industrial West conference and networking event in Long Beach last month.
agreed, will be driven by the region’s own demand for consumer
goods as the population continues to swell.
Following the Town Hall, a panel moderated by EVP Barbara
Emmons of CB Richard Ellis tackled the topic of “What it Takes to
Buy and Finance Deals in Today’s Dysfunctional Environment.”
Panelists included SVP Patrick Gallagher of the Alter Group;
managing director of acquisitions Rick Putnam of Rreef; managing partner Howard Schwimmer of Rexford Industrial; managing
director Peter Smyslowski of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler; and Mesa
West Capital principal Ryan Krauch.
Krauch noted: “We’re putting money out, but we’re being very
selective.” Schwimmer added: “Cap rates are going up and I think
they’re going higher.” He also stated his belief that the industrial
market is only in the third inning of the economic downturn. “I
think industrial’s going to get worse here,” he said.
Next up was a panel on the new realities of the Southern California industrial market, moderated by SVP Jeffrey Morgan of
CBRE. Panelists included vice president Rob Antrobius of AMB
Property Corp.; executive managing director Bryan Bentrott of
Feemster agreed that public opposition is contributing to making the twin ports less competitive with others. “What we’re running into in Southern California is the Nopes—not on planet
Earth,” he said.
Cross, who spoke about logistics trends and about the value of
railroad-served transportation hubs, quipped: “If I had my druthers, I wouldn’t give the automotive industry that $25 billion; I’d
give it to the railroads.”
The second panel included Al Pontius, SVP and managing director of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services; Martin
Coyne, SVP and regional manager for AMB Property Corp.; and
Ed Indvik, chairman of the Lee & Associates advisory board.
RealShare Industrial West is one of an annual schedule of
RealShare events that are produced by Incisive Media, the parent company of GlobeSt.com, Real Estate Forum magazine, Real
Estate Southern California magazine and a host of other online
and print sources of information about commercial real estate,
legal and financial services, risk management and the marketing industry.—SOCAL
