(To read more on the industrial market, click here.)
SECAUCUS, NJ-New construction is booming in the industrial marketplace yet vacancy rates continue to go down. According to Cushman & Wakefield, more than 28.4 million sf of industrial product was completed over the last three months alone. Approximately 70% of the development was speculative, which indicates confidence on the part of developers that demand is strong, officials say.
Industrial players from across the East Coast will discuss that demand during the second annual RealShare Industrial East conference, Wednesday and Thursday June 7 and 8. The Crowne Plaza Meadowlands will again host the event. Around 300 industrial owners, brokers, logistics and supply chain professionals, port and rail officials, and users are expected to attend for this second year.
Walter Rakowich, president and COO of ProLogis, will give the keynote address. Rakowich was vice president of the mid-Atlantic region for ProLogis, the world's largest industrial property owner, before ascending to the presidency. Michael Brennan, president, CEO and director of First Industrial Realty Trust, will be spotlighted in the "Inside the Real Estate Mind" centerpiece. Group publisher and editorial director of Real Estate Media Michael G. Desiato will interview Brennan on FIRT's $7 billon of industrial transactions--nearly half of that in the last 12 months--and how the industrial market looks up and down the East Coast.
"He's an interesting guy," says Rich Kelley, RealShare Conference series director. "He's had a long and varied career, with a lot of twists and turns in them."
A new feature for this Industrial East edition is a Pardon the Interruption-style presentation given by two influential chairmen and CEOs: KTR Capital Partners' Jeff Kelter and Lee & Klatskin's Charlie Klatskin. "I don't think there are two more respected, smart, clever guys in the business," Kelley says. "Having the two of them on stage, back and forth debating the issues of the day should be both incredibly informative and incredibly entertaining."
A "Town Hall" meeting Thursday morning will ask panelists if the industrial market has reached a point of equilibrium. Moderator Jim Dieter of CB Richard Ellis will talk with Gus Milano of Hartz Mountain Industries, John Thomas of ING Clarion partners, and Greg Thurman of Panattoni Development Co. Concurrent sessions will host panel discussions on urban infill, brownfield development and New Jersey leasing.
The two days will kick off with a fast round of "Speed Networking" Wednesday afternoon. Based on speed dating, participants will switch tables every sixty seconds,. "It's designed to give the chance to meet as many other people as possible," Kelley says. Wednesday night is the return of the Night at the Races at the Meadowlands Racetrack. The even is produced by Real Estate Media, publisher of Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com.
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