MALVERN, PA-It might be moving slowly, but the industry is moving in the right direction. That was the message of William Hankowsky, chairman, president and chief executive officer, of locally based Liberty Property Trust, who spoke at the annual REIT Week conference in Chicago.

"The economy will slowly, but deliberately, move forward," he said. Some of those opportunities include the development of build-to-suit properties, acquisitions and an uptick in leasing.

On the acquisition front, Liberty will likely target value-added assets as opposed to mature propeties when they start hitting the market, Hankowsky said. He also predicted that occupancy will increase in the second half of the year.