President’s Quarterly Report – April 2017

Dear Fellow Members:

It’s hard to believe the first quarter of 2017 is coming to a close. As this year begins to fly by, NAIOP Southern Nevada has had an action packed first few months.

We started off the year with the well attended and informative Forecast 2017 event held in cooperation with the Lied Institute for Real Estate Studies, Lee Business School, UNLV. At this year’s event we had the renowned real estate economist, Dr. Mark Dotzour speak regarding the national economic outlook for commercial real estate and Thomas J. Bisacquino, President and CEO of NAIOP national to speak about the organization and national issues. We also had a stellar local commercial market panel discussion moderated by John Restrepo. Thank you, John, for all your efforts making this event a success.

The Programs committee has done a terrific job so far this year having UNLV President Len Jessup at the February Breakfast to discuss the future of UNLV and the developments the university has planned and that are in process. In March Tina, Quigley the General Manager of the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada addressed the membership and put on a very informative presentation. Thank you, Reed Gottesman, and the entire Programs committee.

In early February NAIOP Southern Nevada sent a contingent of chapter leaders to Washington DC for the National Chapter Leadership and Legislative Retreat. There, chapter leaders from across the county and Canada met for open discussion on chapters’ best practices, attended education seminars on  both national CRE issues and NAIOP initiatives. The event culminated with NAIOP convening on Capitol Hill to meet with federal legislators from both the House and Senate. NAIOP Southern Nevada united with the northern Nevada chapter and met all Nevada’s federal legislative representatives or chiefs of staff. Topics of discussion were plentiful, including the availability of land, the BLM resource management plan, tax reform including carried interest, depreciation, 1031 exchanges, the availability of capital and credit, Dodd Frank banking regulations, and federal funding for transportation and infrastructure. During the legislative retreat, NAIOP national celebrated 50 years and also recognized individuals and chapters for standout performances in 2016. The Southern Nevada chapter won two awards, Michael Shohet of Jones Lang LaSalle was named the 2016 Chapter President of the Year and Jennifer Levine of Cushman & Wakefield Commerce won Volunteer of the Year for 2016. Congratulations again to our NAIOP power couple!

The 79th Nevada Legislative Session convened in February and NAIOP Southern Nevada has been very busy tracking bills that impact commercial real estate. The main bills we are tracking are prevailing and minimum wage legislation, a State infrastructure bank bill, a bill for registration of vacant properties, and real property tax abatements. Thank you to the entire Government Affairs committee for all your efforts on this very important front. I’d also like to acknowledge Jonathan Leleu and Kerrie Kramer of Greenberg Traurig for a job well done keeping the committee up-to-date with all the fast-paced happenings in Carson City and for running the halls of the legislative building making meetings with legislators in both chambers, attending committee hearings, and / or testifying on behalf of NAIOP.

In early March, NAIOP Southern Nevada united with the Northern Nevada chapter to advocate with one voice at the State Capital. NAIOP Board members including Platinum, Gold, and Silver level President’s Circle sponsors were invited to Carson City for a “Day at the Capital”. They met with the State Attorney General Adam Laxalt, representatives from the Governor’s office and legislative leaders from both the Senate and Assembly. NAIOP had a big presence in Carson City this year and was there primarily as a resource for legislators to help them better understand the impact of certain proposed bills and how those bills will affect the development and construction of commercial real estate including the broader Nevada economy. The commercial real estate industry is a major economic engine in Nevada and contributed $3.9 billion to the state’s economy (GDP) with $1.3 billion in wages and salaries and nearly 29,000 jobs created and supported. NAIOP had a very successful day at the State Capital and a special thank you to Steve Neiger for helping to orchestrate the event.

NAIOP Southern Nevada was also able to honor the life and contributions of one of our long-standing members, Mr. Tim Snow, who passed away in September, 2016. Tim led the Thomas and Mack Development Group for many years and was a major contributor the industry, the community, and especially to NAIOP. He was a past chapter President and recipient of numerous industry awards including the NAIOP lifetime achievement award. NAIOP Southern Nevada successfully amended the name of its UNLV scholarship to include Tim’s name. It is now officially, the NAIOP / Tim Snow UNLV Scholarship Endowment fund. Tim has once again helped the UNLV / NAIOP relationship become closer and his legacy continues to inspire future commercial real estate professionals.

We recently had a monumental 20th Annual Spotlight Awards ceremony held at the Red Rock Casino Resort Spa. Those who attended can attest to the fun and entertaining evening. Thank you to Courtney Goffstein, Sabrina Borghoff and the entire spotlight committee for all their efforts. Congratulations to all the nominees and award winners. I would especially like to acknowledge Katrina Bruce who won the Ellie Shattuck Spirit of Spotlight award for her efforts on behalf of the chapter. She has amazingly helped plan every one of the Spotlight Awards events.

Finally, I’d like to close with thanking the PENTA Building Group, COX Business and all of our 2017 President Circle sponsors. NAIOP would not be able to accomplish what it does for the commercial real estate industry without your support.

Wishing you all continued success.

Jay Heller
Chapter President
NAIOP Southern Nevada