President’s Report – January 2018
Dear Fellow Members:
Welcome to 2018! I am excited for the opportunity to lead our great NAIOP chapter this year and look forward to working with so many amazing people within our organization, many who are great friends and colleagues that I have known for decades. It is an exciting time to be in commercial real estate in Southern Nevada!
Our industry has great momentum headed into 2018. Las Vegas stands to benefit from more than $10 billion in the development pipeline currently and we project this number to grow higher this year. The Raiders stadium, the Las Vegas Convention Center expansion and a number of new resort developments will fuel our economy and provide confidence to expand throughout our industry. This time around, however, the irrational exuberance seems to be kept in check by responsible lending and adherence to realistic measures of market demand.
NAIOP Southern Nevada continues to shape the commercial real estate industry while protecting our members’ companies and commercial property interests as a watchdog. Collectively, the NAIOP voice advocates positions and policies that benefit our local economy and improve the business climate and quality of life in our community. As we look forward, NAIOP will continue advancing our mission of responsible, sustainable development, creating jobs and benefiting the Southern Nevada economy.
As we embark on a new year, I’d like to acknowledge some people who have contributed to our organization’s success this past year, helping to set the stage for me to take the helm.
First and foremost, my thanks to Jay Heller for his unwavering commitment and leadership of our chapter in 2017. Under Jay’s presidential leadership, his accomplishments have provided our chapter with positive and lasting benefits. Thank you Jay for your service!
As we move into 2018, please welcome our new Board members: Reed Gottesman, Matt Hoyt and David Strickland. Returning Board members include Jay Heller, Jeff LaPour, Jennifer Levine, Rod Martin, Mike Shohet, Julie Cleaver, Shawn Danoski, George Garcia, Adam Malan, Jennifer Turchin and Jody Walker Belsick.
A special thank you is also due to NAIOP’s outgoing board members: John Restrepo, Brendan Egan, and Jeff Foster. They were terrific Board members and their contributions to our chapter will be evident for years to come.
I also look forward to working with our 2018 Committee Chairs: Sabrina Borghoff, Brett Bottenberg, Curt Carlson, George Garcia, Courtney Murphy Goffstein, Brendan Graves, Jay Heller, Matt Hoyt, Hayim Mizrachi, Steve Neiger, Mike Shohet, David Strickland, Chris Teachman and Zac Zaher.
As we begin the new year under a brand new tax code, we anticipate benefits accruing to the Southern Nevada market. Demand for no-tax states like ours should help attract new companies and residents to our community. An increase in corporate profits may help industries and companies that choose to expand their businesses in Southern Nevada, while at the same time choose to hold more conferences and send additional people to conventions held here. Responsible growth in population, company profits, and visitors’ volume bodes well for the commercial real estate industry in Southern Nevada.
I am particularly excited about our Government Affairs committee this year. Under the leadership of Mike Shohet, George Garcia and Jay Heller, we can expect excellent representation on proposed policies, laws and ordinances at both the local and state levels. At the state level, the team will be following potential bill drafts for next year’s session. We will pay attention to any legislation impacting our industry and plan to take a proactive role in crafting new legislation. We also intend to work in cooperation with our Northern Nevada Chapter on State issues impacting our industry. At the local level, we will focus on the Planning, Building and Public Works departments to identify issues of concern to our membership. The firm of Greenberg Traurig continues to be an outstanding strategic partner in all our Government Affairs efforts.
As the voice for the commercial real estate industry, we expect to follow a number of important issues this year. A few items we are tracking include the study of business license fees, zoning application process efficiency, key tax reforms, public transportation enhancements and workforce education. We are also keeping abreast of the Bureau of Land Management’s resource management plan to ensure it incorporates NAIOP’s concern of maintaining an adequate supply of developable land in Southern Nevada to remain competitive with other markets and continue to grow and diversify the Southern Nevada economy with a balanced and managed approach.
In 2017, the UNLV Lee Business School welcomed Vivek Sah, PhD, as the new Director for the LIED Institute for Real Estate Studies. It has been a pleasure to get to know Dr. Sah over the past year and I am very encouraged by his vision for LIED Institute. I believe he will see much success in growing the real estate program at UNLV. NAIOP looks forward to working more closely with Dr. Sah and the UNLV students, to strengthen our relationship with UNLV and to help expose this great industry to the next generation.
Last year we renamed our UNLV scholarship fund to the “NAIOP Tim Snow Memorial UNLV Scholarship” in memory of our colleague who passed away in September 2016. This year, we will further support the LIED Institute with a NAIOP Scholarship Fund created to provide financial support for a student who is a Real Estate major or minor in the Lee Business School at UNLV.
The 2018 Spotlight Awards is on Saturday, February 24th. The Merit Award Winners and Nominees have been announced. You won’t want to miss this signature event with Masquerade cocktail/evening attire encouraged. Click here for event details, registration and invitation. Buy your tables today!
Finally, I’d like to thank our 2018 President’s Circle Sponsors and Platinum Sponsor, Cox Communications. If you would like more information or are considering or exploring the benefits of our Annual Sponsorship, please contact me or click here to see the sponsorship package.
Wishing you a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2018.
Mike Mixer
Chapter President
NAIOP Southern Nevada
