By GREGORY ZELLER //
“Cautious optimism” set the tone Feb. 16, when regional experts laid bare the realities of Long Island commercial real estate.
Nearly 200 attendees packed RXR Executive Plaza in Melville to hear directly from the Commercial Industrial Brokers Society of Long Island, which hosted its 2023 State of Industry event: a top-tier panel discussion of current trends and best-guest predictions for the coming year in various commercial real estate asset classes.
The panel discussion comes at an unparalleled moment for Long Island commercial real estate, with a post-pandemic shift in office demand, legacy housing problems, ambitious transit-oriented development packages and a slate of other major-league projects on the drawing board, kicking off or nearing completion – everything from a world-class hotel-casino to massive housing initiatives to a projected training hub for the national offshore-wind industry.
Ted Stratigos: Look on the bright side.
Moderated by Farrel Fritz Partner Peter Curry, the panel combined the insights of Milvado Property Group Director of Asset Management David Hercman, Tritec Real Estate Partner and EVP Robert Kent and T. Weiss Realty Corp. President Craig Weiss, along with Jones Lang Lasalle Managing Director Kyle Crennan, CBRE Group Senior Vice President Paul Leone and Cushman & Wakefield Director Melissa Naeder.
Over 90 minutes, the experts dissected the past, present and future of the industrial, office, retail and multifamily asset classes – and ultimately appear to be “approaching 2023 with cautious optimism,” according to CIBS Co-President Ted Stratigos, a principal and managing director at Avison Young.
“While some sectors continue to face challenges, our region has always been resilient,” Stratigos noted. “The retail and industrial sectors remain strong, and we are all-too-familiar with the need for multifamily housing.”
Those challenges are formidable and well-known to anyone who does business on Long Island, according to Curry, who found further fortitude in commercial real estate’s regional record of rising above the worst economic conditions.
“The commercial real estate industry faces many of the challenges other industries on Long Island do,” the panel moderator added. “(But) with the uncertain economic forecasts for the year ahead, the experts on the panel were quick to note the industry’s ability and history in outperforming other markets.”
