Ambitious Developments Alter the Landscape

PHILADELPHIA-The fifth annual RealShare Philadelphia at the Doubletree Hotel on April 17 comes at a time of ambitious – and sometimes controversial – development for Center City and the suburbs. This year’s attendance is shaping up to match or exceed the record of more than 650 reached a year ago, according to Jason Young, RealShare conference producer.

“We have a blockbuster group of panelists,” Young says. They include Bob Walters of CB Richard Ellis, David Fahey of Binswanger, Dave Campoli of HRPT Properties Trust, Wayne Fisher of Grubb & Ellis and Craig Guers of Opus East, to name a few. Leaders in each of the commercial real estate types and markets throughout the region will offer insider assessments of current activity and what lies ahead.

This year an industrial market panel joins the agenda, which will focus on the red-hot distribution activity in the Lehigh Valley and Central Pennsylvania. Demand grows, rents are rising and a land-grab is underway.

Center City’s struggles over the location of two casinos will be laid bare. The office market’s surprising successes and potential dangers in still-expanding residential condo development will be dissected along with prospects for a significantly larger convention center. Add to that, an assessment of the impact of University City’s burgeoning office, retail and residential hot spots.

Paul Levy, head of Center City District, will unveil CCD’s line-up of suggestions it will have just handed over to mayoral candidates. And the candidates, including Democrat Michael Nutter and Republican Al Taubenberger, will spell out their visions for real estate development here.

Don Pulver, president of Oliver Tyrone Pulver Corp. and a long-time player in Center City and the suburbs, will take the hot seat in RealShare’s popular “Inside the Real Estate Mind” presentation. Michael Desiato, group publisher and editorial director of Real Estate Media, will probe the inner thoughts of this influential man who generally stays behind the scenes.

The conference will open at 7:50 a.m. and conclude at 2 p.m. with plenty of opportunity for networking in between. RealShare Philadelphia and other RealShare events nationwide are produced by Real Estate Media, publishers of GlobeSt.com, GlobeSt.RETAIL, Real Estate Forum magazine, and other print and online publications devoted to commercial real estate.