We snapped Transwestern’s Phil McCarthy, consultant Linda Whitaker, and Clark Construction’s Bill Magruder, whose first act as chapter prez was introducing the panelists, including Phil. The suburban MD guru predicted success in White Flint in the coming years, saying detailed master plans, Montrose Parkway, new retail, and Metro access will put the developing area on par with Bethesda back in 1990. Phil says watch the I-270 corridor, which renewed 640k SF of tenants in ’09 along with 547k SF of new net growth.

Brookfield’s Jim Hedges traveled from NY and predicted there will be a big price spread between quality assets and commodity assets that trade in 2010. Jim referenced a recent Wall Street Journal headline: “Rents Signal Rise of DC, Fall of NY in 2010.” According to Jim, that’s the best news for our area besides the end of the Redskins season. The silver lining in ’09—REITs were able to raise equity/debt to the tune of $33B in preparation for some of the best buying opportunities in years.

Rappaport’s Henry Fonvielle and Cassidy Turley’s Paul Collins also joined the panel. Henry says the loss of Circuit City and many video stores left major holes in shopping centers. Those prime corner locations could be replaced by medical offices in the coming years. Paul says the sale of properties like One Bethesda Center reflect buyer’s willingness to move away from DC. One wild card over the next four years: $500B of debt maturing each year.

With limited leasing through 2011 and rents still sliding, experts at this week’s IREM Industry Forecast said it could be a long ride for landlords—pleasing those pesky Gen Y tenants. We snapped Bozzuto’s Julie Smith before 200 at Bethesda North Marriott. Bozzuto plans to hire 90% new college grads this year—Gen Y will start to shift the face of real estate, connecting with young renters. Most landlords only have 30% of tenant e-mail addresses, increasing the importance of social networking, SMS, and online ads. Other tools to keep those 20-something tenants happy (besides $1 beers and free t-shirts): 24/7 offices, cutting-edge amenities, modern décor, and pet-friendly policies.

JLL’s John Sikaitis compared markets inside and outside the Beltway. He says Springfield is the most likely market to see added supply and rent growth, thanks to BRAC. As prices drop in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, he says Silver Spring no longer makes financial sense for companies, meaning it could be the last out of the recession. As for the once heated debate between SE and NoMa, John says NoMa came out the clear winner with 2.6M SF of new development and 1.7M SF new leasing in the last year, compared with 1.1M SF of new development and just 182k SF of new leasing in SE. Of course, if they joined forces, it would spell NoSe Ma. So it's probably better that they compete after all.

We attended a huge rapid-response fundraiser for Haiti last night at the Hyatt Regency, planned in only a few days, raising $180,000 for the American Red Cross – Haiti Disaster Relief Fund. Congrats to Khalid Itum for conceiving and organizing the event that we were proud to support. The phenomenal success of A Heart for Haiti was due in large part to the very generous sponsors, including Arent Fox, chief organizer M.O.I., OPX, Jones Lang LaSalle, Delucchi+, SKANSKA, Barbara Nolan Inc, Hyatt, and Swank. We snapped Steven Winter Associates’ Julia Craighill, sponsor OPX’s Ed Corr and Barbara Mullenex, and CHGDC prez Caryn Bailey who, we all agreed, had the best coat.