Infill Intuition & Development Trends

How Are Market Leaders Adding Value to Industrial Developments

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  Howard Schwimmer

  Mr. Schwimmer serves as Rexford Industrial's Co-Chief Executive Officer and on our Board of Directors since July 2013. Mr. Schwimmer has served as Co-Founder and Senior Managing Partner of our predecessor business and President of Rexford Industrial Realty & Management Inc. since December 2001. From May 1983 until November 2001, Mr. Schwimmer, a licensed California real estate broker, served at various times as manager, executive vice president and broker of record for DAUM Commercial Real Estate, one of California’s oldest industrial brokerage companies. Mr. Schwimmer’s thirty-year professional career has been dedicated entirely and exclusively to Southern California infill industrial real estate, including its acquisition, value-add improvement, management, sales, leasing and disposition. Mr. Schwimmer has experience forming real estate investment companies, managing real estate brokerage offices, serving as a real estate brokerage company board member and acquiring, repositioning, developing, leasing, selling and adding value to over thirty million square feet of industrial properties in Southern California. Mr. Schwimmer received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California in 1983 where he majored in business with an emphasis in real estate finance and development. Mr. Schwimmer serves on the USC Lusk Center Real Estate Leadership Council, is Board Chair of USC Hillel, and is the Allocation Committee Chair of the Los Angeles Jewish Federation, Real Estate Principals Organization.

  Rexford Industrial

  Co-CEO

  Howard Schwimmer

  Co-CEO

  Rexford Industrial

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  John Balestra

  John Balestra serves as Principal for Trammell Crow Company within the firm’s Los Angeles Business Unit in El Segundo, California. In this role, he is responsible for sourcing and overseeing new industrial development and investment opportunities throughout the Greater Los Angeles market and is responsible for land and deal sourcing, financial analysis, due diligence, entitlements, debt and equity capital relationships, vertical development coordination and project leasing. He collaborates with his construction and development managers on strategic issues throughout the design, permitting and construction processes. Throughout his 30-year career John has managed the development, leasing, acquisition and property management involving over 15 million square feet of commercial real estate valued at $1.5 billion.

  Trammell Crow Company

  Principal

  John Balestra

  Principal

  Trammell Crow Company

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  Brian Wilson

  Brian Wilson, Partner, West Region, joined Bridge Industrial in 2015 and is responsible for Bridge’s acquisition and development activities throughout the state of California. Brian has successfully completed transactions on over 9 million square feet of industrial real estate with a value in excess of $1 billion. Brian Wilson is a graduate of Texas A&M University where he holds a Bachelor of Environmental Design degree. Brian also holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. Brian is also a member of NAIOP SoCal and Inland Empire Chapters as well the Los Angeles Chapter of SIOR.

  Bridge Industrial

  Partner, West Coast

  Brian Wilson

  Partner, West Coast

  Bridge Industrial

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  Antonio Hachem

  Antonio joined George Smith Partners as a Principal, after 6 years working as a correspondent for Life Insurance Company lenders. Mr. Hachem focuses on delivering complex financing for his clients' real estate capital needs. He has structured debt and equity solutions, on stabilized and spec, across all asset types including special use such as parking structures, auto-malls, farms and theaters. Antonio’s most notable transaction was financing the world famous TCL Chinese Theater (originally known as Grauman’s Chinese Theater and renamed Mann’s Chinese Theater). Antonio Hachem has been involved in commercial real estate for over 17 years. He started his career as a sales broker by joining Coldwell Banker Commercial focusing on sales and leasing of income producing properties. He then pursued development projects, both residential and commercial, in the Los Angeles area through syndications. He handled the process from beginning to end by identifying the assets, securing them, raising capital, overseeing construction and disposition. Having been an investment broker, principal, builder and mortgage banker, Antonio brings great value to all parties on real estate transactions. Antonio is a CCIM candidate. Antonio lives at the beach city of Santa Monica with his wife and two children.

  George Smith Partners

  Principal

  Antonio Hachem

  Principal

  George Smith Partners

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  Taylor Arnett

  Taylor Arnett brings more than a decade of expertise in acquisitions to his role as Vice President of Acquisitions at CapRock Partners, including a proven track record for sourcing and underwriting deals, and procuring capital across commercial real estate asset classes. Since joining CapRock Partners as an Acquisitions Manager in 2014, Arnett has further expanded the company’s deal pipeline in Southern California with a focus on infill properties in Los Angeles and Orange County. In 2017, Arnett was promoted to Vice President of Acquisitions after leading CapRock Partner’s expansion out of California with the purchase of a handful of off-market industrial properties in Las Vegas, Nevada. Prior to joining CapRock Partners, Arnett served as Acquisitions Manager for Asset Management Consultants, Inc. (AMC Investments), where he anchored a team that purchased and/or joint ventured more than 30 real estate investments, including industrial, office, retail, and multi-family properties, averaging $75 million in transactions annually. Previous to joining AMC, Arnett was a senior financial analyst for The Koll Company where he was responsible for the underwriting and due diligence processes on office and industrial acquisitions ranging from $10 million to $50 million in the southwest U.S. Arnett began his real estate career as commercial real estate appraiser at Frazier Capital in Downtown Los Angeles. Arnett graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts from Occidental College in Los Angeles, where he played collegiate football, serving as Captain his senior year. He is a Board Member of NAIOP SoCal, as well as a graduate of NAIOP Southern California Young Professionals Group, in which he has stayed active as the Chair of the 2016-2017 YPG Alumni Committee. In 2016, Arnett was one of 21 selected nationally to receive the NAIOP Developing Leaders Award. He lives with his wife and daughter in San Clemente.

  CapRock Partners

  SVP, Acquisitions

  Taylor Arnett

  SVP, Acquisitions

  CapRock Partners

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  Paul Klink

  Paul Klink joined Newmark Knight Frank in 2019 as executive vice president, head of Industrial services, serving from the company's Newport Beach, California office. A 33-year corporate real estate veteran with a focus on developing and cultivating institutional relationships, Mr. Klink has deep knowledge of all facets of the commercial real estate industry. He has extensive experience across brokerage, development, and asset and property management, with roots in office and industrial product. He is known for his creative problem-solving skills, his ability to think like an owner on behalf of his clients and his corporate leadership skills. As executive vice president, head of Industrial, Mr. Klink guides the direction and expansion of NKF's industrial capabilities across North America with a priority of recruiting top industrial-focused leasing and capital markets talent and expanding client relationships across the sector. Mr. Klink joined NKF from Cushman & Wakefield, where he served as executive managing director of investor services. In this role, he was responsible for the firm's most important institutional investor clients, serving as a single point of contact for the company's real estate services, including property management, leasing, capital markets and valuation/advisory. Prior work experience also includes Cassidy Turley, Interface Properties, Koll Development Company and Grubb & Ellis, all based in California.

  Newmark Knight Frank

  EVP, Head of Industrial Services

  Moderator

  Paul Klink

  EVP, Head of Industrial Services

  Newmark Knight Frank

Logistics, Creative Industrial & Constant Innovation

How are Experts Adapting to Ever Changing Dynamics

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  Alon Kraft

  Alon Kraft has more than 25 years of commercial real estate experience managing asset and portfolio teams from acquisition through disposition. Previously he was Senior Asset Manager for Lowe Enterprises Investors having overseen more than $2 billion of office, industrial and multifamily investment

  Dedeaux Properties

  COO

  Alon Kraft

  COO

  Dedeaux Properties

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  Joe Vargas

  Joe Vargas, based in Bakersfield, joined Wonderful Real Estate in July 2017 as President of the Real Estate Development team. Joe has over 35 years of experience in the real estate industry and has held executive positions with Grubb & Ellis, Cushman & Wakefield (where he served in several key leadership roles, including President of the West Region), and Executive Vice President at Lee & Associates. In his role with Wonderful, Joe oversees industrial development projects in the Central Valley. Joe serves on several boards, including the board of AIR CRE as co-chair of the arbitration committee. Joe is a two-time Olympian in Water Polo, a Silver Medalist in the 1984 Olympics, and a 1992 inductee into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame.

  Wonderful Real Estate Development

  President

  Major Tenant

  Joe Vargas

  President

  Wonderful Real Estate Development

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  Aliza Karney Guren

  Aliza Karney Guren is the Chief Executive Officer and co-owner of Karney Properties. She assumed her position in 2003 and sets the overall strategy for the company. She is also directly involved in all key areas of the company’s activities, including development, finance, acquisitions and dispositions and asset management.She has spent more than 20 years in the real estate industry, including related experience in law and mediation. Prior to joining the company in 1991, she was a practicing attorney and mediator, and founded and directed an independent nonprofit arts organization. Aliza Guren, a California-licensed general contractor, is an active member of the Urban Land Institute and the National Association for Industrial and Office Parks. She is also a board member of the Center Theatre Group, one of the nation’s largest and most active theater companies. In 2014, she was named one of Bisnow’s top 60 women in Los Angeles commercial real estate. She is a member of ULI, RPO, POWRE, and Land Ladies. Aliza Guren earned a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from Harvard University, where she also earned a law degree cum laude from Harvard Law School. She is a member of the State Bar of California.

  Karney Properties

  CEO

  Aliza Karney Guren

  CEO

  Karney Properties

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  Steve Leonard

  After graduating from UCLA in 1977, Steve Leonard began managing his personal stock portfolio while entering the real estate business as his primary profession. He formed Pacifica Holding Company in the early 1980’s to take advantage of commercial real estate cycles, initially in Los Angeles, later in Denver in the early 1990s, and eventually back in Southern California in the late 1990s. Pacifica assembled a portfolio in those markets through acquisition and, as the cycles progressed, development with private and eventually institutional investors. Later, as prices became inflated in each market and reached extreme levels, Pacifica sold its holdings and looked elsewhere for opportunity. Following a successful cycle in LA, Pacifica Colorado eventually established the largest private commercial portfolio in that state. By 1998, as market values began to peak, Pacifica sold its 8 million square foot portfolio and management business for approximately $750 million. Pacifica’s principals then returned to the LA area and established its second major Los Angeles portfolio of approximately 4 million square feet. It was sold by 2004 for a total consideration of approximately $400 million. More recently, the Great Recession has generated new buying opportunities, and Mr. Leonard has formed groups to take advantage of them. Returning to Southern California in 1998, Mr. Leonard secured his Series 6 Securities License and founded Pacifica Capital Investments. The firm is dedicated to implementing the same value-based investment philosophy in public equities that he has deployed so successfully in commercial real estate. By concentrating holdings in the best managed companies, investing in only businesses it understands well, and buying stock only when priced at a discount to intrinsic value, Pacifica has generated an impressive track record that has attracted approximately 150 clients and families. Mr. Leonard is Pacifica’s biggest investor in a portfolio valued at over $260 million that also includes the investable assets of Pacifica’s other key executives. Mr. Leonard has spoken at many investment forums such as the prestigious Value Investing Congress, both the LA and Denver Chapters of NAIOP, and the Colorado Real Estate Journal Forum. Steve has served on the board of directors of both public and private companies, including Colorado Gaming and Entertainment, BJ’s Pizza & Brew House, and Front Range Bank in Denver. He is also founder of Brokers for Battered Kids, a charitable organization that has raised almost $2 million for disadvantaged children in the Denver area. Steve and his wife Cindy have two children and reside in Santa Barbara, California.

  Pacifica Capital Investments

  Principal, Managing Principal

  Steve Leonard

  Principal, Managing Principal

  Pacifica Capital Investments

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  Kurt Strasmann

  Mr. Strasmann is the Executive Managing Director of CBRE’s Orange County Operations as well as the functional Southern California Industrial & Logistics Market Leader. Mr. Strasmann’s Orange County responsibilities include leading a team of over 360 professionals in the Orange County Region with direct oversight of all lines of business and services CBRE provides to the marketplace. As the Functional Industrial Leader, Mr. Strasmann has the additional responsibility of managing approximately 130 selling industrial professionals throughout 12 Southern California offices. Mr. Strasmann also serves as the management oversight for CBRE’s National Port Logistics and E-Commerce specialty practice groups. Prior to CBRE, Mr. Strasmann served as the Managing Director of Brokerage Operations for Voit’s Orange County, Los Angeles County and Inland Empire Operations. Mr. Strasmann’s region accounted for approximately 75% of Voit’s revenue and profit. Mr. Strasmann was directly responsible for opening up offices in Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire for Voit. Mr. Strasmann eventually resigned at Voit to accept a position at CBRE. Prior to Voit Real Estate Services, Mr. Strasmann worked at Grubb & Ellis Company for 24 years. Mr. Strasmann held many positions at Grubb & Ellis working his way up from an Industrial Broker to eventually serving as the Executive Vice President and Regional Managing Director (Orange County, San Gabriel Valley and the Inland Empire operations). Mr. Strasmann’s region was recognized as the largest and most profitable region nationwide for Grubb & Ellis. Additionally, Mr. Strasmann served on Grubb & Ellis’ National Executive Committee. Mr. Strasmann eventually resigned from Grubb & Ellis to accept a position at Voit Real Estate Services.

  CBRE

  Executive Managing Director

  Kurt Strasmann

  Executive Managing Director

  CBRE

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  Jon Reno

  Jon R. Reno, SIOR, CCIM is a senior vice president and managing director of Kidder Mathews’ downtown Los Angeles, California office. Jon provides consultative services to help businesses with navigating the details of relocation, competitive properties, market data, rental rate negotiation and TI options. He provides brokerage and investment services in the Central Los Angeles market. Jon also works with Institutional as well as private investment groups and public agencies with acquisitions, marketing, leasing, disposition, forward site analysis and financial feasibility studies. He maintains a strong working knowledge of the Subdivision Map Act, CEQA, Land Use Policy, land planning, zoning and entitlement law.

  Kidder Mathews

  SVP, Managing Director

  Jon Reno

  SVP, Managing Director

  Kidder Mathews

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  Jonathan Consani

  Jonathan Consani provides “gold standard” service to his clients in real estate transactional matters, thoroughly understanding their business, and advocating on their behalf. He assists clients in purchasing, selling, developing, and leasing various types of commercial property. For Jonathan, working on the intricacies and challenges involved in each deal is particularly stimulating, and he is gratified to watch his work materialize, whether it be a newly constructed building or a new business occupying an existing property. He is commended for his attention to detail, and his ability to make deals happen, while ensuring his clients are properly advised and protected.

  Allen Matkins

  Real Estate Attorney

  Moderator

  Jonathan Consani

  Real Estate Attorney

  Allen Matkins