LOS ANGELES- NAIOP's I.con: The Industrial Conference takes place on June 5 and 6 at the Omni Los Angeles. The event offers the most up-to-date trends and information presented by some of the most notable names in industrial real estate. 

To preview the event, GlobeSt.com has reached out to some of the key speakers to discuss what they will present. Today, we talk with Bradley Cox, senior managing director, Trammell Crow Co., who is a speaker on the panel titled “The Future of Industrial Infill Development: Overcoming the Challenges of Brownfields and Sustainability Goals.” Joining him is Stuart Lichter, president and chairman of the board, Industrial Realty Group LLC.

GlobeSt.com: What's the main topic of discussion?

Bradley Cox: In Los Angeles County, the only remaining developable industrial properties generally have environmental encumbrances. Receiving your approval requires navigating a maze. For example, we bought a 33-acre site in Pacoima in the northeast valley, an old L.A. city trash dump. It took 2.5 years and 14 agency approvals to receive the entitlements to build a little north of 500,000 square feet of industrial. We ended up selling to a build-to-suit developer who built a 350,000-square-foot facility for FedEx.

GlobeSt.com: Where are things heading?

B.C.: We'll talk a little bit about the entitlement challenges in urban infill areas combined with the environmental issues you face. The major roadblock in development is the “not in my backyard” philosophy that exists in L.A. and Southern California. The primary building of industrial development has been in the Inland Empire. There's pushback from communities on the impact of heavy trucks on city infrastructure. Particularly with the squeeze with the difficult economy, a lot of city budgets have been dramatically squeezed, some are running at huge deficits, and they have no money for infrastructure improvements. The neighborhoods have pushed back against while in the past they were receptive to job creation. They still want the jobs, but are struggling with the impact on local infrastructure.

GlobeSt.com: What drives this market?

B.C.: It's a user market. Southern California is still the largest industrial manufacturing center in the US. In L.A. County, we have a billion square feet of industrial inventory with vacancy in the 4% range. We don't see much development in LA County because of the limited large sites available. There are few large parcels available that ecommerce attendants are seeking. A large building in L.A. County is 400,000 square feet, and there are only a handful planned or under construction.

Earlier on GlobeSt.com, we previewed the I.con panel on "Inland Ports and the Battle of the Midwest," which details the considerations developers face when determining their locations for new buildings.