RealShare Phoenix To Kick Off

"We're covering the five major property types and have very good people speaking to each topic," says Richard Kelley, director of the RealShare Conference Series for RE Media Network. "Phoenix is a market firing on all cylinders and it's exciting for us to go there and meet the people who are making it happen."

The conference gets under way at 7 a.m. at the Camelback Inn, a JW Marriott Resort & Spa at 5402 E. Lincoln Dr., where an expert lineup of professionals will deliver market-specific presentations in a series of break-out sessions tag-teamed with ample time for networking opportunities. The day wraps up at 1:30 p.m.

Conference highlights will include "Inside the Real Estate Mind," a discussion between Ron Barness, chairman of Barness Papas Investments LLC and part owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Michael G. Desiato, editor in chief of RE Media Network. In a 30-minute, one-on-one interview, Barness will share his perspectives on real estate and business, including his perception about where the Arizona market is headed.

The lineup includes a keynote presentation by Jim Pederson of the Pederson Group Inc., a well-respected retail developer and politician. Pederson, a Democrat, is running for a seat in a hotly contested state senate race. "We did invite the other side of that race, but they couldn't do it," Kelley says. "But, I think it's interesting to have a successful real estate guy who is politically tied in."

Then, the gloves come off for a point-counterpoint encounter between economists Jay Butler from Arizona State University and Elliott Pollack of Elliott D. Pollack & Co. The session--"Pardon the Interruption: Economic Showdown"--is a guaranteed spirited debate about the state of the state. "Both guys are well-known, but have never appeared in this kind of format," Kelley says. "It should be informative and entertaining for the audience."

A RealShare mainstay, the town hall meeting, will be moderated by Pete Boston, senior managing director in Phoenix for CB Richard Ellis. The topic is "Hotter than Hot--Present & Future Opportunities in the Booming Phoenix-area Market."

In a series of break-out sessions, panels of local professionals will delve into a broad-based menu of topics: TICs, the region's industrial dynamics, pitfalls of the metro's multifamily sector, the booming retail market and the resurgence of the office sector.

Kelley predicts more than 300 professionals will be attending the RealShare Phoenix launch. "We hope the participants will walk away from this with the feeling that they've heard some good information, that the networking was top-notch, that the people they saw were good people to see," he says, "and that they were entertained."