Commercial Real Estate Conference Scheduled for Jan. 30; RSA’s Bronner to Deliver Keynote Address at UA’s ACRE Event

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Ninth Annual Commercial Real Estate Conference will be held at the Birmingham/Jefferson County Convention Center Sheraton Hotel Complex and will feature David Bronner, chief executive officer of the Retirement Systems of Alabama, as the keynote speaker. The RSA provides pension benefits to more than 100,000 retirees or their survivors, and paid out $2.035 billion in fiscal 2007.

The conference will be hosted by the Alabama Center for Real Estate, known as ACRE, part of The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration.

According to Grayson Glaze, executive director of ACRE, the 2009 conference, scheduled for Jan. 30, will include sessions on professional development, the commercial real estate outlook for 2009, and emerging trends in commercial real estate.

Speakers will include both locally and nationally recognized real estate professionals who will be able to provide a broad perspective of the industry and economic trends. Additionally, six hours of continuing education credit with the Alabama Real Estate Commission will be awarded for full attendance and participation in the conference.

“We are very fortunate to have Dr. Lawrence Yun, the chief economist and senior vice president with the National Association of Realtors, who will present the 2009 economic and commercial real estate outlook,” Glaze said.

Yun writes regular columns on real estate market trends, creates NAR’s forecasts and participates in many economic forecasting panels. He regularly appears on CNBC, BBC and Bloomberg TV and is a frequent speaker at real estate conferences throughout the United States and abroad. USA Today recently listed him among the top 10 economic forecasters in the country.

Susan M. Smith, a director in the Real Estate Business Advisory Services group of PricewaterhouseCoopers, will talk about emerging trends in commercial real estate in 2009. She is the editor-in-chief of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ quarterly Korpacz Real Estate Investor Survey®, one of the industry’s leading sources of commercial real estate investment trends and data.

For the past seven years, she has also served as a senior adviser and contributing researcher, as well as been on the editorial review board, of the annual Emerging Trends in Real Estate® publication, a joint undertaking of PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Urban Land Institute. She has nearly 20 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry, starting out as a national commercial real estate appraiser.

Martin Edwards Jr., will give conference participants a look at “How to Survive and Thrive Under the New Administration.” He began his real estate career in 1965, has been involved in the Memphis real estate market in numerous investment, brokerage, management and developments that include apartments, land, office, industrial and commercial mortgage banking and real estate redevelopment for more than 40 years.

Martin is president and owner of Edwards Investments, Realtors, a real estate brokerage, investment firm and HUD approved management firm.

Clifford F. (Trey) Clegg and Tom LaDow will discuss construction costs and smart building trends.

Clegg is a regional vice president and the division manager for Brasfield & Gorrie General Contractors’ commercial, retail and mixed use divisions. In 2004, Clegg was a recipient of the Birmingham Business Journal’s Top 40 Under 40, and was named Estimator of the Year in 2001 by the American Subcontractor Association.

His professional associations include the International Council of Shopping Center and National Association of Industrial & Office Properties.

LaDow recently completed a 33-year career as a commercial real estate executive with Colonial Properties Trust. LaDow lectures, teaches and consults with commercial real estate companies and individuals. He is a principal with NextGen Buildings, a consulting firm that focuses on energy and technology strategies for commercial office buildings.

John Norris, who oversees the wealth management and investment services for Oakworth Capital, will present “Delivering Capital Solutions in Today’s Market.” He has more than 17 years experience in the financial industry. Prior to joining Oakworth, Norris was chief economist, chairman of the Investment Strategy Committee and a senior fund manager for Regions Financial Corporation’s Morgan Asset Management subsidiary.

Prior to joining MAM, Norris served as chief investment officer for The Trust Company of Sterne, Agee & Leach Inc. He started his professional career in 1991 with Mercantile-Safe Deposit & Trust Company in Baltimore, Md., as an institutional fixed income portfolio manager.

Norris frequently appears in various national and local media as an expert on the economy and the markets, and is currently a guest columnist to the Montgomery Advertiser’s Sunday business section, as well as a member of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Council of Economic Advisors.

Jack Granger, a broker and president of Granger, Thagard & Associates, will present “Auction Marketing … An Age-Old Solution for Modern Times.” For the past 21 years, his company has sold real estate and significant assets through auction marketing. Auction marketing is the fastest growing method of selling real estate.

The registration fee for the program is $150 per person which includes a full day of presentations, luncheon and refreshment breaks. Early online enrollment at www.acreconference.ua.edu is encouraged.

Check-in will begin at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 30. Sessions are from 8:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with four breaks and lunch.

A pre-conference reception sponsored by Burr & Forman law firm will be held on the top floor of the Wachovia Building downtown from 5:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 29. Platinum sponsors of the program are Bradley Arant law firm, Capmark Financial Group, Alabama Power Co., Burr Foreman law firm, Grandbridge Real Estate Capital and Granger, Thagard and Associates Real Estate Auction Co.

Contact Grayson Glaze at ACRE at 205/348-4117 or e-mail gglaze@cba.ua.edu for more information, or view the website at www.ACREConference.ua.edu.