GRAY FISER

Ask CBRE senior associate Gray Fiser to sum up the commercial real estate market in Memphis over the course of 2016, and he’s ready with a few quick bullet points by way of reply.

Fast forward, say, five years from now, he explains, and these are the things likely still being talked about:

They include ServiceMaster Global Holdings’ move to Peabody Place Mall from Ridge Lake office park; Crosstown Concourse coming online; Boyle Investment Co. kicking off its office building in Ridgeway Center with Pinnacle Bank; and Mid-America Apartment Communities moving to the TraVure mixed-use development in Germantown.

“I will say that in past election years, the deal activity – at least on the office side, what I can speak to – has been sluggish compared to non-election years,” explained Fiser, a panelist at The Daily News’ upcoming Commercial Real Estate Review & Forecast seminar, scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 3. “But from what we’re seeing, it’s not as sluggish as we thought it might be in an election year.”

The seminar, set for 3 p.m. at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, 1934 Poplar Ave., will feature an expert panel discussion reviewing 2016 commercial real estate trends and forecasting what to expect in 2017. A special presentation also will showcase ServiceMaster moving its headquarters Downtown.

The event will be keynoted by Neal Golden, vice chairman at Newmark Grubb Knight Frank in Houston, Texas. Joining Fiser on the panel, meanwhile, are Boyle vice president Les Binkley, focusing on the multifamily sector; Colliers International Memphis president and CEO of brokerage services Andy Cates, focusing on industrial; and Poag Shopping Centers president/CEO Josh Poag, focused on retail.

Fiser will focus on the office market.

Prior to the main seminar event, Urban Land Institute senior vice president Dean Schwanke will give a ULI Emerging Trends presentation. Attendance at the session, which begins at 2 p.m., will include a copy of the 2017 ULI Emerging Trends report.

All in all, Fiser said, 2016 has been “a fairly common year” from a commercial real estate perspective. Other themes included a spate of deals along the Poplar Avenue corridor and multifamily construction heating up.

As for what’s to come, Fiser said nationally – and in Memphis, too – parking ratios are becoming an issue.

“We’re seeing companies send out RFPs for six per 1,000 parking ratios,” Fiser said. “It will be interesting to see how does a landlord handle someone with a seven per 1,000 parking ratio, and you don’t have enough spaces. Do you max out on your occupancy at 90-95 percent, or does someone who goes and builds a building grab another acre for parking? Other cities like Chicago have just turned to public transportation. It will be interesting to see how Memphis deals with that.”

To register for the seminar or for more information, visit seminars.memphisdailynews.com, or contact Leah Sansing at 528-8122 or leah@memphisdailynews.com. A wine and cheese reception will follow the event.