It’s only fitting that the South Bay region is the scene of the May 28  AIR “Broker Networking” event at the dramatic American Express Stadium Club of the Home Depot Center, 18400 Avalon Blvd., Carson.   That’s because Curtis D. Spencer, president of IMS Worldwide, Inc. (IMSW), will be the headline speaker at the event which runs from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The event is free and will feature complimentary cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.

Spencer, who is expected to comment on the global economy and its impact on the logistics market, heads up a Houston, TX company that has enjoyed over 30 years in the Foreign-Trade Zone consulting field, with an emphasis on International Supply Chain Solutions. Brokers engaged in assisting logistics companies with their facilities will like to know that IMSW provides a host of services to the international trade industry.  This includes real estate and logistical trends, supply chain security, industrial park consulting and security for chemical and energy facilities.  Spencer has been a featured speaker at national conferences and workshops more than 50 times a year, and also authors articles for The Journal of Commerce, American Shipper, Inbound Logistics and other newsmagazines. 

For more information about this month’s “Networking” event click here or call AIR at (213) 687-8777.

(Periodically, members of AIR’s Board of Directors generates pertinent educational information that AIRWaves gladly passes along to members.  The following article, appearing through the cooperation of Board member Lee Dresie of the law firm of Greenberg Glusker and authored by Jeff Krieger, a bankruptcy attorney with that firm, features the “Top 10 Considerations” that brokers should advise their clients about as the economy changes, and bankruptcies and foreclosures become more common.  We hereby provide a brief excerpt in the form of the first point.  For Mr. Krieger’s entire article, click the link shown below).

MY TENANT JUST FILED BANKRUPTCY, NOW WHAT?
Top Ten Considerations for Commercial Landlords
By Jeff Krieger, Greenberg Glusker
The real estate-driven economy has been so good for so long that some landlords may have forgotten how bankruptcy laws impact their rights when a tenant files bankruptcy.  Moreover, the bankruptcy amendments of 2005 have changed those rights, so the rules that landlords may remember have been altered since the last real estate slowdown.

Members of AIR enjoy the benefits of Association membership on many levels.   Prominent among them are AIR’s ongoing Forms Seminars and its intensifying outreach both to members and allied organizations.

Commenting on the impact of the event, panelist John Pagliossotti of Voit Commercial noted that there was increased interaction between the panel and attendees, a benchmark of these events. 

“A lot of intelligent and pertinent questions were asked, so people really gained from the event.  This is one of the best seminars presented in our industry because its hands-on format relates to forms brokers, owners and property managers use every day, and what you learn is immediately useful,” Pagliossotti said.  He added that because the forms are updated regularly, no two seminars are alike.  “Questions are relevant because they often relate to actual transactions,” he said.

Pagliossotti revealed that featured during the seminar was a new “Vacant Land Lease Gross” form which he said is aimed at the ongoing need to accommodate storage yards, contractors yards and parking lots.

In its ongoing effort to expand its outreach to the entire real estate community, including the office and investments sectors, Joy De La Cruz reports AIR’s sponsorship of several events for other organizations serving these sectors, as well as packaging AIR programs for still other groups. 

In another major outreach, AIR is providing the format and speakers for a Forms Seminar on June 13 presented by the Southland Regional Association of REALTORS at the Beverly Garland Hotel in North Hollywood.

“AIR is assisting other groups who may not have resources to gain a better understanding of our forms.  We’re getting calls from other groups who seek education about how to better use our forms.  We’re taking our expertise to them,” De La Cruz said.  Last year, AIR similarly assisted the San Mateo Association of Realtors, the Arcadia Association of Realtors and the Burbank Association of Realtors.

Chuck Belden knows there are some qualities you can’t replace.  It’s the essence of what has made him one of the Inland Empire’s most successful brokers for some two decades.

Belden is executive director in the Inland Empire office of Cushman & Wakefield who entered commercial real estate after a five-year stint as a real estate appraiser following graduation from the University of California, Berkeley.  He joined C&W’s Inland Empire office in 1984.  Over the last several years Belden has consistently been a top producer for the company focusing on industrial sales and leasing, land sales, development deals, investment sales – a “jack of all trades,” as he put it.

Queried about his approach to brokerage, Belden offered a fresh take:  “I try to be honest, with integrity, with my time, and my knowledge.  That’s all a broker has, and the first two you must protect because you can never get them back,” he said.  He added that one of those qualities – knowledge – “is organic because you can  build upon it by asking questions and listening.”

This distinctive approach has involved Belden in some of his market’s most significant transactions.  He worked with IDS Real Estate Group and “the great” Sam Foster of Jones Lang leading to Whirlpool’s recent leasing of a 1.7  million square foot distribution facility in Perris.  Additionally he worked with C&W colleague Dave Hasbrouck and officials of landlord Blackrock Real Estate to lease 750,000 square feet of industrial space in Fontana. 

When your commercial real estate career was preceded by owning businesses ranging from tent making to manufacturing disc brakes, you bring something rare to the table.  You’d be Sam Tooch.

Tooch recently retired from commercial real estate after 25 years in the business, 22 of which were as an AIR member.

Tooch, who owned and operated Samuel J. Tooch & Associates in West Los Angeles, came to the U.S. in 1978 from South Africa.  He was 43 years old.  In South Africa, Tooch owned a large tent making and camping accessory company with over 200 employees and five retail stores.  Significantly, he also owned real estate, including a 12-acre industrial park in Johannesburg.  Even so, after arriving in the U.S. Tooch opened a business that made beer tappers for home use, to be followed by a disc brake venture.

In 1983, he joined IPA in Woodland Hills with Bob Lipson and Doug Wax, later helping open that firm’s Ventura County office.  Tooch then moved to the Westside to manage an office for Matlow-Kennedy and following a stint with Beitler, opened his own firm in 1994.

Los Angeles County
800 W. 6th Street
Suite 800
Los Angeles, CA 90017
tel 213.687.8777
fax  213.687.8616

Orange County
145½ S Olive St.
Orange, CA 92866
tel 714 538-8432
fax 714 538-8587