Landlubbers Drawn To AAPA Port Real Estate Issues Seminar, Dec. 9-10

For those involved in port real estate and land development issues, AAPA’s Port Real Estate Issues Seminar in Los Angeles, Dec. 9-10, was a strong draw. Hosted by the Port of Los Angeles (POLA), nearly 80 participants from throughout the Western Hemisphere came to hear presentations on topics ranging from attracting tenants to lease/buy port property to what ports can do when their developable land resources are exhausted. Additional topics included advice on structuring port property leases, techniques for attracting private-sector investment, and cautions on exercising a port’s right of eminent domain to "take" property from private landowners.

For the first panel of the program, moderated by Port of Pensacola executive director Amy Miller, two CBRE real estate experts (Lee Ann Korst and Michael McShea) provided a national perspective of the major issues that public-sector entities face, while Franc J. Pigna, managing director of Aegir Port Property Advisers, honed in on issues most pertinent for publicly owned port authorities to become "corporatized" in order to better perform and compete for business.

In the seminar’s final session, Mr. Pigna, POLA Real Estate Director Jack Hedge and Pavel Skournik, vice president of operations for Saab Technologies Ltd., in Burnaby, B.C., discussed getting the most out of a port’s real estate team, including issues related to recruiting and retaining top talent.

Summarizing the seminar, Mr. Pigna noted that since presenting at his first AAPA real estate conference in 2004, "AAPA has done an excellent job of bringing forward some of the critical and cutting edge subjects that are no longer sidebars, but front-and-center in the world of ports."

Port of Pensacola’s Amy Miller further noted: "I’ve been in the port business a long time and probably the most important lesson I took away from this seminar was there’s always something new to learn. If you just hear one tip, trick-of-the-trade or unique strategy that another port employs that you’d never thought of, attendance at one of AAPA’s educational seminars can really pay for itself. At the Port Real Estate Issues Seminar it was three words for me, ‘lease assignment surcharge.’ I’d never heard of it before but I’m definitely looking into it now thanks to attending this seminar!"

Seminar presentations are available on the AAPA website. 

 
AAPA President and CEO Kurt Nagle presents Port of Los Angeles Real Estate Director Jack Hedge with a host port thank-you plaque at AAPA’s Port Real Estate Issues Seminar.

 
Keynote presenter Jeff Holt, BMO Capital Markets’
managing director, shares his thoughts on how ports can
attract investments from private-sector entities, such as
pension funds.

 
The Port Real Estate Issues Seminar audience members
listen as legal experts discuss the perils and opportunities
for ports that use their eminent domain authority.