Fall 2019 Executive Director Message

Last month marked my one year as Executive Director of NAIOP Pittsburgh. And for our chapter, this past year has been one characterized by growth, innovation, and incremental change. Building from the many years of excellence, 2018-19 has been one of NAIOP Pittsburgh’s best years. Our membership grew by over 15 percent, our events consistently sold to capacity, including record attendance at the 26th Annual Awards Banquet, and our Developing Leaders (DL) program skyrocketed this year with strong programming. 

Additionally, in keeping in line with our aforementioned DL program, our chapter engaged NAIOP Corporate to relaunch our mentoring program, Mentorship Connect. Working with the board and our great DL leadership, Mentorship Connect booked over 66 mentorship sessions in 2019. While organizational growth has been positive, the policy landscape remains fraught with risks for the CRE community. Worrisome riverfront zoning implications, changes to incentives, inclusionary zoning, permitting gridlock, and possible tax increases, are just some of the policy concerns affecting the Pittsburgh CRE community. When matched with possible effects of the growing U.S. – China trade war, policy decisions by our elected leaders will play a critical role in determining the pace of investment growth. NAIOP Pittsburgh has engaged heavily with our elected leaders over the past year. And in the year to come, there will be no slowdown from us. The last year has been about re-establishing our presence at the policy table. The year to come will be about setting up and delivering legit policy wins for the Pittsburgh CRE community.

 As we close out the second half of 2019, NAIOP Pittsburgh will finish strong with great events for premium networking and continued advocacy for the CRE community. In October, NAIOP Pittsburgh will celebrate our 20th Annual Night At The Fights, which is the most unique event of any association in the Pittsburgh region. Additionally, our fall schedule is full of quality programming. Please visit www.naioppittsburgh.com to

check out our upcoming programming and to find sponsorship information for Night At The Fights. 

Sincerely,

Brandon J. Mendoza

Executive Director

NAIOP Pittsburgh