By Terri Jo Neff |
The Arizona Chapter of NAIOP, otherwise known as the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, has released its 2022 legislative public policy agenda which seeks to continue the momentum of recent sessions, NAIOP Arizona’s CEO Suzanne Kinney announced this week.
“With the monumental changes of the past two years, 2022 presents a unique opportunity for our market to break away from the pack,” Kinney said. “We will aggressively pursue legislation that will help accelerate our movement towards Tier 1 status for business attraction and job creation.”
Leading NAIOP Arizona’s legislative efforts will be its 2022 Executive Committee comprised of Kinney; Board Chair Rusty Kennedy of CBRE; Board Vice Chair Cathy Thuringer of Trammell Crow Company; Treasurer John Orsak of Lincoln Property Company; Programs Chair Phil Breidenbach of Colliers International; and Secretary Derek Flottum of Irgens. The group’s immediate Past Chair is Danny Swancey of ViaWest Group, who was preceded by Jim Wentworth of Wentworth Property Company.
NAIOP Arizona’s guiding principles involve supporting policies that drive demand for commercial real estate in Greater Phoenix and throughout Arizona, promote legislation that positions Arizona to be the preferred choice for corporate locations and expansions, and encourage “organic business growth through public policies that encourage entrepreneurship and new business formation.”
According to Kinney, the Arizona Legislature made significant progress this past year to blunt the impact of income tax increases imposed on small businesses and other taxpayers through Proposition 208. Another achievement was a two percent reduction of the commercial property tax assessment ratio, which remains a top policy priority in an effort to achieve parity with other types of property owners.
Kinney also said NAIOP Arizona will continue to oppose legal efforts and new ballot initiatives that would reduce Arizona’s economic competitiveness. And in response to recent lawsuits about economic development incentives, NAIOP will work to refine the system so that complicated development projects which bring value to the community can avoid time-consuming and costly litigation.
On the federal front, NAIOP will work with Arizona’s Congressional delegation to prevent damaging tax policy proposals from going into effect. Of particular concern are restrictions on 1031 like-kind exchanges, the taxation of carried interest as ordinary income rather than capital gains, elimination of the stepped-up basis for inherited assets, and removal of tax deductions for qualified pass-through entities.
The 900-member NAIOP Arizona is part of the main 19,000-member NAIOP, considered the leading association for developers, owners, and related professionals in office, industrial, retail and mixed-use real estate. The state chapter is the fifth largest out of 53 chapters across the United States and Canada.
“The growth of our chapter underscores its importance and relevance in Arizona’s commercial real estate industry,” said Kinney. “We’re extremely proud of what the chapter has accomplished considering the economic challenges of the past year and a half. We are a resilient industry.”
In 2021, NAIOP supported the development of CRE leaders through Diversity Student Scholarships for those pursuing a graduate degree in commercial real estate. One of the four scholarships was awarded to NAIOP Arizona member Margarita Effron, a graduate student in Arizona State University’s Master of Real Estate Development program.
Other members of the NAIOP Arizona board include Jenna Borcherding of VanTrust Real Estate, LLC; Matthew Krause of Krause Architectural & Interiors; Chris Anderson of Hines; Chris Burson of Alliance Bank of Arizona; Danielle Feroleto of Small Giants; Jeff Foster of Prologis; Tom Jarvis of Willmeng; Jeff Moloznik of RED Development, LLC; Kate Morris of Transwestern; Michael Olsen, of Globe Corporation; CJ Osbrink of Newmark Knight Frank; Darren Pitts and Velocity Retail Group; and Candace Rosauro of Layton Construction.
