The event, entitled “We Just Need a Little Space…”, will be held Nov. 2 at the National Museum of Industrial History.

An upcoming Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) event will highlight the challenges and opportunities presented by a shortage of smaller-footprint industrial manufacturing and flex space in the Lehigh Valley.

The panel discussion event, entitled “We Just Need a Little Space…”, will be held Thursday, November 2, from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the National Museum of Industrial History at 602 East 2nd Street in Bethlehem.

Registration is free for LVEDC investors, and admission for non-investors is $25. Visit this site to register. The event is being hosted by LVEDC’s Brokers & Developers Council.

Since 2012, there has been no net change in the number of industrial properties between 40,000 and 80,000 square feet, and the vacancy rate has dropped for that range has dropped from 6.1 percent in 2012 to the current rate of 3.6 percent.

The average of current industrial manufacturing inventory in the 40,000 to 80,000 square-foot range is 49 years, according to the latest issue of the Lehigh Valley Commercial and Industrial Real Estate Report, which covers data from the second quarter of 2017.

The panel members participating in the Nov. 2 event include Mike Adams, Senior Vice President at NAI Summit; Catherine Bailey, President & Chief Operating Officer at Rea.deeming Beauty, Inc., Joe Correia, Executive Vice President at J.G. Petrucci Co.; and Kimberly Jacobsen, Managing Director of Industrial Services at JLL.

First Commonwealth Federal Credit Union will be the presenting sponsor for the event.

Adams has three decades of industrial/office real estate sales and leasing experience, and serves as Broker of Record for NAI Summit. Before joining the company in 2011, he worked for 24 years at Coldwell Banker Commercial Feist & Feist Realty, where he was a Senior Vice President.

Correia oversees the daily operations of more than 2.5 million square feet of office and industrial space in his capacity at J.G. Petrucci Co. Prior to joining the firm in 2004, he was a top ranking consultant for a Fortune 500 company in Pennsylvania

Jacobsen is responsible for site selection, tenant representation and the disposition of industrial real estate at JLL for clients throughout the Pennsylvania market. Prior to joining the company in 2009, she was a real estate director with Opus East responsible for the Pennsylvania development portfolio.

LVEDC’s Brokers & Developers Council is comprised of commercial and industrial real estate brokers, site selectors, developers, bankers, corporate real estate engineers, architects, construction professionals, and those involved in the development and expansion of commercial and industrial business.

The Brokers & Developers Council events offer an opportunity to learn about a timely topic and discuss issues affecting those in the industry, followed by time afterwards for networking and further discussion.