About 500 people attended the Lehigh Valley Business 2016 Real Estate and Development Symposium at DeSales University in Upper Saucon Township.

A pair of upcoming events will  highlight the regional commercial real estate climate, as will the latest issue of Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation‘s (LVEDC) commercial real estate report.

The 2017 Lehigh Valley Business Real Estate and Development Symposium will be held on March 7, and the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce’s 2017 Commercial Real Estate Outlook will be held on April 4.

Additionally, in early March, LVEDC will release the newest issue of its Lehigh Valley Commercial Real Estate Report, a quarterly publication about the real estate climate in the Lehigh Valley, focusing on the region’s office, industrial, and flex markets.

The upcoming issue will include data from the fourth quarter of 2016, including information as vacancy rates, market conditions, net absorption, unemployment rates, workforce employment growth, and a list of major sales transactions within the Lehigh Valley.

The report will be available on the LVEDC website, and hard copies can be made available upon request.

The fourth-annual 2017 Lehigh Valley Business Real Estate and Development Symposium, which is co-sponsored by the LVEDC, will feature speakers and panel discussions about real estate development trends in the greater Lehigh Valley region.

“We are excited to present our fourth annual Real Estate & Development Symposium,” said Mike O’Rourke, publisher of Lehigh Valley Business. “This year’s event will feature presentations on infrastructure, urban redevelopment and marketing the Lehigh Valley to national retailers.”

It will be held Tuesday, March 7, from 7:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. at the University Center at DeSales University. Visit here to register.

The event will start with an economic forecast presented by Gregory Rau, market investment director at U.S. Trust, and a panel discussion hosted by Joseph A. Fitzpatrick Jr. of Fitzpatrick, Lentz & Bubba called “Growth and Development in the Lehigh Valley.”

It will include panelists Becky Bradley, Executive Director of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission; Eric Knopping, Senior Vice President of the Goldenberg Group; and Amy Neu, President of Eden Wood Realty/Allentown Commerce Park.

The Symposium will also include a panel discussion entitled “What’s Hot and What’s Not in Commercial, Industrial, Office and Residential Real Estate Markets in the Greater Lehigh Valley,” with speakers Justin Porembo, CEO of Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors, and Del Markward, President and CEO of the Markward Group.

The Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce’s 2017 Commercial Real Estate Outlook will be held Tuesday, April 4, from 10 a.m. to 1 [p.m. at the Holiday Inn Conference Center at 7736 Adrienne Drive, Breinigsville.

More than 600 real estate developers, engineering and maintenance firms and executives are expected to attend the event, which will include a presentation by LVEDC President and CEO Don Cunningham called “The State of the Valley: Commercial Real Estate and the Economy.”

Hanna Frederick Commercial President Doug Frederick will present “Done Deals and What’s Trending,” during which Jerry Bleaker of King’s Development & Management Co. will discuss retail, Lisa Pektor of PennCap Properties will discuss office, and Michael Alderman of Liberty Property Trust will discuss industrial.

Other featured presentations will Douglas Armbruster of IDI Gazeley discussing the Charles Chrin Interchange, Thomas Wilkins of NEPA Management Associates discussing the medical market, and Noah Chrismer of KRE Real Estate Group giving a presentation called “Apartments a-Poppin’.”

The 2017 Commercial Real Estate Development (CRED) Awards will also be presented, recognizing the most innovative and accomplished commercial real estate organizations, developers, builders, and designers. They include:

• Vision Award: The Goldenberg Group and TCH Development, $140 million Hamilton Crossings
• Community Development Award: LV Carpenters – Joint Apprenticeship Training Center
• Adaptive Reuse Award: Greater Easton Development Partnership – Easton Public Market